Trump news: House fails to override president's veto, as impeachment vote numbers are under 'consideration'
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Donald Trump will use the supposedly favourable outcome of the Mueller report to go after his enemies in Washington with a “political bludgeon”, an aide has warned.
The FBI special counsel’s 22-month investigation found no evidence of his having colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, according to attorney-general William Barr, who reviewed the filing over the weekend after being appointed by the president in February.
“In terms of political payback, the people that I’ve talked to in the White House over the last 24 hours talk about what this means for 2020 and where we go from here. And I think you are going to see [Trump] use this as a political bludgeon,” ex-White House staffer Cliff Sims told CNN.
The FBI is meanwhile poised to brief the leaders of the House and Senate and the chairmen of the two chambers’ intelligence committees on Robert Mueller’s findings as to whether the president or anyone close to him is under the influence of a foreign power. Senior Democrats are meanwhile weighing up their options with regard to possible impeachment proceedings against the president.
Radiating a sense of vindication, Mr Trump strode into the Senate Republicans' lunch on Tuesday flanked by party leaders. GOP senators applauded.
Mueller investigation: The key figures
Show all 12“It could not have been better,” he said of the summary of the Mueller report by Mr Barr, which did not find the president colluded with Russia over the 2016 elections.
He told senators he was given a “clean bill of health,” according to those in the room.
But Mr Trump cut short the celebration by quickly turning senators focus on the challenges ahead, claiming, “The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care. You watch!”
Inside the meeting, he urged Republicans to figure out a way to repeal Barack Obama's signature health care law and replace it with a GOP version, a major goal that has eluded the party during the first years of his presidency.
Mr Trump's trip to Capitol Hill came right after his administration said late Monday it would not defend the Affordable Care Act in a court challenge - and as the House Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were unveiling a sweeping measure to rescue the program.
Additional reporting by AP. Read live updates from The Independent below.
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Here's a recap on the morning's news from Trumpland.
1) The president claims he is the victim of "evil and treasonous acts" on his victory lap after the apparently favourable findings of the Mueller investigation.
2) The Pentagon has approved $1bn (£759mn) from military coffers for the border wall as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on overturning the president's veto on its national emergency resolution.
3) The FBI will brief congressional leaders on Robert Mueller's findings regarding whether or not Mr Trump or anyone close to him risked being influenced by a foreign power, a subject not covered by William Barr in his review of the special counsel's report for Congress.
4) The White House has issued a memo to TV news producers urging them not to give any further air time to Democratic politicians and intelligence experts who expressed their belief the Trump camp had colluded with the Kremlin in 2016 following the Mueller "vindication".
House speaker Nancy Pelosi has been rallying the troops.
She also spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee gathering in Washington to denounce antisemitism.
The news networks are rising up to defend themselves against Donald Trump's renewed attacks on the media.
Jeff Zucker, president of CNN, said in an email to The New York Times he was "entirely comfortable" with his network's coverage of the Mueller probe into Russian election hacking.
“We are not investigators. We are journalists, and our role is to report the facts as we know them, which is exactly what we did," he wrote.
“A sitting president’s own Justice Department investigated his campaign for collusion with a hostile nation. That’s not enormous because the media says so. That’s enormous because it’s unprecedented,” he added.
In case you missed it, President Trump tweeted this earlier today:
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu joked about Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar at the annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington today after she criticised the influence of foreign interest groups in the US capital by saying: "It's all about the Benjamins" (i.e. money).
"From this Benjamin: it's not about the Benjamins!" the PM said, speaking via satellite having returned home early from his jaunt to the White House for the signing of the Golan Heights proclamation to respond to rocket attacks on the Gaza border, which yesterday injured seven in Tel Aviv.
Ms Omar's controversial remarks have exposed divides among the Democrats and given President Trump a platform to slam his opposition as "an anti-Jewish, anti-Israel party".
This response from the young congresswoman is daring indeed and unlikely to calm the situation.
Mr Netanyahu was also in a joking mood at the White House yesterday, making light of congressional investigations into Donald Trump.
Here's Adam Forrest to explain the gag.
President Trump, watching Fox host Bill Hemmer interviewing Byron York of The Washington Examiner, calls Mueller investigation "a disgrace" despite having agreed the special counsel himself "acted honourably".
House majority whip James Clyburn had a message for Donald Trump on CNN's New Day: "The question is obstruction of justice is still on the table."
He told John Berman the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the Judiciary Committee would continue their work into the firing of ex-FBI director James Comey in May 2017.
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