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| Donald Trump flails as Joe Biden accuses him of trying to 'hijack' election – live news | Donald Trump flails as Joe Biden accuses him of trying to 'hijack' election – live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Trump has now jumped from the argument that the whistleblower complaint represented “secondhand information,” as he first argued yesterday, to claiming that the information may have been entirely fabricated. | |
| Sounding more and more like the so-called Whistleblower isn’t a Whistleblower at all. In addition, all second hand information that proved to be so inaccurate that there may not have even been somebody else, a leaker or spy, feeding it to him or her? A partisan operative? | |
| The whistleblower said this in his complaint to explain how he obtained his information: “In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. Government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election. ... | |
| “Over the past four months, more than half a dozen U.S. officials have informed me of various facts related to this effort.” | |
| A New Yorker writer, who was one target of Trump’s Twitter ire this morning, pointed out that all three major US newspapers included the same word on their front page after the release of the whistleblower complaint: cover-up. | |
| There is one word in common in all these headlines in @nytimes @washingtonpost @WSJ: Coverup pic.twitter.com/0mTgU1P6sv | |
| The whistleblower alleged that White House officials quickly sought to keep details of Trump’s Ukraine call from being made public by placing documents regarding the conversation in a codeword system. | |
| Such a system is usually reserved for highly classified national security data, but the Ukraine call merely represented politically sensitive information. National security experts warned that such an abuse of the sophisticated system could set a dangerous precedent. | |
| In Nancy Pelosi’s morning interview with MSNBC, the House speaker said she believed that Trump had left her caucus with “no choice” but to impeach him. | |
| "This is no cause for any joy. This is a very sad time for our country." --@SpeakerPelosi pic.twitter.com/b26WiSj5fY | |
| Pelosi said: “This is as serious as it gets when it comes to protecting the Constitution of the United States.” | |
| The speaker accused Trump of “jeopardizing national security” and “jeopardizing the integrity of our elections.” | |
| Pelosi also reiterated her wish to keep the impeachment inquiry focused on the Ukraine call for now. She said: “I think we have to stay focused as the public is concerned. That the president of the United States used taxpayer dollars to shake down the leader of another country for his own political gain. ... | |
| “Looking at the material the administration is giving us, they are actually speeding up the process.” | |
| Bloomberg News has now obtained footage of Trump’s remarks at a private event with UN staffers yesterday. | |
| In it, the president is heard comparing the whistleblower’s sources to a “spy” and saying, “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” | |
| EXCLUSIVE: Watch the video that shows Trump slamming the Ukraine whistle-blower as "close to a spy" https://t.co/sykPHFo0qn pic.twitter.com/lSkTQfi1kK | |
| Nancy Pelosi said that she believed the attorney general, William Barr, had “gone rogue” in his handling of the whistleblower complaint. | Nancy Pelosi said that she believed the attorney general, William Barr, had “gone rogue” in his handling of the whistleblower complaint. |
| The Justice Department chose not to pursue a criminal investigation of Trump after receiving the whistleblower complaint that he had tried to solicit foreign assistance in the 2020 election, a decision that was severely criticized by Democratic lawmakers. | The Justice Department chose not to pursue a criminal investigation of Trump after receiving the whistleblower complaint that he had tried to solicit foreign assistance in the 2020 election, a decision that was severely criticized by Democratic lawmakers. |
| The House speaker added that she considered Trump’s comments about the whistleblower and his sources to be “dangerous.” | The House speaker added that she considered Trump’s comments about the whistleblower and his sources to be “dangerous.” |
| The president said at an event with UN staffers yesterday that he wanted to know who talked to the whistleblower and appeared to joke about executing those officials. | The president said at an event with UN staffers yesterday that he wanted to know who talked to the whistleblower and appeared to joke about executing those officials. |
| Trump is now demanding over Twitter that Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, resign over his opening statement at yesterday’s hearing. | Trump is now demanding over Twitter that Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, resign over his opening statement at yesterday’s hearing. |
| ...sound horrible, and me sound guilty. HE WAS DESPERATE AND HE GOT CAUGHT. Adam Schiff therefore lied to Congress and attempted to defraud the American Public. He has been doing this for two years. I am calling for him to immediately resign from Congress based on this fraud! | ...sound horrible, and me sound guilty. HE WAS DESPERATE AND HE GOT CAUGHT. Adam Schiff therefore lied to Congress and attempted to defraud the American Public. He has been doing this for two years. I am calling for him to immediately resign from Congress based on this fraud! |
