Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
As it happenedended1560975594
Trump news: President fumes over Hillary Clinton’s emails in Twitter rant, as ex-aide Hope Hicks testifies before Congress
'We're watching obstruction of justice in action,' says congressman Ted Lieu of frustrated House Judiciary Committee hearing with former administration spokeswoman
The president has tweeted angrily about the hearing taking place behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, writing: “Why aren’t the Dems looking at the 33,000 Emails that Hillary and her lawyer deleted and acid washed AFTER GETTING A SUBPOENA FROM CONGRESS? That is real Obstruction that the Dems want no part of because their hearings are RIGGED and a disgrace to our Country!”
Last night, Mr Trump kicked off his 2020 re-election campaign in Orlando, Florida, tearing into his enemies in Washington and pledging to combat “criminal aliens” in a wild address at the 20,000-capacity Amway Center packed with his most ardent supporters.
Less than an hour into Ms Hicks’ interview on Wednesday, frustrated Democrats taking breaks from the meeting said she and her lawyer were following White House orders to stay quiet about her time working for Mr Trump.
She was answering some questions about her time on the campaign, however, the lawmakers said.
Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam
Show all 30
“She’s objecting to stuff that’s already in the public record,” said California Democrat Karen Bass. “It’s pretty ridiculous.”
Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, called her answers “a farce.” Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, tweeted about the interview and wrote that Ms Hicks refused to answer even innocuous questions such as whether she had previously testified before Congress.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler declined to comment on the substance of the interview so far, saying “all I’ll say is Ms Hicks is answering questions put to her and the interview continues.”
Republicans had a different perspective, saying she was cooperative and that the interview was a waste of time. The top Republican on the panel, Doug Collins, said they were “simply talking about things that are already out there in public or getting the same answers over and over.”
Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events
It was so far unclear whether Democrats would take Ms Hicks or the administration to court to challenge the claim of immunity. In a letter Tuesday to Mr Nadler, White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote that Mr Trump had directed Ms Hicks not to answer questions “relating to the time of her service as a senior adviser to the president.”
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Democrats have denounced as “a farce” testimony from Donald Trump’sformer spokesperson, who refused – under directions from the White House– to confirm even basic information such as the location of her office in the West Wing.
The House of Representative’s judiciary committee hoped the closed-door testimony of former communications director Hope Hicks would provide insights into whether the president broke the law.
But soon after her testimony on Capitol Hill got under way on Wednesday, Democrats accused the 30-year-old and her legal advisors of stonewalling.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies