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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Vivian Ho in San Francisco (now) and Ben Jacobs in Washington (earlier)

Republicans and Democrats meet to avoid new government shutdown – as it happened

Trump at the White House last week.
Trump at the White House last week. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Evening summary

Thanks for sticking with us today. The East Coast team will have you bright and early tomorrow!

  • Russians leaked evidence gathered by Robert Mueller, prosecutors say, in an effort to discredit his investigation into Moscow’s interference in US politics.
  • New Jersey Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman invited an undocumented immigrant who had spoken out about the abusive conditions she endured while working for the Trump Organization to be her guest at the president’s State of the Union address next week.
  • Three Democratic congressmen urged the Pentagon to revise a report on climate change, saying it omitted required items and “failed to meet basic requirements.”

God wanted Donald Trump to be president, according to Sarah Sanders.

CNN is reporting that Sanders told the Christian Broadcasting Network that “God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and that’s why he’s there.”

Earlier this month, former Ohio Governor John Kasich refused to sit in a “less desirable seat” and instead took comedian Julie Klausner’s seat on a flight from New York to San Francisco.

Today, Klausner took her sweet revenge on the Republican and staunch abortion opponent by raising thousands of dollars for Planned Parenthood.

Klausner clearly had fun with the trolls, of which there were many, because, you know, Twitter.

She also had some sweet moments in which people shared their experiences, and expressed support for her efforts and Planned Parenthood.

Klausner ended up donating $2,774 of her own money, and $1,117 from donations through a GoFundMe.

Trump administration claims of progress in talks with the Taliban have sparked fears that his impatience with the war in Afghanistan will lead him to withdraw troops too soon, the Associated Press is reporting, leaving the country at risk of returning to the same volatile condition that prompted the invasion in the first place.

Discussions between a U.S. envoy and the Taliban are advancing weeks after the administration said it wanted to begin drawing down troops in Afghanistan. That has prompted some critics to note that President Donald Trump is telegraphing a withdrawal the same thing he accused President Barack Obama of doing by saying he wanted to end the American combat mission in 2014.

“It’s an effort to put lipstick on what will be a U.S. withdrawal,” said Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador to Kabul under Obama.

A negotiated settlement to America’s longest war poses a dilemma for Trump. He has often declared he wants to end lengthy overseas military entanglements, something he made clear in December by declaring the Islamic State group defeated in Syria and announcing he was pulling 2,000 American troops from that country over the objections of his top foreign policy advisers.

The stakes are higher in Afghanistan, a conflict that has cost 2,400 American lives and hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars. The U.S. invaded the country to oust the Taliban and al-Qaida in October 2001 in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the CIA director warned as recently as Tuesday that Afghanistan could once again become a terrorist haven.

An undocumented immigrant who had spoken out about the abusive conditions she endured while working for the Trump Organization has been invited to the president’s State of the Union address, the Associated Press is reporting.

A spokeswoman for New Jersey Democratic congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman confirmed Wednesday that her guest will be Victorina Morales, who was born in Guatemala.

Morales has spoken out about the Trump Organization’s hiring practices. The Trump Organization said Wednesday that it will use the E-Verify electronic system at all its properties to check employees’ documentation.

Trump has repeatedly cast millions of immigrants in the country illegally as taking jobs from American citizens. He turned over day-to-day management of his business to sons Eric and Donald Jr. when he took office.

The US Department of Energy has already shipped weapons-grade plutonium from South Carolina to a nuclear security site in Nevada, despite the state’s protests, the Associated Press is reporting.

The Justice Department notified a federal judge in Reno that the government trucked in half of the radioactive material that it intends to store at the site 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Las Vegas. Nevada had filed a request for an injunction to block the move in November.

Department lawyers said in a nine-page filing that the previously classified information about the shipment from South Carolina can be disclosed now because enough time has passed to protect national security. They didn’t specify when the one-half metric ton of plutonium was transferred.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said he’s “beyond outraged by this completely unacceptable deception.” He said he’s working with Nevada’s congressional delegation to fight back against the U.S. government’s “reckless disregard” for the safety of Nevadans.

New charges and arrests are possible in the prosecution of a US Treasury Department employee accused of giving a BuzzFeed journalist confidential banking reports related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, the Associated Press is reporting.

Treasury worker Natalie Edwards is awaiting trial on charges that she gave a BuzzFeed journalist reports about wire transfers made by Paul Manafort and other suspects in Mueller’s investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ravener told a New York judge during a hearing Wednesday that prosecutors will know within two to three months whether additional charges will be filed.

She provided no other details as to who else might be under scrutiny.

Edwards’ lawyer, Jacob Kaplan, says his client is being prosecuted for “doing the right thing.”

Three Democratic congressmen are urging the Pentagon to revise a report on climate change, saying it omitted required items and “failed to meet basic requirements,” Reuters is reporting.

The Pentagon’s report, released on Jan. 10, said climate change was a national security issue and listed 79 domestic military installations at risk from floods, drought, encroaching deserts, wildfires and, in Alaska, thawing permafrost.

But the report, required by a defense policy law signed by President Donald Trump in 2017, did not include the top 10 list, and details of specific mitigation measures to make bases more resilient to climate change, including the costs. It also failed to list any Marine Corps bases or installations overseas.

U.S. Representative Adam Smith, the chairman of the House committee, said the Trump administration’s report was inadequate. “It demonstrates a continued unwillingness to seriously recognize and address the threat that climate change poses to our national security and military readiness,” Smith said in a release.

Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the science of climate change, arguing that the causes and impacts are not yet settled. As a temporary blast of frigid cold hit the Midwest this week he said on Twitter “What the Hell is going on with Global Wa(r)ming. Please come back fast, we need you!”

The letter, addressed to Acting Defense Department Secretary Patrick Shanahan and a copy of which was seen by Reuters, called the report “deeply disappointing.” It requested a revised report by April 1.

The report said major installations including Florida’s MacDill Air Force Base, Virginia’s Norfolk Naval Station, and California’s Coronado Naval Base, face risks from flooding currently and in the future. In all, 53 installations already face flooding, it said.

Updated

A federal judge is refusing to unseal criminal charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange that were mistakenly revealed in another case, the Associated Press is reporting.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that free-press advocates seeking to unseal the charges have no proof Assange has actually been charged.

The Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press sought to unseal the charges after a federal prosecutor inadvertently typed a reference to “the fact that Assange has been charged” in an unrelated case.

The government has acknowledged it made an error but has not publicly confirmed that charges against Assange have been filed.

After the mistake was made, news outlets including The Associated Press reported Assange is indeed facing unspecified charges under seal. But those reports relied on anonymous sources.

Russians leaked Mueller investigation evidence online, prosecutors say

The Guardian’s Jon Swaine is reporting that “more than 1,000 files shared confidentially appeared to have been uploaded to a filesharing site.”

Evidence gathered by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, was obtained by Russians and leaked online in an attempt to discredit his inquiry into Moscow’s interference in US politics, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

A court filing by Mueller’s office said more than 1,000 files that it shared confidentially with attorneys for indicted Russian hackers later appeared to have been uploaded to a filesharing site and promoted by a Twitter account.

“We’ve got access to the Special Counsel Mueller’s probe database as we hacked Russian server with info from the Russian troll case,” a tweet from the account said. “You can view all the files Mueller had about the IRA and Russian collusion. Enjoy the reading!”

Read the full story here.

Hey all, Vivian Ho on the West Coast, taking over for Ben Jacobs. Thanks for tuning in.

Summary

  • The first meeting of the conference committee that is trying to reach a longterm Homeland Security funding agreement and avoid another government shutdown was held today
  • President Donald Trump talked on the phone to Juan Guaido, the interim President of Venezuela.
  • Lindsey Graham has raised concerns about the FBI’s tactics in its arrest of Roger Stone last week.

Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma’s new elected Republican governor, has signaled that he is open to expanding Medicaid in the Sooner State.

Fourteen states have yet to expand Medicaid under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Stitt, a conservative, said he would be opposed to doing so on the campaign trail but took a different tack speaking to reporters today with Republican leaders in the Oklahoma state legislature.

Lindsey Graham, the new chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has put out a statement asking the FBI for more information about the arrest of Roger Stone and raising questions about the Bureau’s tactics.

The pending government funding deadline has forced House Democrats to delay their annual retreat.

Politico reports:

Their annual gathering — the first in nearly a decade with House Democrats in the majority — is just the latest casualty of a funding stalemate that threatens to shutter government operations again in a few weeks.

The retreat was set to take place in Leesburg, Va., on Feb. 13-15. But the three-week funding bill, which Congress cleared last week ending the longest shutdown in government history, expires on Feb. 15.

“As you know, the conference committee has begun negotiations to keep the federal government funded beyond February 15,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to colleagues Wednesday. “Given the critical importance of these efforts, we have decided to postpone our issues conference until a later date.”

Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, who refused to support Trump in 2016, says he’ll support the President’s re-election in 2020.

Gardner, a first term senator, is one of two Republicans facing re-election in 2020 in a state that Hillary Clinton won. The other is Susan Collins of Maine.

The first meeting of the conference committee for a longterm plan to fund border security and fund the government has ended after an hour. Government funding runs out on February 15.

California Congressman Eric Swalwell says that he is close to a decision on a potential presidential bid. The Democrat is going to New Hampshire tomorrow.

Someone apparently tried to disrupt a motorcade just now, leaving two people injured including one Secret Service officer.

Updated

Shutdown committee meets

The 17-member conference committee trying to avoid another government shutdown has begun meeting in the Capitol.

Nita Lowey, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said at the beginning of the meeting: “We can all agree that we must do everything we can to prevent another unnecessary and destructive government shutdown.”

Updated

As Texas is trending more purple, David Drucker at the Washington Examiner notes that it is not because of the state’s growing Hispanic population but revulsion for Trump from upscale suburban whites.

“It’s the suburbs,” Robin Armstrong, who represents Texas on the Republican National Committee, acknowledged in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “That’s basically the woman’s vote. We need to make sure that we’re engaging females and letting them know that we’re addressing their values and concerns.”

In 2018, Hispanic turnout in Texas rose by about 73 percent from 2014, according to a post-election review issued by Latino Victory Fund. But, as revealed by figures compiled by the Texas secretary of state, voter turnout overall increase a bit more, by about 77 percent. That would suggest the growing strength of Democrats in the state is not due to the rising Hispanic population.

GOP political strategists in Texas, who keep close tabs on the electorate, say it is the significant shifts detected among whites that explain Republican leaders’ anxiety about 2020.

Politico has a deep dive into Trump’s repeated Twitter insults of Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

Several senators, including the Connecticut senator himself, said they were at a loss as to why the president would respond to Blumenthal in such a fashion, even given Blumenthal’s long-running animus toward the Trump administration.

“You’ll have to ask him. My only comment is ‘there he goes again,’ really too ludicrous to merit a response,” Blumenthal said in an interview.

Trump’s beef against Blumenthal has many parts. There is his military service. But Blumenthal’s in-laws and Trump share a tangled web, a family feud that goes back decades into the New York real estate scene and has accelerated the president’s attacks on Blumenthal.

The senator has admitted in the past he misstated serving in Vietnam, though he served in the Marine Corps Reserve during the war.

“Trump gets a bad rap for not serving in the military,” said a former senior White House official, so when he realized Blumenthal had his own issue, the president “seized” on it.

But Blumenthal’s in-laws and Trump go way back in New York real estate circles. Trump and Blumenthal’s father-in-law, Peter Malkin, were competitors in the Manhattan real estate market and eventually clashed over a deal involving control of the iconic Empire State Building.


Venezuela summary

  • Donald Trump spoke with Venezuela’s self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaidó, today.
  • Trump also warned American citizens not to travel to the country.
  • A representative of Guaidó met with US officials earlier today about ensuring that Venezuelan government assets in the United States would be stripped from the control of the Maduro regime.

Updated

Reuters reports that Carlos Vecchio, a representative of self-proclaimed interim Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó, has met with US officials about taking control of Venezuelan assets in the United States which are currently under control of the Maduro regime.

There are reports that Maduro is trying to ship government gold out of Venezuela overseas in a Russian plane and the national security adviser, John Bolton, has issued a strong warning seeking to deal with Maduro as the regime sells off commodities.

