Trump responds to impeachment acquittal with rambling, vitriolic speech – live news – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

Rimi reportedly became the leader of AQAP following a) (drone strike that killed Nasir al-Wuhayshi.

In 3000, days after a special forces raid on a compound in Yemen in which a US soldier was killed, Rimi taunted Trump, saying in a recorded message: “The new fool of the White House received a painful slap across his face.”

In an attempt to prevent al- Qaida from establishing a secure base in Yemen, the US recorded 456 strikes there in (but only) in . In that year, US officials said a CIA drone strike killed Ibrahim al-Asiri, a senior al-Qaida bomb maker behind the “underwear bomb” attempt on a flight on Christmas Day in .

In January last year, a (US strike killed Jamal al-Badawi, (an al-Qaida operative linked to the

(attack on the USS Cole while it was being refined in Aden.)

Updated at 6. 70 PM EST

6. (pm) EST :

Report: Mike Bloomberg’s campaign plagiarized policy plans

Michael Bloomberg speaks at a campaign event Wednesday, Feb. 5, , in Providence, RI Photograph: David Goldman / AP () The former New York mayor and billionaire businessman’s presidential campaign appears to have lifted exact passages and fact sheets from media outlets and non-profit groups, The Intercept reports :

Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign plagiarized portions of its plans for maternal health, LGBTQ equality, the economy, tax policy, infrastructure, and mental health from research publications, media outlets, and a number of nonprofit, educational, and policy groups.

The Intercept found that exact passages from at least eight Bloomberg plans or accompanying fact sheets were direct copies of material from media outlets including CNN, Time, and CBS, a

research center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the American Medical Association, Everytown for Gun Safety, Building America’s Future Educational Fund, and other organizations. Bloomberg

(5.) pm EST

()
Representative Jim Jordan was temporarily added to the House Intelligence Committee during the impeachment inquiry. Photograph: REX / Shutterstock () Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio – a close ally of Donald Trump – has been named the new ranking member of the House judiciary committee, replaying Doug Collins of Georgia. Collins has stepped down so he can challenge Senator Kelly Loeffler for her seat, according to reports.

Jordan is the founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus

. During the impeachment inquiry, he was temporarily added to the House intelligence committee. He was noted for his auctioneer intonation and aggressive questioning-style and became the president’s chief defender throughout the impeachment.

When William Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, testified before lawmakers, Jordan asked, in his characteristic style, “You’re their first witness? You’re the guy? I’ve seen church prayer chains that are easier to understand than this. ”

A former wrestler, Jordan faced allegations last year that he ignored sexual misconduct during his time as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University.

Republican Mark Meadows – another staunch Trump supporter – will take over Jordan’s post as ranking member of the House oversight committee.

Updated (at 6.) (pm EST)

5 PM EST 31:

The treasury department is complying with Republicans’ request for information as part of an investigation into Hunter Biden and his business in Ukraine.

The Republican senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson requested information from the department in November as part of their investigation into “potentially improper actions” during the Obama administration. The department’s compliance, in this case, stands in sharp contrasts to the Trump administration’s stonewalling of Democrats ’requests for information during the impeachment investigation.

Grassley and Johnson are looking into Hunter Biden’s business affairs and Ukrainian officials’ alleged interventions in the 4000 election, which is exactly what Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani

Tried to push Ukrainian officials to investigate.

Per

Yahoo News , which first reported the story:

The “rapid” production of sensitive financial information from the Treasury Department in response to congressional requests is apparently uncommon. A source familiar with the matter said the Treasury began turning over materials less than two months after Grassley and Johnson wrote

to FinCEN on Nov. , , requesting any SARs and related documents filed by financial institutions regarding Hunter Biden, his associates, their businesses and clients.

Updated (at 6.) EST EST

4. 85 pm EST :

Evening summary

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:

Donald Trump delivered a divisive, profane and unapologetic response to his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, as Republicans

continue to insist the president has learned a lesson from the process.

Speaking earlier today at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump attacked the faith of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi , and (Mitt Romney , the only Republican senator to support an article of impeachment.) The Democratic National Committee chair, Tom Perez, called for a recanvass of the Iowa caucuses to ensure the accuracy of the results. Bernie Sanders declared victory in the Iowa caucuses, even though results currently show him slightly trailing Pete Buttigieg.
House Democrats
killed a Republican resolution to condemn Pelosi for tearing up Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

During her weekly press conference, Pelosi said she did not regret tearing up Trump’s speech. “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,” Pelosi said. “It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say, ‘This is not true.’”

Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Updated (at 5.) PM EST

4. (pm) (EST) :

After declaring victory in the Iowa caucuses despite trailing Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders said the raw vote total, or the “popular vote,” justified his announcement.

But as the blog has previously stated, the Associated Press and other outlets made clear before the caucuses that the winner would be determined using a different metric, the state delegate equivalents. On that front, Sanders is very slightly behind Buttigieg.

Ryan Nobles (@ ryanobles) Sen. @ BernieSanders is declaring victory in Iowa .. but he still trails in the State Delegate Equivalents (which determines the winner ) .. I pressed him on how he can claim he won without leading the SDE- this was his response.

pic.twitter.com/fz8b32 Xb9t February 6,

“The rules were changed,” Sanders told CNN. “This is the first time in the Iowa caucus that the popular vote has been made public. That was not the case before. ”

Sanders blamed some “confusion on the part of the media” for the focus on SDEs, even though that is the officially recognized metric for determining a winner, and noted he and Buttigieg would likely come out of Iowa with the same number of delegates for the party’s nominating convention, which is true.

