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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Trump lashes out as impeachment inquiry announced – as it happened

Well, it’s been a wild ride, but it’s time for me to wrap up the liveblog for today. Thanks for following along.

For more analysis, read Lauren Gambino’s piece summarizing the significance of House speaker and San Francisco representative Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment declaration:

Of course, Congress has already been probing various aspects of Trump’s campaign, his businesses and his conduct as president. Pelosi’s formal announcement, won’t really change the progress of the investigations — but it does add a sense of urgency and gravity to House democrats as they weigh evidence.

For more on how the impeachment works, read Tom McCarthy’s explainer:

Pelosi and other Democrats members of Congress who resisted an impeachment inquiry were convinced by new allegations that Trump pressured Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate his 2020 rival and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

There is no evidence that either Biden did anything wrong.

Officials within the Trump administration tried to prevent Trump from meeting with or calling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky out of concern that Trump would use such occasions as opportunities to press Zelensky to get intel on Joe Biden, according to the Washington Post:

“An awful lot of people were trying to keep a meeting from happening for the reason that it would not be focused on Ukraine-U.S. relations,” one former official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

White House officials disputed these accounts, saying that no such concerns were raised in National Security Council meetings and that Trump’s focus was on urging Ukraine to root out corruption. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Once it became known that a whistleblower had complained about Trump’s behavior...

U.S. officials described an atmosphere of intense pressure inside the NSC and other departments since the existence of the whistleblower complaint became known, with some officials facing suspicion that they had a hand either in the complaint or in relaying damaging information to the whistleblower, whose identity has not been revealed and who is entitled to legal protection.

One official — speaking, like others, on the condition of anonymity — described the climate as verging on “bloodletting.”

Trump has fanned this dynamic with his own denunciations of the whistleblower and thinly veiled suggestions that the person should be outed. “Is he on our Country’s side. Where does he come from,” Trump tweeted this week.

The story also noted that Trump officials were concerned that the president’s lawyer and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani was pursuing a “shadow agenda” with Ukraine that went against the administration’s stance:

“Rudy — he did all of this,” one U.S. official said. “This s---show that we’re in — it’s him injecting himself into the process.”

Although impeachment appears to be preoccupying the president, his administration did announce some new policy today:

The US Agency for International Development announced today that it will be more than tripling aid to Venezuela. For the first time, the US will be directly funding Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó in his bid to topple the socialist administration of Nicolás Maduro.

The AP reports:

The funding was mostly repurposed from aid originally earmarked for Honduras and Guatemala that President Donald Trump cut last year after accusing the Central American countries of failing to stem the flow of migrants to the U.S.

The funding boost shows the level of U.S. support for Guaidó, who has drawn recognition as Venezuela’s rightful leader by more than 50 nations. But he has been unable to translate the international support and popularity at home into real power capable of helping regular Venezuelans suffering from hyperinflation and an economic collapse akin to the destruction wrought by war.

Reports are trickling in that Donald Trump may allow congress to see the whistleblower report and meet with the whistleblower who filed a complaint having to do with Trump’s efforts to get the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden and his son.

The New York Times reports that the administration, which originally barred access to the whistleblower complaint, may be working on a deal to allow the whistleblower to meet with congress.

Intelligence community lawyers sent a letter to the whistle-blower on Monday, indicating that the office was trying to work out the issues that would allow the whistle-blower to speak with Congress, according to a person briefed on the matter. Andrew P. Bakaj, a lawyer for the whistle-blower, had sent a letter to the director of national intelligence on Monday, saying that his client wanted to meet with members of Congress but needed the office’s approval.

Intelligence community lawyers have had discussions with the White House and the Justice Department officials about how the whistle-blower can share his complaint without infringing on issues like executive privilege.

Politico is reporting that the White House may release the complaint to congress:

The White House is preparing to release to Congress by the end of the week both the whistleblower complaint and the Inspector General report that are at the center of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, according to a senior administration official, reversing its position after withholding the documents from lawmakers.

And according to NBC, Trump also called Pelosi in an attempt to get her to back away from impeachment:

2020 Candidates support impeachment inquiry

Democratic presidential candidates have backed Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment announcement, including former secretary of housing and urban development Julián Castro:

Senator Elizabeth Warren said she’d vote to remove the president from office once the House votes to impeach him:

Senator Cory Booker:

Former representative from Texas Beto O’Rourke:

Senator Bernie Sanders:

Senator Amy Klobuchar:

Businessman Andrew Yang:

Not every democratic 2020 candidate is on board. Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard, who has qualified for the next debate in October, told CNN that impeachment would be “terribly divisive”.

