A US district judge has orderedDonald Trump‘s former White House counselDon McGahnto comply with a subpoena issued by House Democrats – originally in response to theMueller report– that could see him testify to theimpeachment inquiry.
In her ruling, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson asserted that “presidents are not kings” and ruled that Mr McGahn – whom the president pressured to deny that he wanted to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, according to the report – must appear before Congress.
Louisiana senatorJohn Kennedy, a key ally of President Trump, has admitted he was wrong to push a debunkedconspiracy theorythat it wasUkraine, notRussia, who hacked aDemocratic National Committeeserver in 2016.
Download the new Indpendent Premium app
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump was met with a chorus of boos from a crowd of young people at an opioid awareness event in Baltimore, hours before she joined the president outside the White House for the president’s annual turkey “pardoning” ahead of Thanksgiving. Bread and Butter were both spared, but not before Mr Trump swiped at Congressional Democrats, Adam Schiff and members of the press.
In other news, Mr Trump has reportedly appointed his son-in-lawJared Kushner, already tasked with bringing peace to the Middle East, to oversee the construction of hisUS-Mexico border wall, as the row over his decision to absolve Navy SEALEddie Gallagherof war crimes rumbles on.
Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
The president is on his way to Mar-a-Lago ahead of a “homecoming” rally in Sunrise, Florida.
It’s his third rally in Florida this year and his 19 th rally in 2019.
Melania Trump, meanwhile, issued a statement following her appearance in Baltimore, which the president has previously called a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live”:
Congress reports ‘unlawful’ behavior at White House budget office over Ukraine aid
The House Budget Committee reports that the White House’s Office of Management and Budget engaged in a “pattern of abuse” by withholding aid to Ukraine.
In a summary of documents it obtained from the White House budget office, the committee assembled a timeline that details a plan to withhold aid days before a phone call between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that’s at the heart of the impeachment probe.
The same day of the call, an official within OMB signed off on formally withholding $ 250 million in Pentagon funds for Ukraine. Those funds were not released until 12 September.
The committee said the OMB’s “unlawful” behavior – including a new political appointee’s retention of a “significant” amount of Ukraine aid until the end of the fiscal year – could spur legislation to prevent the OMB from limiting or delaying congressionally approved aid in the future.
Conan, the dog who supported the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi mission, is female.
But not according to the White House.
Meanwhile, the president has finally lost his long-running legal battle over a wind energy development near his golf resort in Scotland.
His company has to pay Scotland £ 225, 000.
Mr Trump’s company operating the property in Aberdeenshire was embroiled in a three-year-long battle to block an offshore renewable energy plan that Mr Trump said would ruin the view from the green.
The Trump International Golf Club Scotland posted annual losses of more than £ 1m in 2018, the seventh consecutive year it failed to turn a profit, according to reports.
House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler is asking for the president to provide notice whether he’ll appear at his own impeachment hearing no later than 6 pm on 1 December.
He’s also asked for Trump to tell him who his counsel is.
The pardoning has begun.
Butter and Bread, your time is nigh.
Trump invited to his Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing
A date has been set for Donald Trump’s impeachment hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, following two weeks of hearings from US officials with seemingly explosive testimonies that explicitly linked the president to calls for Ukraine’s investigation into Joe Biden and his son in exchange for military aid and a White House
The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a 4 December impeachment hearing to formally hear charges of “high crimes and misdemeanors” while an argument is made for constitutional grounds for the president’s impeachment.
In his letter to the White House, Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler invites the president and his attorneys to the hearing, and Mr Nadler promises a “fair and informative process “.
The Independent‘s Clark Mindock on Melania Trump’s appearance in Baltimore, where shewas met with sustained boosas she stepped onstage and smiled and waved:
The intensity of the boos were an apparent first for Ms Trump, who has largely avoided direct backlash during her husband’s polarising presidency, and reporters who cover her regularly were quick to note on Tuesday that they had never encountered that level of aggravation aimed at the first lady during a solo appearance.
