Sondland’s recollection of a phone conversation that he said took place on Sept. 9 has emerged as a centerpiece of Trump’s defense as House Democrats argue in an impeachment inquiry that he abused his office to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democrats.
Tag: Trump lies
Trump knew of whistleblower complaint when he released aid to Ukraine
Lawyers from the White House Counsel’s Office told Trump in August about the complaint, explaining that they were trying to determine whether they were legally required to give it to Congress, two people said.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump had already been briefed on a whistleblower’s complaint about his dealings with Ukraine when he unfroze military aid for the country in September, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Lawyers from the White House Counsel’s Office told Trump in late August about the complaint, explaining that they were trying to determine whether they were legally required to give it to Congress, the people said.
The revelation could shed light on Trump’s thinking at two critical points under scrutiny by impeachment investigators: his decision in early September to release $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine and his denial to a key ambassador around the same time that there was a “quid pro quo” with Kiev. Trump used the phrase before it had entered the public lexicon in the Ukraine affair.
At Florida ‘homecoming rally,’ Trump builds his case against impeachment
“The radical Democrats are trying to overturn the last election because they know that they cannot win the next election,” he says.
SUNRISE, Fla. — President Donald Trump on Tuesday spent much of his “homecoming rally” here building his case against impeachment before thousands of enthusiastic supporters.
He cast Democrats’ inquiry as a desperate effort to win back the White House in 2020. He went so far as to call the impeachment proceedings “bullshit,” prompting a new audience chant containing the expletive. And he put those proceedings in the same category as the Mueller investigation, labeling all of it a “scam” and a “hoax.”
“They’re attacking me because I’m exposing a rigged system that enriched itself at your expense and I’m restoring government of, by and for the people,” he told the crowd at the BB&T Center.
View the complete November 26 article by Nancy Cook and Matthew Choi on the Politico website here.
Trump says he would ‘love to’ have officials testify but is ‘fighting for future presidents’
President Trump on Tuesday claimed he was blocking current and former administration officials from testifying in the impeachment inquiry to protect future presidents. The statement came one day after a federal judge ruled former White House counsel Don McGahn must appear before a House panel.
Trump argued in a trio of tweets that he “would love to have” McGahn, former national security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney testify. The White House has thus far blocked officials from complying with Democratic requests for testimony in the House impeachment inquiry.
“The D.C. Wolves and Fake News Media are reading far too much into people being forced by Courts to testify before Congress,” he tweeted. “I am fighting for future Presidents and the Office of the President. Other than that, I would actually like people to testify.”
View the complete November 26 article by Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.
Justice Dept. watchdog finds political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI’s Russia probe but documents other errors Add to list
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is expected to find in a forthcoming report that political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016, while at the same time criticizing the bureau for systemic failures in its handling of surveillance applications, according to two U.S. officials.
The report due out Dec. 9 from Inspector General Michael Horowitz will allege that a low-level FBI lawyer inappropriately altered a document that was used as part of a controversial application for electronic surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser, the officials said. The inspector general referred that finding to U.S. Attorney John Durham, so that he may investigate it as a possible crime, they said.
But Horowitz will conclude that the application still had a proper legal and factual basis, according to the officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive report.
Trump said his Ukraine call was ‘perfect.’ Impeachment witnesses testified otherwise.
Three current and former Trump administration officials described Tuesday how they harbored a variety of concerns surrounding a July phone call in which President Trump pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate former vice president Joe Biden — boosting Democrats’ inquiry into whether Trump should be impeached and substantially undercutting the president’s assertion that the conversation was “perfect.”
Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been at the heart of Democrats’ impeachment investigation, and on Tuesday, they solicited public testimony from the trio of firsthand witnesses, who had been tasked with listening in.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council’s European affairs director, said he considered the president’s demand of the Ukrainian leader “inappropriate,” because it could have “significant national security implications” for the United States.
House is investigating whether Trump lied to Mueller, its general counsel told a federal appeals court
The hearing followed Friday’s conviction of longtime Trump friend Roger Stone for lying to Congress. Testimony and evidence at his trial appeared to cast doubt on Trump’s written answers to Mueller’s questions, specifically about whether the president was aware of his campaign’s attempts to learn about the release of hacked Democratic emails by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.
Trump’s Doral resort was a last-minute addition in search for G-7 site, newly released email shows
Secret Service agents had identified four U.S. sites as finalists for next year’s Group of Seven summit — but then they were told to add a new finalist: President Trump’s Doral resort, according to an internal Secret Service email released late Friday.
“Our original itinerary included Hawaii, Utah, California and North Carolina,” a Secret Service official wrote, describing a trip that a team of Secret Service personnel took in July to examine the finalists. “By departure, they had already cut two (California and North Carolina) and added Miami on the back end.”
“Miami” meant President Trump’s resort near the Miami airport, which hadn’t been among the original 10 sites that the Secret Service team had vetted. Although vetting of possible sites had begun in late May, the official wrote on July 12 that “yesterday was the first time we put eyes on this [Doral] property.”
Trump brags Don Jr’s new book ‘is number one on NY Times Bestseller List’ — but his campaign bought the book in bulk
President Donald Trump has called The New York Times “fake news,” “biased,” “inaccurate,” and “a Fraud” with “Zero Credibility.”
But Wednesday night he was only too happy to cite the “failing” paper of record to brag that Donald Trump, Jr.’s new book, “Triggered,” is at the top of the Times’ charts.
And while that may be true, there’s one large caveat that totally destroys the Trump family’s pride.
As this graphic shows, there’s a “dagger” next to Trump Jr.’s book: †.
Trump denies knowledge of call mentioned in impeachment hearing
President Trump on Wednesday denied knowledge of a phone call that he allegedly had with U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland in July about investigations he sought from Ukraine.
“I know nothing about that. First time I’ve heard it,” Trump told reporters in the East Room during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when asked about the call, which was described by a U.S. diplomat in public testimony earlier Wednesday.
“I’ve never heard this. In any event, it’s more secondhand information, but I’ve never heard it,” Trump continued.
View the complete November 13 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.