And though Joe Biden said that Trump should be impeached if he continues to obstruct investigations, he stopped short of calling for an immediate impeachment.

Updated

Speaker Pelosi faced increased pressure to endorse impeachment amid allegations that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden’s son.
Speaker Pelosi faced increased pressure to endorse impeachment amid allegations that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden’s son. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement of an impeachment inquiry came about “in the wake of allegations that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to investigate the son of Joe Biden, the former vice-president and the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to compete for the White House in the 2020 presidential election”, The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino reports:

Pelosi’s change of heart come as Democrats from across the party amplified their calls from impeachment after revelations of a whistleblower complaint that the intelligence community’s internal watchdog, Gen Michael Atkinson, deemed credible and an “urgent concern”. The White House has refused to share the complaint with Congress as typically required by law, arguing that the allegations do not fall within the intelligence community whistleblower statute.

For months Pelosi had stubbornly resisted calls for Trump’s impeachment, telling colleagues at various points that the president is “not worth” impeaching and that she would rather see him “in prison” than impeached.

On 25 July, US president Donald Trump called Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. During the course of the call he reportedly asked the Ukrainian leader eight times to investigate former US vice-president Joe Biden and Biden’s son Hunter. It is additionally reported that Trump ordered his staff to withhold nearly $400m in aid to Ukraine days before the call took place. 

Biden is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination and take on Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Trump confirmed he discussed the Bidens with Zelenskiy, and accused the pair – without offering any evidence – of corruption.

A US intelligence community whistleblower filed a report after becoming alarmed at Trump’s behaviour in the matter. The White House refused to release the substance of the whistleblower complaint, setting up a confrontation with Congress over the release of information. Complaints of this nature are usually reported to Congress within seven days.

Trump’s personal lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, has admitted asking the Ukrainians to investigate the Bidens. It is illegal for a political campaign to accept a “thing of value” from a foreign government. Democrats say an investigation into a political opponent – for which Trump appears to have been pushing – would amount to a thing of value.

Meanwhile, the whistleblower has requested to speak to the House and Senate Intelligence committees, according to the attorney representing them.

The House intelligence chairman Adam Schiff said: “We‘re in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower’s testimony as soon as this week.”

Senate leader Mitch McConnell has also responded to Pelosi’s impeachment announcement, accusing House democrats of coming to a “predetermined conclusion.”

If congress votes to impeach the president, McConnell would be required to hold a trial in the Senate. But he could ensure that the proceedings are brief and limit democrats’ arguments. At least two-thirds of the senate have to vote to remove the president from office. As The Guardian’s Tom McCarthy explains: “As things stand, for Trump’s removal from office would thus require the partisan defection of about 20 Republican senators.”

Updated

Indeed, more than a dozen Democratic-led committees in congress have already been investigating Trump’s businesses, his campaign and his conduct as president.

Some investigations look to answer questions about whether Trump obstructed justice by interfering in the Russia probes, whether he inflated financial statements and whether he violated campaign finance rules. Others are probing Trump’s rollback of environmental protections, his policy to separate migrant families at the border and his undermining of the Affordable Care Act.

What Nancy Pelosi’s announcement does is essentially make it “official” — framing these investigations as a way to suss out whether Trump can be charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors”, as the US Constitution puts it, and therefore should be removed from office.

Updated

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said Nancy Pelosi “does not speak for America on this issue,” responding to Pelosi’s announcement of an official impeachment inquiry,

“Our job is to legislate, not to continue to investigate,” said the representative from California, adding that her announcement today “changes nothing” as democrats have already been heavily investigating Trump.

The Trump campaign is continuing to insist that the impeachment inquiry will help him win reelection.

In a statement, Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said, “The misguided Democrat impeachment strategy is meant to appease their rabid, extreme, leftist base, but will only serve to embolden and energize President Trump’s supporters and create a landslide victory for the President.”

Trump also tweeted out a campaign video, featuring a compilation of Democrats who support impeachment:

Representative Al Green of Texas, who has been calling for impeachment for more than two years, says he feels “vindicated” by House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement today:

The democratic congressman from Texas first called for Trump’s impeachment in May 2017 — four months after Trump took office — after the president fired FBI director James Comey.

Greetings from the West Coast bureau, as we pick up coverage.

First, some background:

To this date, no US president has been removed from office by impeachment

Two presidents, Bill Clinton, in 1998, and Andrew Johnson, in 1868, were impeached — though both were acquitted by the senate. Richard Nixon resigned before he was formally impeached.

The procedure for bringing articles of impeachment against presidents has varied as well, as HuffPost’s Paul Blumenthal explains:

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Nancy Pelosi announced House Democrats are formally launching an impeachment inquiry against Trump. But it doesn’t seem like that will have much of an impact on House Democrats’ actual investigations, which will continue under the umbrella of a formal impeachment inquiry.
  • Trump has already slammed the impeachment inquiry as a “Witch Hunt.”
  • The Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling on the White House to release the whistleblower complaint that kicked off the controversy around Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president.
  • Adam Schiff, the House intelligence committee chairman, said the whistleblower would like to testify to Congress and is conferring with the acting director of national intelligence on how to make that happen.
  • Trump said he would release the transcript from the Ukraine call, but Democrats quickly said that would not be enough to satisfy their investigative demands.
  • Joe Biden said Congress would be left with “no choice” but to initiate impeachment if Trump continued to obstruct House Democrats’ investigations.

Maanvi will have more on the latest impeachment developments, so stay tuned.

Trump slams impeachment inquiry as "Witch Hunt"

Trump is already disparaging the impeachment inquiry as a “Witch Hunt,” the same derisive description he repeatedly applied to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

He has also resuscitated his claims that House Democrats’ probes constitute “presidential harassment.”

Updated

Nancy Pelosi said Trump’s actions represented a “betrayal of his oath of office, a betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”

“Therefore, today, I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry,” Pelosi said.

But interestingly, the House speaker went on to say that six of the House Democratic committee chairs would continue their investigations into Trump under the umbrella of a formal impeachment inquiry.

So it’s unclear how this announcement will affect the actual work of the committees investigating the president.

Updated

Trump tweets about impeachment announcement

Trump has weighed in on Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that House Democrats are launching a formal impeachment inquiry, disparaging some of the committee chairs investigating him.

The president is enjoying some “executive time” at Trump Tower after his day at the UN General Assembly, apparently allowing him to watch the House speaker’s announcement.

Nancy Pelosi condemned both Trump’s alleged attempt to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden and his refusal to release the whistleblower complaint on the matter.

On his denying House Democrats’ request to see the complaint, Pelosi said, “This is a violation of law.”

The House speaker argued Trump’s actions undermined national security and whistleblower protections. “The president must be held accountable,” Pelosi said. “No one is above the law.”

Pelosi confirms House is moving forward with impeachment inquiry

Nancy Pelosi has just confirmed that House Democrats are moving forward with a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Pelosi began her statement by noting last week’s recognition of Constitution Day, which fell on the same day that reports first emerged about Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president.

“This is a breach of his constitutional responsibilities,” Pelosi said of Trump reportedly pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden.

Pelosi has started speaking

Pelosi has started delivering her statement on the House Democrats’ exploration of launching impeachment proceedings against Trump.

It appears that the president himself has returned to Trump Tower, from the UN General Assembly, to tune in to Nancy Pelosi’s 5 p.m. announcement.

Senate unanimously passes resolution calling on White House to release whistleblower complaint

Meanwhile, over in the other chamber of Congress, the Senate has unanimously agreed to pass Chuck Schumer’s resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint on the Ukraine controversy to be shared with the intelligence committees.

Some expected Mitch McConnell to object to the resolution, but the Senate majority leader did not end up doing so.

Updated

House Democrats have now gathered for their caucus meeting to discuss impeachment, and Nancy Pelosi will deliver a statement at 5 pm EST on the matter.

But Pelosi is not expected to hold a press conference after making the statement, so she is unlikely to take questions on her position.

Nancy Pelosi recently concluded a closed-door meeting with the Democratic chairs of six House committees: judiciary, intelligence, oversight, ways and means, financial services and foreign affairs.

It appeared that the House speaker endorsed each of the committees continuing their investigations of Trump to determine whether to file articles of impeachment against the president, according to a CNN reporter.

Joe Biden made a point in his statement on the Ukraine controversy to emphasize that Congress should only launch impeachment proceedings if Trump continues to obstruct House Democrats’ investigations.

“The president should stop stonewalling this investigation and all the other investigations of his wrongdoing,” Biden said. “Using its full Constitutional authority, Congress should demand the information it has a legal right to receive.

“And if the President does not comply — if he continues to obstruct Congress and flout the law — Donald Trump will leave Congress no choice but to initiate impeachment.”

This is a step short of calling for immediately initiating impeachment, and although it seems virtually certain that Trump will continue to obstruct the investigations, it will be interesting to see if Biden then forcefully comes out to demand that House Democrats follow through on his request.