Melania booed in Baltimore
Meanwhile, FLOTUS was met with a chorus of boos from the young crowd at B’More Youth Summit, which promotes awareness of the opioid crisis to students.
The boos didn’t stop when Melania Trump started speaking.
Trump creates task force on missing and murdered Native Americans
The president just signed an executive order that creates a Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, intended to address the spike of violence against Native people in the US.
The task force arrives as Attorney General William Barr plans a rollout of a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative.
From AG Barr:
“American Indian and Alaska Native people suffer from unacceptable and disproportionately high levels of violence, which can have lasting impacts on families and communities. Native American women face particularly high rates of violence, with at least half suffering sexual or intimate-partner violence in their lifetime. Too many of these families have experienced the loss of loved ones who went missing or were murdered. President Trump establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives will enable us to further strengthen the federal, state, and tribal law enforcement response to these continuing problems. ”
AOC accuses Trump of ‘jailing kids and making corruption a cause celebré’
Trump was busy attacking the “Do Nothing Democrats” again over the weekend, claiming the impeachment inquiry is derailing the passage of important legislation through Congress.
Pretty rich given that Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell prides himself on being the “Grim Reaper” of bills but hey ho.
This was AOC’s response to the president.
Tucker Carlson: ‘I’m rooting for Russia’
Fox News dolt Tucker Carlson said this on his show last night, attacking the House impeachment inquiry: “Why do I care what’s going on in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia? And I’m serious – why do I care. And why shouldn’t I root for Russia – which I am”.
Here’s Vincent Wood with more context than this preppy buffoon deserves.
Team Trump running misleading Facebook adverts on impeachment
Trump appears to be running some incredibly misleading Facebook adverts, suggesting House Democrats have already voted in favor of his impeachment in order to whip up fury among his base.
Mike Pompeo: ‘When the time is right, all good things happen’
Speaking at the State Department just now, Mike Pompeo has responded vaguely to Trump’snot entirely convincing linethat he ‘ d love him to testify while continuing to aid the president by pushing Ukraine conspiracy theories.
House Oversight Committee suing Bill Barr, Wilbur Ross over subpoena-dodging
The House Oversight Committee has announced today it is suing attorney general William Barr and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross over their refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas relating to the panel’s investigation into their failed promptot to add a controversial citizenship question to the (census.)
“Since the Supreme Court ruled against them – and the House of Representatives held them in contempt for blocking the committee’s investigation – attorney general Barr and commerce secretary Ross have doubled down on their open defiance of the rule of law and refused to produce even a single additional document in response to our Committee’s bipartisan subp oenas, “said the Oversight Committee’s new chairwoman Carolyn Maloney in a statement.
” President Trump and his aides are not above the law, “Maloney added, Echoingthe sentiment of Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksonyesterday. “They cannot be allowed to disregard and degrade the authority of Congress to fulfill our core Constitutional legislative and oversight responsibilities.”
Video of Trump struggling to hear reporters goes viral
As recounted in Bob Woodward’s bookFear– and elsewhere – White House staff have repeatedly tried to talk Trump out of using Twitter so much but he always pushes back, insisting social media is his “megaphone” to ensure he gets heard.
Maybe he wouldn’t need it so much if he stopped speaking to reporters next to Marine One, where the whirr of helicopters blades frequently drowns out both their questions and his answers.
Here’s Greg Evans for (Indy) on a masterful compilation of Trump shouting “WHAT?” fromThe Daily Show.
Trump says he would ‘actually like’ his allies to testify to the impeachment inquiry
Responding to theMcGahn rulingyesterday, Trump says he actually would be in favor of allies (or former allies) like John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Rick Perry and Mick Mulvaney testifying to the impeachment inquiry but is holding them back because he is “fighting for future Presidents and the Office of President.”
Pretty grandiose, especially as he admits in passing he withheld congressionally-approved military aid on the sly.
That last point ties intoCurb Your Enthusiasmcreator Larry David’ssuperb recent spoofof Trump’s “concern” with corruption in Ukraine inThe New York Times.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings