Trump impeachment inquiry: parties divided as more hearings loom – live – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

Former presidentBill Clintoncalled into CNN to offer his thoughts on the school shooting in California and the House impeachment inquiry againstTrump.

Clinton, the last president to sign major gun-control legislation, accused Republicans of burying their hands in the sand on the issue. “But at some point, denial is no longer an option,” Clinton said. “The Congress is basically in denial of the consequences of doing nothing, or at least the people who are opposed to it.”

On the question of the inquiry, Clinton, who was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate, encouraged Trump to focus on governing. “You got hired to do a job,” Clinton said. “Every day’s an opportunity to make something good happen.”

Matt Bevin, the Republican governor of Kentucky who narrowly lost his reelection race last week, has finally conceded to DemocratAndy Beshear.

Final results showed that Bevin, the most unpopular governor in the country, lost to Beshear by just 5, 000 votes or 0.4 percent. Bevin announced in a press conference today that he would not contest those results.

Trumpcampaigned for Bevin in Kentucky , a state the president won by 30 points in 2016, but the visit was not enough to help the unpopular governor win another term in the deeply conservative state.

Democratic presidential candidatePete Buttigieghas launched his first statewide radio ad in South Carolina, part of a $ 2 million media investment in the early voting state.

“This country cannot afford four more years ofDonald Trump,”the Indiana mayor says in the ad. “We know that he is going to do everything he can to hold onto power. But if you nominate me, his playbook isn’t going to work this time around. ”

Buttigieg has surged in the largely white states of Iowa and New Hampshire, but he has struggled to break through in South Carolina, which has a much larger African-American electorate.

A recent (Monmouth University pollput Buttigieg’s support in South Carolina at just 3 percent, with only 1 percent of African-American voters saying they back his White House bid.

Mitt Romneywas asked by a Capitol Hill reporter for his thoughts onDeval Patrick, another former Massachusetts governor, entering the Democratic presidential primary.

The Utah senator responded with a self-deprecating joke about his own failed presidential bid. “Delusion runs deep in the veins of Massachusetts politicians thinking of running for president,” Romney said.

Democratic presidential candidates offered their prayers and condolences to the families affected by the mass shooting in southern California, while also demanding legislative action to curb gun violence.

Kamala Harris, who serves as California’s junior senator, said the shooting was evidence of how communities are being “terrorized” by gun violence.

Other 2020 Democrats expressed dismay at children fear their schools as gun-control legislation passed by the House languishes in the Senate.

During her weekly press conference,Nancy Pelosiaccused the president of bribery and appeared to also insult his intelligence.

The House speaker was arguingTrumpcould defend himself in the impeachment inquiry by presenting evidence that contradicts the allegationsDemocratshave laid out.

“If the president has something that is exculpatory – Mr. President, that means you have anything that shows your innocence – then he should make that known, ”Pelosi said, looking directly at the camera in the briefing room. “So far we haven’t see that.”

In an interview with the Guardian, Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, said he thoughtTrumpwould remain loyal to him but joked he had “insurance” in case he didn’t.

The Guardian’s Stephanie KirchgaessnerReports:

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In a telephone interview with the Guardian, in response to a question about whether he was nervous thatTrump might ‘throw him under a bus’ in the impeachment crisis, Giuliani said with a slight laugh:’ I’m not, but I do have very , very good insurance, so if he does, all my hospital bills will be paid. ‘

Giuliani’s lawyer, Mark Costello, who was also on the call then interjected: ‘He’s joking.’

Whether it was a joke, or a veiled threat, Giuliani has emerged as a key player in the impeachment proceedings, which center on the question of whether the president sought to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rival ,Joe Biden.

Here’s where the day stands:

• A shooter opened fire on a high school in southern California, reportedly killing at least one person. The tragedy comes as the White House has failed to put forth its promised proposals to curb gun violence.
• Nancy PelosiaccusedTrumpof bribery in the wake of yesterday’s public impeachment hearing, saying the president dangled military assistance to Ukraine to pressure officials into investigatingJoe Biden.
• A second staffer at the US embassy in Kyiv reportedly overheard Trump askingGordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, about “the investigations ”In Ukraine.

The blog will have much more coming up, so stay tuned.

Lloyd Blankfein, the senior chairman of Goldman Sachs who served as the investment bank’s CEO until last year, criticizedElizabeth Warrenafter the Democratic presidential candidate released an ad slamming billionaires.

The ad features four billionaires who have criticized Warren’s proposals , including her plan to impose a wealth tax. The video specifically mentions the money Blankfein made during the Great Recession.

“Vilification of people as a member of a group may be good for her campaign, not the country, ”Blankfein said in response to the ad. “Maybe tribalism is just in her DNA,” he added, apparently referencing Warren’s past claims of Native American ancestry.

The campaign manager ofTrump’sreelection bid said the president raised more than $ 3 million in the 24 hours after the start of the first public impeachment hearing.

Trupm’s reelection campaign sent out fundraising requests to supporters yesterday , seeking to capitalize on the widely publicized hearing.

The president’s campaign has previously bragged about raising money off the inquiry, but Democrats have also seenfundraising bumpsfrom the investigation.

A second staffer from the US embassy in Ukraine reportedly overheardTrump‘s July phone call withGordon Sondland, in which the president asked the US ambassador to the EU about “the investigations” inUkraine.

The APreports:

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The July 26 call between Trump and Gordon Sondland was first described during testimony Wednesday byWilliam B Taylor Jr., the acting US ambassador to Ukraine. Taylor said one of his staffers overhead the call while Sondland was in a restaurant the day after Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President (Volodymyr Zelenskiythat triggered the House impeachment inquiry.

The second diplomatic staffer also at the table wasSuriya Jayanti, a foreign service officer based in Kyiv. A person briefed on what Jayanti overheard spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter currently under investigation.

According to a number of reports, the first staffer Taylor identified as overhearing the call isDavid Holmes, who is scheduled to speak to impeachment investigators behind closed doors tomorrow.

Trumppromised after the August mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that his administration would propose policies to curb gun violence.

However, the president has yet to release any gun-control proposals, and he has reportedly abandoned the plan in recent weeks.

The Washington Postreportedearlier this month:

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Trump has been counseled by political advisers, including campaign managerBrad Parscaleand acting chief of staffMick Mulvaney, that gun legislation could splinter his political coalition, which he needs to stick together for his reelection bid, especially amid an impeachment battle.

The president no longer asks about the issue, and aides from the Domestic Policy Council, once working on a plan with eight to 12 tenets, have moved on to other topics, according to aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private deliberations.

A nearby hospital said it had received two patients in critical condition from the shooting at a high school near Los Angeles, with three more victims en route.

The White House saidTrumpis monitoring updates from the shooting. “The President is monitoring the ongoing reports of a school shooting in Santa Clarita, CA,” the White House said in a statement. “The White House encourages all those in the area to follow the advice of local law enforcement and first responders.”

The shooting took place in California’s 25 th congressional district, which is currently lacking a House representative following the resignation ofKatie Hill.

At least three victims have been reported from a shooting at a high school near Los Angeles, and the attacker has reportedly not yet been arrested.

NBC Los Angelesreports:

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There are at least three victims in a shooting Thursday morning at a high school in Santa Clarita, where the search continues for the shooter.

Police and firefighters responded to Saugus High School, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Initial reports from the Los Angeles County Fire Department indicated there were seven victims. That figure was later revised to three victims.

Details about the victims’ conditions were not immediately available. Some of the victims are students.

‘We have multiple victims down,’ said Sgt. Bob Boese of the LA County Sheriff’s Department. ‘Our deputies are doing a systematic search of the campus, trying to locate the suspect.’

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.

Nancy Pelosiaccused (Trump) of attempting to bribe (Ukraine) to 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. ”