Updated

Pelosi and Hoyer announce resolution condemning Trump's obstruction

Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have just confirmed that the House will vote on a resolution tomorrow condemning Trump’s efforts to block the release of a whistleblower complaint about his call with the Ukrainian president.

The House speaker and majority leader said in a statement: “Allegations that the President of the United States sought to enlist a foreign government to interfere in our democratic process by investigating one of his political rivals – and may have used the withholding of Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance days earlier as intimidation – are deeply alarming. ...

“On Wednesday, the House will vote on a resolution making it clear Congress’s disapproval of the Administration’s effort to block the release of the complaint and the need to protect the whistleblower.

“This is not a partisan matter, it’s about the integrity of our democracy, respect for the rule of law and defending our Constitution. We hope that all Members of the House – Democrats and Republicans alike – will join in upholding the rule of law and oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution as Representatives of the American people.”

Reporters are already gathering en masse outside Nancy Pelosi’s office on Capitol Hill, hoping to get early confirmation that the House speaker is indeed launching a formal impeachment inquiry.

Biden says Trump's continued obstruction would force Congress to initiate impeachment

Joe Biden has just finished issuing his statement on the Ukraine controversy, and, as expected, he said Congress would have “no choice” but to initiate impeachment proceedings if Trump continued to obstruct their investigations.

Biden criticized the “baseless” corruption claims Trump has leveled against him, but he emphasized the true danger in the president’s actions were to the nation as a whole.

“I can take the political attacks. They’ll come and they’ll go, and in time they’ll soon be forgotten,” the former vice president said. “But if we allow a president to get away with shredding the United States constitution, that will last forever.”

Biden concluded by saying that if Trump did not comply with the congressional requests, lawmakers would have “no choice” but to initiate impeachment proceedings.

“That would be a tragedy, but a tragedy of his own making,” Biden said. “We know who Donald Trump is. It is time to let the world know who we are.”

Updated

The chair of the progressive group Democracy for America called on Nancy Pelosi to cancel the House recess next week and schedule an immediate vote on articles of impeachment against Trump.

The chair, Charles Chamberlain, said in a statement: “Donald Trump has committed clearly impeachable offenses and admitted to them in public. No further investigation is needed, and Trump’s brazenly corrupt acts in the White House make it clear that he’s an on-going threat to our national security.

“We urge Speaker Pelosi to cancel next week’s recess, and schedule a vote on Articles of Impeachment immediately.”

A co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus confirmed that House Democrats are unlikely to abandon their impeachment demands, even if Trump releases the transcript from his call with the Ukrainian president.

In his latest tweet, Trump accused Democrats of being fixated on impeachment, to the detriment of their constituents.

This charge seems a bit hypocritical, particularly on the issue of guns. Since last month’s three mass shootings that left dozens dead, Trump has dragged his feet on specifying what type of gun legislation he would support, even though Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said he won’t move forward without the president’s endorsement.

Meanwhile, House Democrats have repeatedly held hearings on gun control and urged McConnell to take up a background checks bill they passed earlier this year.

Nancy Pelosi said at the Atlantic Festival that Trump called her earlier today to discuss gun legislation but that the conversation veered into “other things.” The House speaker would not clarify what those “other things” were.

Nancy Pelosi clarified in her appearance at the Atlantic Festival that she did not consider “quid pro quo” to be the bar when it came to Trump allegedly pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden.

The House speaker argued that the request on its own constituted incredibly problematic behavior for a president.

Trump has repeatedly emphasized in his comments to reporters that there was “no quid pro quo” in his conversation with the Ukrainian president.

But if the transcript of the call reveals he did bring up Biden, as Trump had previously confirmed, that could be enough in the speaker’s mind to merit further investigation.

The Senate intelligence committee is reportedly seeking its own interview with the whistleblower who kicked off the Ukraine controversy.

Yahoo News reports:

A letter seeking to question the still-anonymous whistleblower was sent Tuesday to Andrew Bakaj, the lawyer who represents the official. It was signed by committee chair Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. — signifying that the panel is pursuing the politically explosive issue on a bipartisan basis.

‘In order to ascertain the appropriate path forward for your client while protecting your client’s privacy, we are writing to request that you make your client available for a closed bipartisan interview with Committee counsel no later than Friday, September 27, 2019, in a mutually agreeable secure location,’ the letter reads.

Members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a moderate group of House Democrats, are announcing their support for impeachment – a development that underscores how widespread these calls have become in the caucus.

But the call for a select committee on impeachment is already being met with pushback from some House Democrats.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned in a tweet earlier today that such a move would hinder the investigation and create tension with the panels already probing the president’s actions, namely the House judiciary committee.

Nancy Pelosi appeared to hint at her leanings on impeachment when she told the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, “As soon as we have the facts, we’re ready. Now we have the facts. We’re ready.”

The House speaker then pivoted to reiterating that she would make a statement on her position later today, after meeting with her caucus, but the comment seemed to indicate she was supportive of launching an inquiry.

Pelosi has previously been hesitant to back impeachment proceedings, arguing that Democrats needed to have the best possible case before moving forward. She now apparently thinks that they do.

Pelosi to announce formal impeachment inquiry, Washington Post eports

Nancy Pelosi intends to announce a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump later today, according to the Washington Post.

The Post reports:

The announcement later Tuesday from Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) comes amid reports that President Trump may have pressured a foreign leader to investigate former vice president and potential 2020 campaign rival Joe Biden and his family.

A growing number of House Democrats are backing an impeachment inquiry as momentum shifts in the Democratic caucus.

Democratic officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly, said she would back the step.

Whistleblower wants to speak to Congress

Representative Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, said the whistleblower who first brought the Ukraine call into the news is open to testifying before Congress.

But the California Democrat added that the whistleblower is conferring with acting director of national intelligence on how to testify.

Nancy Pelosi similarly just confirmed, while speaking at the Atlantic Festival, that Trump releasing the transcript from the Ukraine call would not satisfy Democrats’ investigation demands.

Pelosi speaks at the Atlantic Festival

Nancy Pelosi has appeared at the Atlantic Festival, but the House speaker is still clearly hesitant to invoke the i-word with Trump.

She said she has tried to “avoid” an impeachment inquiry because it’s a “divisive” issue. She would only say that, if Trump did pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden, then he was “wrong.”

The California Democrat added to applause from the audience: “The president is making lawlessness a virtue.”

The release of the Ukraine call transcript is unlikely to quell Democrats’ demands to launch an impeachment inquiry, given that they have also insisted on getting access to the initial whistleblower complaint that kicked off the controversy.

Unless Trump also hands over that information, which seems unlikely, House Democrats will likely say that an inquiry is still necessary to get to the bottom of the controversy.

Trump says he is authorizing release of Ukraine call transcript

Trump, who is attending the UN General Assembly in New York, has just announced on Twitter that he has authorized the release of the transcript from his phone call with the Ukrainian president.

During the phone call, Trump allegedly pressured the Ukrainian president to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, a charge the US president has denied.

Updated

Trump’s reelection campaign is now fundraising off the escalating calls among House Democrats for his impeachment.

“The Democrats know they have no chance of winning in 2020, so now they are crying, ‘Impeachment!’” Trump’s 2020 campaign wrote in an email to supporters.

It continued: “There are now over 150 House Democrats who back Impeachment. We CANNOT let these hateful and baseless attacks go on any longer.”

The effort to capitalize on Democrats’ demands underscores Nancy Pelosi’s concerns that moving forward with impeachment will spark public opposition and energize the right.

Nancy Pelosi will soon appear at the Atlantic Festival, but the House speaker’s deputy chief of staff also confirmed she would make a statement at 5 p.m. EST after meeting with her caucus.

Bernie Sanders, who is campaigning in Iowa today, stopped short of calling for Trump’s impeachment but reiterated his support for launching an inquiry.

“Enough is enough,” Sanders said. “And today, I hope very much that the judiciary committee will go forward with an impeachment inquiry.”

The Vermont senator still said impeachment was “likely.”

Updated

House Democrats are reportedly planning to introduce a resolution tomorrow that would condemn Trump for allegedly trying to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden.

But the resolution would not call for Trump’s impeachment, an issue that Nancy Pelosi is discussing today with Democratic committee chairs and leaders, per Politico’s congressional bureau chief.

Nancy Pelosi has reportedly been exploring the creation of a select committee to investigate impeachment.

The Washington Post reports:

The California Democrat has spoken to key allies in recent days about establishing a special panel rather than leaving the task with the House Judiciary Committee, said several Democratic officials. Nothing has been decided, the individuals cautioned, but some members are expected to publicly endorse the move soon. ...

The creation of a special committee is expected to come up at a series of Democratic meetings planned for Tuesday afternoon, when Pelosi will address her caucus on impeachment for the first time since the news about Trump’s conversations with Ukraine broke.

But some members of Pelosi’s caucus, including representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are already pushing back against the possible creation of a select committee. They fear such a move could delay the investigation process and create friction with the committees already probing Trump’s actions.

