If President Trump wins re-election, he‘ll move to immediately fire FBI Director Christopher Wray and also expects to replace CIA Director Gina Haspel and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, two people who‘ve discussed these officials‘ fates with the president tell Axios.
The big picture: The list of planned replacements is much longer, but these are Trump‘s priorities, starting with Wray.
President Trump plans to fire several top officials in the national security sphere should he win reelection in November, Axios reported Sunday.
The president plans to fire Defense Secretary Mark Esper, CIA Director Gina Haspel and FBI Director Christopher Wray, two people familiar with his decisionmaking told the news outlet. White House officials declined to comment on personnel matters.
The Senate on Wednesday acquitted President Trump on two impeachment charges surrounding his dealings with Ukraine, ending the historic, months-long battle over the president’s fitness to remain in office and leaving his fate to the voters who will head to the polls just nine months from now.
Das Amtsenthebungsverfahren gegen US-Präsident Trump ist gescheitert: Der republikanisch dominierte Senat lehnte alle Anklagepunkte gegen ihn ab. Trump sprach von einem „Sieg über den Impeachment-Schwindel“.
In declining to add to the case presented by House Democrats, the Senate delivered a victory for the White House that all but guaranteed that Trump will remain in office. With a final vote on the articles of impeachment set for Wednesday at 4 p.m., Democrats argued that Trump’s expected acquittal will be illegitimate, an acknowledgment of their looming defeat.
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Senate Republicans rejected a mid-trial effort to call witnesses and documents on Friday, paving the way for President Trump’s acquittal on two articles of impeachment passed by the House.
Democrats’ hopes for witnesses dwindled when one of the few Republicans still weighing the issue, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, announced he would not join Democrats on Friday when the vote on witnesses is expected to take place.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) was considered a possible supporter of allowing testimony, but he announced Friday that he’s ready to end the trial even though he found Trump’s behavior “inappropriate” and leave the president’s fate in the hands of voters during the upcoming election.
“Let the people decide,” he said in a statement.
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Die Republikaner drücken nun auf‘s Tempo: Vermutlich werden sie morgen bereits abstimmen lassen, Trump mit ihrer Mehrheit entlasten und das Impeachment pünktlich zum Super-Bowl-Wochenende beerdigen. Damit dürfte auch John Bolton, Trumps gefeuerter Sicherheitsberater und der letzte Hoffnungsträger der Demokraten, nicht mehr gehört werden.
(30.01.2020)
Obama separately had said that Bolton „bullies, marginalizes and undermines those who do not agree with him.“ Other prominent Democrats agreed with him at the time.
Bolton himself had admitted in the past that he would be more than willing to lie if he felt it was in the nation‘s best interest.
“If I had to say something I knew was false to protect American national security, I would do it,“ Bolton said in an interview with Fox Business in 2010.
His recent client list has included the construction giant Bechtel, Sony Entertainment Group and the Recording Industry of America. He also once served on a legal team for Johnny Depp in a lawsuit against one of the actor’s previous attorneys.
Over the years, Cipollone naturally fell in with the city’s circle of well-connected Catholics, like-minded influencers with firm positions on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
“Pat puts biblical perspectives on everything,” said former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).
Das Amtsenthebungsverfahren gegen US-Präsident Donald Trump im US-Senat steuert auf eine wichtige Entscheidung zu: Die Senatoren werden heute darüber entscheiden, ob sie im Impeachment-Prozess neue Zeugenaussagen zulassen. Scheitern die oppositionellen Demokraten mit ihrer Forderung nach Zeugenvorladungen, könnte der Prozess gegen Trump noch in dieser Woche enden.
The fate of Democrats’ push to call witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Trump remained uncertain on the eve of the pivotal Senate vote, which could either pave the way to his prompt acquittal or introduce potentially dramatic testimony.
Rachel Maddow and an MSNBC panel react to the argument by Donald Trump‘s lawyers that as long as Trump believes his reelection is good for the country, anything he does in furtherance of that goal is not impeachable.
LAST WEEK, senators trying the impeachment charges against President Trump did not know for sure whether former national security adviser John Bolton could answer outstanding questions about the case. Now they know.
“I’m with the Bush-Cheney team, and I’m here to stop the count.”
Those words were bellowed by John Bolton in a Tallahassee library in December of 2000, when he was part of a team of Republican lawyers trying to stop the Florida recount of votes cast in the Bush-Gore race. Until now, it was the most famous utterance President Trump’s former national security advisor had ever made.
People close to Bolton said he wanted to testify, and a spokeswoman denied that he was behind the leak of the book, adding that the National Security Council has had a copy of it since Dec. 30.
Shortly before winding down Monday night‘s arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz addressed the elephant in the room: whether potential testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton would alter the course of the proceeding.
Don’t Mistake Impeachment for a Congressional Effort to Claw Back Power
Both sides seem to be striving for the constitutional equivalent of a hung jury, not enough votes for either a bipartisan acquittal or conviction, simply the status quo. What is different is that you usually do not actually hang the jury in a hung jury strategy.
In an interview with „CBS Evening News“ anchor Norah O‘Donnell, Senator Bernie Sanders addressed questions about his health care plan, his criticism of Joe Biden and the impeachment trial.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Friday called it „disappointing“ that he is not on the campaign trail in Iowa in the final weeks before the caucuses due to the ongoing impeachment trial.
“Obviously, when we were planning out our schedule, trust me, we were not expecting to be in Washington this week,“ Sanders said in an interview airing Friday on „CBS Evening News.“
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Four Democratic senators, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, are on Capitol Hill for Trump‘s trial as the remaining candidates in Iowa campaign ahead of the caucuses.
With their candidates stuck in Washington for the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump, campaign staffers, organizers and surrogates for Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are under pressure to help make closing arguments before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3.
The trial kicked off this week and will keep senators in session for six days a week, although it‘s set to end early afternoon on Saturday, allowing the 2020 Senate candidates to travel to Iowa for the weekend.
“President Trump abused his authority as commander-in-chief and chief diplomat to benefit himself,” Schiff said. “And he betrayed the interests of the American people when he did so.“
Exhibit A in their recounting was a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, ….
Fast 13 Stunden hat die erste inhaltliche Sitzung des Senats zum Amtsenthebungsverfahren gegen US-Präsident Donald Trump gedauert. Erst in der letzten Stunde der bis in die Nacht auf Mittwoch (Ortszeit) dauernden Sitzung gab es die Einigung auf das weitere Prozedere. Die Republikaner zeigten deutlich, wer im Senat das Sagen hat.
The Senate adopted GOP rules in the impeachment trial after heated debate. Chuck Todd summarizes the night by saying, “At times it did seem like we were watching two different trials: the Democrats focusing on the substance of their case, the White House team focusing on attacking the process.” Aired on 01/22/20.
The Senate will continue with the second day of President Trump‘s impeachment trial on Wednesday.
President Trump‘s impeachment trial will officially begin in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon. The Senate will vote on a resolution that sets up the rules, including how long the proceedings will last and how long everyone will have to speak.
President Trump’s legal defense team and Senate GOP allies are quietly gaming out contingency plans should Democrats win enough votes to force witnesses to testify in the impeachment trial, including an effort to keep former national security adviser John Bolton from the spotlight, according to multiple officials familiar with the discussions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said he will investigate allegations that former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was under surveillance by private American citizens intent on her removal from Kyiv and possibly threatening harm.
The Belgian country-code number sends Hyde a screenshot of an official photo of Yovanovitch. The Belgium number, whose identity is not known, writes „My contacts are checking,“ adding, „I will give you the address next week.“
Hyde replied, „Awesome.“
In another series of texts, the Belgian number tells Hyde at 2:05 p.m., „Nothing has changed she is still not moving they check today again,“ shortly adding, „It‘s confirmed we have a person inside.“
The Senate on Thursday formally convened to begin considering articles of impeachment against President Trump in the third impeachment trial in American history.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the entire Senate were sworn in, promising to apply “impartial justice” as they consider over at least the next two weeks whether the two articles approved by the House in December warrant removing the president from office.
Berit Berger and Maya Wiley, both formerly of the Southern District of New York, react to the news that Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is being interviewed by Rachel Maddow.
How did Rudy Giuliani go from America‘s mayor the man he is today? Jonathan Mahler digs for answers in his latest piece for the New York Times magazine, and he joins Morning Joe to discuss.
Text messages and documents provided to Congress by Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas show Giuliani’s efforts to get material in Ukraine he could use to attack President Trump’s Democratic opponents.
In a lengthy conversation with CBS News on Wednesday, Giuliani denied having knowledge of any efforts to keep tabs on Yovanovitch, who was abruptly recalled from her post amid fears for her safety, according to her earlier congressional testimony.
“It is outrageous that the President’s personal lawyers appear to have directed the surveillance of a U.S. ambassador. This must be fully investigated as the Senate conducts the impeachment trial,” Sanders tweeted Wednesday. “We have a responsibility to hold this lawless administration to account.”
Read the documents here:
A lawyer for former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is calling for an investigation after materials released Tuesday night as part of the impeachment inquiry suggested she was under surveillance by individuals linked to President Trump‘s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
That detail was among a trove of documents provided by Giuliani associate Lev Parnas that were made public by the House Intelligence Committee late Tuesday.
House impeachment investigators turned over shocking evidence from Lev Parnas, the Rudy Giuliani associate who is awaiting trial on campaign finance charges. The emails, text messages and documents appear to show the president’s connection to Parnas and the general Ukraine plot.
Senate Democrats hoping to rein in President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran secured majority support Tuesday for Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) war powers resolution, but the timing of the measure is now in flux.
In a procedural snafu, Democrats won’t be able to force a vote on the measure until Tuesday at the earliest — the same day the Senate is expected to start Trump’s impeachment trial.
Pelosi did not announce at Tuesday morning‘s House Democratic Caucus meeting which lawmakers will serve as prosecutors — also known as impeachment managers — in the Senate trial.
But the resolution slated to hit the House floor on Wednesday is expected to name the impeachment managers.
Lawmakers looking to limit Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran face a tight time frame with little room for error after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced she will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate this week. Once the trial begins, all legislation is expected to be delayed for weeks.
But a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) can come to the Senate floor as soon as Tuesday morning, and he has been trying to win over the four GOP votes needed, in addition to every Democratic senator, to get to 51 votes.
Krystal & Saagar: Pelosi‘s impotence on full display with War Power, Impeachment failure
Incessant Fox griping over the “deep state” has been replaced by sober pleas that the U.S. intelligence community’s findings should be taken seriously.