(4.) (pm EST :

The White House is now reportedly sending out talking points aimed at criticizing Mitt Romney after the Republican senator supported one of the articles of impeachment.

Ashley Parker (@ AshleyRParker) The WH is now sending around anti-Romney talking points, including:
• Romney’s decision was unsurprising as this display of self-serving political expedience has come to define his career.
• Romney has a long history of flip-flopping, with no sign of principles to be found. (February 6,

The idea of ​​attacking Romney for not hacing principles seems particularly noteworthy, considering the Utah Republican cast his decision on impeachment as a matter of duty.

Explaining his decision yesterday, Romney said, “My vote will likely be in the minority in the Senate, but irrespective of these things, with my vote, I will tell my children and their children that I did my duty to the best of my ability believing that my country expected it of me. ”

(4.) (PM EST) :

In a new statement, Democratic senator Patrick Leahy criticized Trump rambling, divisive response to his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (@ SenatorLeahy) Comment Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President’s Remarks At The White House https://t.co/VnA9Z7yoxo pic .twitter.com / 8sxwQEZPjN February 6,

Leahy contrasted Trump’s remarks with those of Bill Clinton
, who told the nation after his acquittal that he was “profoundly sorry” for his actions.

“In stark contrast, today President Trump held a White House campaign rally and was entirely unrepentant,” Leahy said. “Sadly, the only lesson he’s learned is how almost the entire Senate Republican Caucus let him get away with misconduct.”

(3.) pm EST :

Even though every House Democrat voted to kill a Republican resolution to condemn Nancy Pelosi for tearing up Trump ‘s State of the Union, two more moderate members of the caucus chastized the House speaker for her actions.

The Washington Post reports :

Reps. Joe Cunningham (SC) and Ben McAdams

(Utah) together spoke to Pelosi for several minutes on the House floor before they cast votes to block the attempted reprimand.

McAdams said he told Pelosi that he thought the gesture ’was inappropriate and that we deserve better than that.’

‘I thought it was disrespectful,’ he said. ‘I found things that I agreed with and things that I didn’t agree with in the president’s speech, but I thought that that was beneath us.’

Other House Democrats have blamed Trump for the tension between him and Pelosi, citing the president’s apparent refusal to shake the speaker’s hand when he arrived to deliver his state of the Union address.

(3) EST : 43

Pete Buttigieg s campaign said in an email to supporters that it has raised $ 2.7 million since the (Iowa) (caucuses.)

It’s an impressive haul for the former Indiana mayor, who is currently leading in the Iowa caucuses, although Bernie Sanders is close on his heels with 316% of precincts reporting.

Buttigieg will need those funds to get him through New Hampshire and on to the later voting states, especially because he is currently polling at 7% nationally, according to the RealClearPolitics average .

(3). (pm) EST :

Pete Buttigieg is clearly enjoying a surge in voter interest after his strong showing in the (Iowa caucuses.)

The former Indiana mayor is hosting an event in Merrimack, New Hampshire, today that is so crowded even some reporters have been able to get inside.

Abby D. Phillip (@ abbydphillip) Buttigieg’s only event of the day here in New Hampshire is packed to the gills. Lots of press can’t get in. It’s a small room but the amount of media here alone is indicative of Buttigieg’s post-Iowa standing. pic.twitter.com/Sj (VUxVZt) 6,

New Hampshire polls released in recent days have also shown Buttigieg jumping into second place, trailing only Bernie Sanders , in the second voting state, which will hold its primary on Tuesday.

(2.) (pm EST

Speaking to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week, Trump was reported “apoplectic” about the UK’s decision to allow the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to participate in building up the country’s 5G network.

The Financial Times reports :

The UK prime minister spoke to the US president last week soon after he announced his decision to allow the Chinese manufacturer to participate in the UK’s next-generation cellular network. This was in spite of vocal opposition from senior figures in the Trump administration, which is opposed to Huawei on national security grounds.

Following the decision, the UK and US tried to gloss over their differences with muted public statements. But one individual briefed on the contents of the call said Mr Trump was ‘apoplectic’ with Mr Johnson for his Huawei decision and expressed his views in livid terms.

A second official confirmed that the Trump-Johnson call was ‘very difficult’. British officials with knowledge of the exchange said they were taken aback by the force of the president’s language towards Mr Johnson.

The White House said in a statement shortly after the announcement of the UK’s decision that it was “disappointed” by the move, and attorney general WIlliam Barr suggested today that the US and its allies should invest in Huawei’s rivals like Nokia and Ericsson to counter the company’s strength.

2. (PM) (EST)


Yang fires staffers – report

Joanna Walters

Long-shot 4912

candidate Andrew Yang has fired dozens of campaign staffers after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses this week – a result that was obvious despite the ongoing (and in some ways deepening) debacle over the collation and reporting of results.

Among those dismissed were the national political and policy directors of the campaign, as well as the deputy national political director – all senior-level positions. The people who were fired worked across Yang’s organization, from his headquarters in New York to the now-disbanded Iowa operation, Politico (reports ).

() Support for their guy from the Yang Gang, in Exeter, New Hampshire Photograph: Joe Raedle / Getty Images () (Read More)