Pelosi: Trump’s actions make Nixon’s cover-up ‘look almost small’
Nancy Pelosisaid the alleged actions ofTrumpin theUkrainecontroversy are more alarming than those of former presidentRichard Nixon, who resigned over the Watergate scandal.
“The cover-up makes what Nixon did look almost small,” the House speaker said of the president’s actions. “Almost small.”
Nixon attempted to cover up the fact that five men connected to his reelection campaign broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Democrats are accusing the Trump White House of trying to conceal the details of the president’s Ukraine call by unnecessarily placing it in a highly secure server.
Pelosi accuses Trump of bribery in Ukraine controversy
Nancy Pelosiaccused (Trump) of attempting to bribeUkraineto harm the electoral fortunes of one of his political rivals,Joe Biden.
In recent days,Democratshave moved away from the language of “quid pro quo” and toward the term “bribery” to describe the alleged efforts by the president’s team to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation into Biden and the 2016 election.
“I am saying what the president has admitted to and said it’s perfect, I say it’s perfectly wrong,” Pelosi asserted. “It’s bribery.”
Asked to define the bribery in this instance, the House speaker said, “The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into the elections. That’s bribery. ”
Pelosi says first public impeachment hearing was ‘very somber, prayerful day’
House speakerNancy Pelosiis now addressing reporters at her weekly press conference and offering some thoughts on the first public hearing in the impeachment hearing.
The California Democrats said the hearing marked a “very somber, prayerful day.” “The devastating testimony corroborated evidence of bribery,” Pelosi said.
“We go forward sadly, prayerfully, with a heavy heart because it’s not what we came here to do,” Pelosi said. “But we must.”
Don McGahn,Trump‘s former White House counsel who has refused to testify in congressional investigations, was spotted on Capitol Hill this morning.
Henry Rodgers(@ henryrodgersdc)
Spotted in the Capitol: former White House counsel Don McGahn.
The White House has argued McGahn and other former officials cannot be compelled to testify because of executive privilege, but a federal judgeexpressedskepticism of that argument late last month.
House Democrats call for Miller’s resignation after Breitbart emails revealed
A number of senior HouseDemocratsare calling for the resignation ofStephen Miller, a top adviser toTrump, afterthe uncoveringof 2015 and 2016 emails in which Miller peddled material drawn from white nationalists to a writer at the far-right website Breitbart.
The leaders of the congressional progressive caucus, the congressional black caucus, the congressional Hispanic caucus and the congressional Asian Pacific American caucus issued a joint statement demanding that Miller resign.
“We feel like it is up to us to point out the obvious – someone who writes, talks, and governs like a white nationalist is in fact a white nationalist,” the statement says.
“Stephen Miller is a white nationalist and he has no business serving in the White House. … As leaders in the Democratic Caucus, representing diverse constituencies who have been targeted by Stephen Miller’s hateful beliefs, we call for his resignation without delay. ”
Louise Linton, who is married to treasury secretarySteven Mnuchin, has just shared an Instagram post criticizing theTrump administration‘s stance on big-game hunting.
Yashar Ali 🐘(@ yashar)
Louise Linton, who is married to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, is slamming the Trump administration for allowing a Florida man to import a lion trophy from Tanzaniapic .twitter.com / YuTJ3ZqwCn
(November) , 2019
Linton was reacting tothe storyof a lion trophy from Tanzania that was approved for import to the United States. “Americans should not be permitted to kill exotic animals for fun !!” Linton wrote in her Instagram caption.
She went on to encourage her followers to contact their members of Congress about the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies (CECIL) Act, which would ban such imports.
The Trump administration has (previously said) it would make decisions on big-game trophies on a “case-by-case” basis after the president split with his interior department on the issue.
One lingering question overDeval Patrick‘s expected campaign announcement was how he would find experienced staffers to advise his White House bid, given that his opponents have already grabbed many of the most well-known names in Democratic politics.
Patrick has at least partially answered that question by employing the former traveling press secretary toBeto O’Rourke, who ended his bid earlier this month, as his campaign manager.
Abe Rakov(@ AbeRakov)
.@ DevalPatrickhas lived the American Dream, and he’s the best candidate to make sure that possibility is in reach for everyone. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to manage his campaign for president.# Deval4Allhttps: //t.co/2JejHsEBOv
(November) , 2019
It’s become a popular take in Washington that “real” Americans do not care about the impeachment inquiry. However, front pages across the country today are carrying headlines about the inquiry’s first public hearing.
Michael Calderone(@ mlcalderone)
Impeachment hearing led many (but certainly not all) newspaper front pages around the country, with headlines focused on diplomats’ testimony, new evidencepic.twitter.com/pnlABUfbnP
One ofDeval Patrick‘s fellow Massachusetts Democrats,Elizabeth Warren, said earlier this week that the former governor’s expected entry into the race would not complicate her own White House bid.
“I’m out there talking to people every single day about an America that works great for those at the top, but just isn’t working for most everybody else,” Warren (told) the NPR affiliate WBUR.
“And whenever I do that, there are lots of folks who start to nod. And it’s not just Democrats. It’s Democrats, independents and Republicans who get it. ”
Patrick is hoping Democratic primary voters are dissatisfied with their options, but it’s possible that feeling may be exclusive to pundits and well-funded donors.
Patrick formally enters 2020 race
In a video announcing his late entry, Patrick said, “I admire and respect the candidates in the Democratic field. … But if the character of the candidates is an issue in every election, this time it’s about the character of the country. ”
Deval Patrick(@ DevalPatrick)
In a spirit of profound gratitude for all the country has given to me, with a determination to build a better, more sustainable, more inclusive American Dream for everyone:
I am today announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.https: // t .co / hObdLNiFMJpic.twitter.com/fGmI0qxkxS
(November) , 2019
Patrick will face a number of hurdles in trying to seize the Democratic nomination. For one thing, his opponents have had months to build support that he will now have to try to chip away at. And he does not have the personal fortune of billionaireMichael Bloomberg, another late-entry candidate, to bankroll his campaign.
Patrick’s resume also has some spots that he will likely be pressed on. After leaving the governor’s mansion, he spent time working forBain Capital, the private investment firm founded by former Republican presidential nomineeMitt Romney.
But perhaps the most baffling question about Patrick’s candidacy is one of strategy. Patrick, who served as the first black governor of Massachusetts, is expected to focus his efforts on the early voting state of South Carolina, which has a large African-American electorate. But that was almost the exact same strategy initially pursued by senatorKamala Harris, and her campaign is now closing offices amid declining polling and fundraising numbers.
Given Patrick’s lower name recognition now that he has been out of office for several years, the question becomes: why would he succeed where she failed?
Trumpwas weighing in on the first public impeachment hearing this morning, applauding one of his congressional allies for pressingBill TaylorandGeorge Kenton what the “impeachable” element was in the president’s communications withUkraine.
Donald J. Trump(@ realDonaldTrump)
.@ RepRatcliffeasked the two “star” witnesses, “where is the impeachable event in that call?” Both stared straight ahead with a blank look on their face, remained silent, & were unable to answer the question. That would be the end of a case run by normal people! – but not Shifty!
(November) , 2019
However, Taylor and Kent repeatedly emphasized that they were not there to make a case for impeachment. They said they considered themselves “fact witnesses” and were there to testify to the events they saw, while the ultimate question of impeachment would be left up to lawmakers.
Despite that, Republicans on the House intelligence committee were eager to paint the two longtime public servants as Democratic pawns who were only there to unfairly smear the president.
Washington squabbles over impeachment as more hearings loom
Good morning, live blog readers!
We are right in between the first and second public hearings of the House impeachment inquiry againstDonald Trump, andDemocratsandRepublicansare already telling two very different stories about what happened yesterday.
To Democrats, the testimony ofBill TaylorandGeorge Kentmore directly tied the president to efforts to pressureUkraineto investigate one of his political rivals, Joe Biden.
To Republicans, the hearing was a waste of time and taxpayer dollars to hear from two diplomats who never spoke to Trump and did not hear his call with the Ukrainian president. One of Trump’s advisers,Kellyanne Conway,was making the rounds on television this morning to make the argument that Taylor and Kent were like “a bunch of gossip girls”.
Aaron Rupar(@ atrupar)
On Fox & Friends, Kellyanne Conway dismisses the impeachment hearing as boring (“you tune in, you’re either sound asleep or you can’t follow”) and compares Kent and Taylor to “a bunch of gossip girls.”pic.twitter.com/SEG7YV7Z90
(November) , 2019
Democrats and Republicans will likely dig their heels in more as additional hearings are held, but tomorrow’s testimony from former US ambassador to UkraineMaria Yovanovitchcould help shape the opinion of the American public, which matters far more.
Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on:
- Trumpwill meet with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at 2pm ET before traveling to Louisiana for a campaign rally.
- Jury deliberations will begin in the trial ofRoger Stone, a former Trump associate.
- House speakerNancy Pelosiwill hold a press conference at 10. ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** (am ET.)
That’s all still coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
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