Pelosi plans to announce impeachment inquiry, source says

A source close to Nancy Pelosi told an NBC News analyst that the House speaker will announce an impeachment inquiry and confirm her own support of launching proceedings in her statement later today.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • More House Democrats are coming out in favor of impeaching Trump, even those lawmakers who are from more conservative districts. The escalating support could put pressure on Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to give a statement later today, to back launching impeachment proceedings.
  • Trump delivered his address to the UN General Assembly, in which he offered a wide-ranging (although somewhat low-energy) defense of his administration’s foreign and domestic agendas.
  • Trump also sat down with Boris Johnson, who is facing criticism back home after the UK supreme court ruled the prime minister’s attempted suspension of parliament to force a no-deal Brexit was illegal.

The blog is still tracking the latest developments on impeachment, so stay tuned.

Representative Katie Hill – a first-term congresswoman from a district that flipped in 2018 and fierce ally of Nancy Pelosi – said on Tuesday: “I strongly support the House of Representatives moving forward with impeachment proceedings –– it is what the Constitution, my constituents, and my conscience demands.”

Hill previously said after special counsel Robert Mueller testified in July that she was “waiting until we have the STRONGEST possible case” before backing impeachment. Apparently the Ukraine call tipped the scales for her.

It appears a majority of House Democrats facing some of the toughest reelection races next year now favor impeachment, per a Politico reporter.

Biden to call for impeachment if Trump does not provide information on Ukraine call

Joe Biden is expected to give a statement about Trump allegedly pressuring Ukraine to investigate him at 2:30 p.m. EST.

According to a source from Biden’s campaign, the former vice president will call for impeachment if the White House does not hand over information about Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president.

Updated

Representative John Lewis echoed the message from his House floor speech in a tweet calling for impeachment against Trump:

Almost immediately after Lewis finished speaking, representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, put out a statement explaining her support for impeachment proceedings if the White House doesn’t turn over information about the Ukraine call.

Pelosi to deliver statement on impeachment later today

Nancy Pelosi said she would make a statement later today, after meeting with House Democratic chairmen and leaders, as calls for impeachment intensify.

The House speaker has previously been very cautious about backing impeachment, warning members of her caucus that they should have the best possible case against Trump before exploring such an option.

But with House Democrats from more conservative districts coming out in favor of impeachment, Pelosi’s calculus around protecting her most vulnerable members may have changed.

John Lewis announces support for impeachment

Representative John Lewis, the veteran Democratic lawmaker and civil rights icon, has come out in favor of impeachment against Trump.

“I truly believe the time to begin impeachment proceedings against this president has come,” the Georgia Democrat said on the House floor. “To delay or to do otherwise would betray the foundation of our democracy.”

He added: “The people of this nation realize that if they had committed even half of the possible violations, the federal government would be swift to seek justice.”

Lewis’ announcement could trigger even more announcements of impeachment support, per a Politico reporter:

Gabbard qualifies for the October debate as Warren remains strong

Amid all of the news today, there are developments happening on the presidential campaign trail as well.

Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has qualified for the October debate after receiving 2 percent in a Monmouth University poll of New Hampshire.

But the bigger news from the New Hampshire poll may be Elizabeth Warren continuing to surge in the early voting states. Warren came out on top in the Monmouth poll, attracting the support of 27 percent of New Hampshire Democrats in comparison to Joe Biden’s 25 percent.

Similar to the Iowa poll released this weekend, Warren and Biden are head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field. The third-place finisher in the Monmouth poll, Bernie Sanders, attracted 12 percent. The dip in his support is pretty remarkable, given that the Vermont senator won the New Hampshire primary in 2016.

In combination with a Nevada poll released earlier today, which also showed Biden and Warren leading the pack, the two are currently the unmistakable front-runners in the race.

Another freshman House Democrat from a more conservative district, Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, has said she would be open to impeachment.

According to a Politico reporter, the number of House Democrats open to supporting impeachment has reached 161, representing about two-thirds of the caucus.

Trump reiterates claim of no quid pro quo from Ukraine while meeting with Johnson

While meeting with Boris Johnson at the UN General Assembly, Trump reiterated his claim that he did not offer to release military aid to Ukraine if the country’s president agreed to investigate Biden.

The US president also repeated his argument, which he made for the first time earlier today, that he initially held back military aid from Ukraine over concerns about European allies not equally contributing.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has changed her Twitter bio to reflect Trump’s mockery of her emotional address to the UN yesterday.

Trump belittled the activist’s condemnation of world leaders for their inaction on climate change by saying she seemed like a “very happy young girl.”

Thunberg has now embraced the titled by adding it to her Twitter bio.

Democratic presidential candidates are lending their own voices to the impeachment debate, with several contenders reiterating their past comments that they support launching proceedings against Trump.

It looks like more House Democrats are moving toward impeachment, per a New York Times reporter.

Updated

Biden to address Ukraine controversy

Joe Biden is now expected to make a statement about Trump allegedly pressuring the Ukrainian president to investigate him at 2:30pm ET.

The blog is following news on multiple fronts today. Trump will meet with Boris Johnson in about 20 minutes, and House Democrats will have their caucus meeting this afternoon as impeachment talks intensify.

But with Biden addressing the controversy, the Ukraine controversy is liking to remain the biggest story of the day – particularly with Trump acknowledging he did hold back military aid from the country. However, the president claimed today that he did so because of concerns about European allies not equally contributing.

Updated

Trump concludes UN address

Trump has just wrapped up his speech to the UN General Assembly, which lasted about 37 minutes and covered a wide variety of topics.

The president did not shy away from criticizing foreign adversaries, including China and Iran, and touted his administration’s policies on issues like trade and immigration.

In what will likely be one of the most-quoted lines of the speech, Trump defended his “America First” agenda by saying, “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots.”

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Trump took aim at immigration advocates who have criticized his administration’s policies, including family separations at the southern border, as cruel.

The moderator of Face the Nation noted how much Trump’s tone has shifted in his UN addresses:

And a Washington Post reporter highlighted how the president has few foreign-policy achievements to tout nearly three years into his term:

Updated

Trump threatened to escalate sanctions against Iran if the country continues its “menacing behavior.”

“All nations have a duty to act. No responsible government should subsidize Iran’s blood lust,” Trump said. “As long as Iran’s menacing behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted. They will be tightened.”

US-Iranian tensions have continued to rise since Trump scrapped the nuclear deal crafted by the Obama administration.

Trump expressed support for crafting a new trade deal with the UK as the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, struggles to navigate Brexit.

The UK supreme court ruled today that Johnson’s suspension of parliament, in an attempt to force a no-deal Brexit, was illegal.

But Johnson said this morning he remained committed to leaving the European Union by the end of October.

Trump is extensively criticizing China’s trade practices in his address to the UN General Assembly, accusing the country of gaming the system and stealing intellectual property.

The president showed no signs of backing down on his tariffs, even as US and Chinese negotiators plan to sit down for trade talks again next month.

Trump also warned China to respect the democratic needs of Hong Kong, where demonstrators have launched a series of protests to push back against Chinese control.

Trump boosts isolationism in UN address

Trump is using his speech to the UN General Assembly to promote his “America First” agenda.

“The future does not belong to globalists; the future belongs to patriots,” Trump said. The president’s use of the term “globalist” is striking given complaints that its roots are anti-Semitic.

He said his policies would allow for “national renewal.” “If you want freedom, take pride in your country,” Trump said. “If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty. If you want peace, love your nation.”

Updated

Trump speaks at the UN General Assembly

The president has started speaking at the UN General Assembly, where he is expected to tout his administration’s handling of issues like trade and immigration.

“At the center of our vision for national renewal is an ambitious campaign to reform international trade,” Trump will say, according to excerpts released by the White House.
“For decades, the international trading system has been easily exploited by nations acting in bad faith. As jobs were outsourced, a small handful grew wealthy at the expense of the middle class.”

Trump will say on immigration: “When you undermine border security you are undermining human rights and human dignity.”

Trump slammed calls for his impeachment, which are escalating among House Democrats, as “nonsense.”

“I think it’s ridiculous; it’s a witch hunt,” Trump told reporters at the UN General Assembly when asked about impeachment talks. He claimed Democrats were only pursuing impeachment because they feared they could not beat him in next year’s election.

The president then reiterated his expectation that a transcript of his call with the Ukrainian president would be released, but he was vague on a timeline for that.

Trump specifically called out European allies for not offering more aid to Ukraine while speaking to reporters at the UN in New York.

“I want other countries to put up money. I think it’s unfair that we put up the money,” Trump said when asked why he reportedly instructed his acting chief of staff to hold back the military aid several days before his phone call with the Ukrainian president.

Trump said he “let it go” once he had more conversations with advisers, noting that the $400 million in military aid was released to Ukraine earlier this month. But he singled out some of the United States’ European allies in not pulling their fair weight.

Trump said: “Germany, France, other countries should put up money, and that’s been my complaint from the beginning.”

Trump dismisses concerns about Ukraine call as 'witch hunt'

Taking questions from reporters upon arrival to the UN General Assembly, Trump reiterated that Democrats should be investigating the unfounded corruption claims against Joe Biden and his son.

The president went on to slam House Democrats’ demands to investigate his phone call with the Ukrainian president as a “witch hunt,” a phrase Trump repeatedly invoked to belittle special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Trump claims he held back Ukrainian aid because of allies' lack of assistance

Trump has arrived at the UN General Assembly and told reporters that he held back military aid from Ukraine because he felt allies should contribute more.

“I always ask, why are other allies in Europe not putting up money for Ukraine?” Trump asked.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that he instructed his acting chief of staff to hold back the aid several days before the phone call in which he allegedly pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden.

More bad news for Trump: the president reportedly instructed his acting chief of staff to hold back military aid from Ukraine several days before the phone call in which he allegedly pressured the country’s president to investigate Biden.

The Washington Post reports:

Officials at the Office of Management and Budget relayed Trump’s order to the State Department and the Pentagon during an interagency meeting in mid-July, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. They explained that the president had ‘concerns’ and wanted to analyze whether the money needed to be spent.

Administration officials were instructed to tell lawmakers that the delays were part of an ‘interagency process’ but to give them no additional information — a pattern that continued for nearly two months, until the White House released the funds on the night of Sept. 11.

Trump’s order to withhold aid to Ukraine a week before his July 25 call with Volodymyr Zelensky is likely to raise questions about the motivation for his decision and fuel suspicions on Capitol Hill that Trump sought to leverage congressionally approved aid to damage a political rival.

Seven freshman House Democrats write op-ed expressing openness to impeachment

The latest domino to fall in the impeachment controversy is a Washington Post op-ed written by seven freshman House Democrats, all of whom have national security backgrounds and represent swing districts.

The authors of the piece are Gil Cisneros of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.

They write of reports that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden:

If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense. We do not arrive at this conclusion lightly, and we call on our colleagues in Congress to consider the use of all congressional authorities available to us, including the power of ‘inherent contempt’ and impeachment hearings, to address these new allegations, find the truth and protect our national security. ...

These new allegations are a threat to all we have sworn to protect. We must preserve the checks and balances envisioned by the Founders and restore the trust of the American people in our government. And that is what we intend to do.

It’s worth noting that the op-ed does not explicitly call for immediately launching impeachment proceedings. All the same, the group’s openness to impeachment is an unmistakable shot across the bow from the more centrist wing of the Democratic Party.

Trump and Johnson to meet amid impeachment and Brexit woes

Good morning, live blog readers!

The UN General Assembly continues today in New York, and two of the most powerful and most controversial world leaders are set to meet at 11.15am ET: Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.

The meeting between the pair comes as each faces potentially career-ending controversies back home. More Democrats are coming out in favor of launching impeachment proceedings against Trump, and the UK supreme court has just ruled that Johnson’s suspension of parliament to try to force a no-deal Brexit was illegal.

Owen Bowcott and Severin Carrell have more on that latter development:

The judgment from 11 justices on the UK’s highest court follows an emergency three-day hearing last week that exposed fundamental legal differences over interpreting the country’s unwritten constitution. ...

[The president of the supreme court] said: ‘This court has … concluded that the prime minister’s advice to Her Majesty [ to suspend parliament] was unlawful, void and of no effect. This means that the order in council to which it led was also unlawful, void and of no effect should be quashed.’

Johnson said this morning that, while he did “strongly disagree” with the verdict, he would “respect the judicial process”. The prime minister also restated his commitment to Britain leaving the European Union by the end of October.

Trump and Johnson will almost certainly be asked about their respective controversies when they sit down this morning, and the blog will cover that meeting live, so stay tuned.

Nancy Pelosi attends the funeral of Cokie Roberts in Washington.
Nancy Pelosi attends the funeral of Cokie Roberts in Washington. Photograph: Heidi Gutman/ABC via Getty Images

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

  • Trump will deliver remarks at the UN at 10.15am ET and meet with other world leaders, including India’s Narendra Modi.
  • Nancy Pelosi will speak at the Atlantic Festival, where she will likely be asked about the latest members of her caucus to come out in favor of impeachment.
  • Two of Trump’s primary challengers, Joe Walsh and Bill Weld, will attend a debate in New York tonight. (Mark Sanford declined the invitation to campaign in Iowa.)

That’s all still coming up.

Updated

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