| In his opening statement, Schiff parodied the White House memo on Trump’s conversation with the president of Ukraine to emphasize his argument that the commander-in-chief was acting like a mob boss. | In his opening statement, Schiff parodied the White House memo on Trump’s conversation with the president of Ukraine to emphasize his argument that the commander-in-chief was acting like a mob boss. |
| Republican lawmakers accused Schiff of falsely quoting the memo, even though the document itself is not a verbatim transcript of the call. It seemed quite clear that Schiff was trying to make a point, not quoting from a specific text. The video is below to make your own call. | Republican lawmakers accused Schiff of falsely quoting the memo, even though the document itself is not a verbatim transcript of the call. It seemed quite clear that Schiff was trying to make a point, not quoting from a specific text. The video is below to make your own call. |
| Good morning, live blog readers! | Good morning, live blog readers! |
| Well, Donald Trump is back on Twitter and trying to shout down concerns that he tried to solicit foreign assistance in the 2020 election, even as the impeachment inquiry against him advances at a rapid clip. | Well, Donald Trump is back on Twitter and trying to shout down concerns that he tried to solicit foreign assistance in the 2020 election, even as the impeachment inquiry against him advances at a rapid clip. |
| The president specifically took aim at Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, and a New York Times reporter who covers his White House. | The president specifically took aim at Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, and a New York Times reporter who covers his White House. |
| .....nice call with with the new President of Ukraine, it could not have been better or more honorable, and the Fake News Media and Democrats, working as a team, have fraudulently made it look bad. It wasn’t bad, it was very legal and very good. A continuing Witch Hunt! | .....nice call with with the new President of Ukraine, it could not have been better or more honorable, and the Fake News Media and Democrats, working as a team, have fraudulently made it look bad. It wasn’t bad, it was very legal and very good. A continuing Witch Hunt! |
| But it’s clear that this scandal over whether Trump tried to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden is not going to go away easily. | But it’s clear that this scandal over whether Trump tried to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden is not going to go away easily. |
| Biden himself has been hesitant to directly weigh in on the controversy, but in comments at a fundraiser last night, he accused Trump of trying to “hijack” the election. | Biden himself has been hesitant to directly weigh in on the controversy, but in comments at a fundraiser last night, he accused Trump of trying to “hijack” the election. |
| Biden said: “It’s a tactic that’s used by this president to try to hijack an election so we do not focus on the issues that matter in our lives, in your lives. Healthcare, education, the godawful rampant gun violence that’s going on, and maybe the single most important consequential thing is climate change. | Biden said: “It’s a tactic that’s used by this president to try to hijack an election so we do not focus on the issues that matter in our lives, in your lives. Healthcare, education, the godawful rampant gun violence that’s going on, and maybe the single most important consequential thing is climate change. |
| “So I’m not going to let him do it. This is not about me, this is about the American people and the issues that matter to them.” | “So I’m not going to let him do it. This is not about me, this is about the American people and the issues that matter to them.” |
| But with so much attention turned to the potentially history-making events unfolding on Capitol Hill, it will be hard to keep a focus on the issues of the 2020 race. | But with so much attention turned to the potentially history-making events unfolding on Capitol Hill, it will be hard to keep a focus on the issues of the 2020 race. |
| Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on: | Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on: |
| Trump will participate in a High Holy Days call with Jewish leaders and later speak at the White House’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, which could prove interesting given the president’s past racist remarks about Latino immigrants. | Trump will participate in a High Holy Days call with Jewish leaders and later speak at the White House’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, which could prove interesting given the president’s past racist remarks about Latino immigrants. |
| This is Congress’ last day in session before a two-week recess. | This is Congress’ last day in session before a two-week recess. |
| Biden is campaigning in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Biden is campaigning in Las Vegas, Nevada. |
| The blog will have more on all of that, so stay tuned. | The blog will have more on all of that, so stay tuned. |