Updated

Although Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti bowed out of the 2020 presidential race, there are still a number of mayors considering a bid. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is running as is former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. Bill de Blasio is also considering a run.

Todd Purdum at the Atlantic has a fascinating look back at the 1972 race which was the last Democratic primary to feature multiple mayors.

As the first meeting of the conference committee on Homeland Security funding meets today on Capitol Hill, Breitbart is touting a poll that says 43% of Trump voters will desert him if a border wall is not built.

Any funding for any kind of structure will allow Trump to claim he kept his central campaign promise. And although Democrats and the media know we need physical structures to protect our border, what is more important to both groups is preventing Trump from keeping that promise. They believe, and not without cause, that the fastest way to defeat Trump in 2020 is to destroy his base of support.

Granted, we are a long way off from the 2020 presidential campaign — about 22 months and a thousand news cycles away. A lot can happen between now and then. Meaning, if Trump does not get the wall built, there are plenty of ways for him to rebuild his base of support.

But “Build the Wall” is Trump’s “Read My Lips: No New Taxes” pledge. If Trump is unable to keep this promise, the same Democrats and media who worked tirelessly to ensure the wall was not built will gleefully turn around and taunt him for not keeping the promise his entire campaign was built on.

The Seattle Times has dug into Howard Schultz’s voting record and it’s remarkably poor. Although Schultz has voted in every presidential race, he has missed a number of midterm elections as well as key state and local elections. By their metric, his voting record is significantly worse than another notable rich political neophyte who decided to run for the White House, Donald Trump

There is competition in the 2020 Democratic primary for voters in all wings of the party.

The AP reports:

A Gallup survey this month found that 51 percent of Democrats identify as liberal — the highest percentage on record. But last month, Gallup found that 54 percent of Democrats want their party to be more moderate, while 41 percent want it to move left.

Mark Mellman, a veteran Democratic pollster, said a more pragmatic primary bid wasn’t a bad idea. “There’s no question the greater energy is on the left in the party,” Mellman said. “But if there are 20 people fighting over the left and you’re fighting over the center, the person fighting over the center can win.”

That’s what [former Colorado governor John] Hickenlooper is betting on. During his brief Iowa swing, he tried to sidestep ideological debates and described himself as a progressive who gets things done. He recounted how, as Denver mayor, he led a coalition of Democratic and Republican mayors of surrounding suburbs to support a sales tax increase to fund an expansion of regional light rail. As governor, he hammered out the nation’s first limits on methane emissions from energy exploration during tough negotiations between environmentalists and oil and gas firms.

Kamala Harris has picked up two more endorsements from members of the California congressional delegation from Katie Hill and Nanette Barragan

The two join fellow California Democrat Ted Lieu in backing Harris. Only two other members of Congress have endorsed in the 2020 presidential primary so far. Joaquin Castro is supporting his brother Julian’s candidacy and David Trone of Maryland is supporting John Delaney.

After being dropped from the ticket, Jenean Hampton, the outgoing Republican lieutenant governor of Kentucky doesn’t seem to be happy with her erstwhile running mate, Matt Bevin. Bevin faces re-election in November.

Trump speaks to Guaidó

Trump spoke to Venezuela’s interim president Juan Guaidó earlier today.

Updated

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is now hitting the speaking circuit but at a high price.

Defenders of Trump’s immigration policy claiming hypocrisy on the left when Trump critics surround their houses with walls or fences.

In a video series featured last night on Fox News, the Daily Caller’s Benny Johnson goes to Los Angeles to point out that some celebrities who oppose a wall across the entire Mexican border have walls around their houses.

President Donald Trump has been active on Twitter this morning. In addition to giving a travel advisory that Americans should not go to Venezuela,

he has also weighed in on congressional negotiations about funding the government and border security.

Trump tells Americans not to travel to Venezuela

Good morning.

The congressional conference committee negotiating to avoid another second government shutdown has its first meeting today, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown will take another step towards a presidential bid with a “Dignity of Work” event tonight in Ohio and Donald Trump has warned Americans not to travel to Venezuela until further notice.

It’s Wednesday in American politics.

Updated

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