Trump news: Elizabeth Warren calls for impeachment on Senate floor while reading unreacted Mueller report
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill increasingly call the president 'impeachable' following Robert Mueller's report
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Elizabeth Warren says the US Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.
The Democratic presidential candidate went to the Senate floor on Tuesday to reiterate her call for impeachment hours after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared "case closed" on the Russia probe and potential obstruction by the president.
Holding a copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, Ms Warren responded to Mr McConnell that "wishing won't make it so."
She said that because of a Justice Department opinion that a sitting president can't be indicted, the only way to the hold the president accountable is to initiate impeachment.
Meanwhile, Bill Weld, the Republican former governor and federal prosecutor challenging Mr Trump for their party’s nomination in 2020, says the president is “impeachable” as a result of the Mueller report, attacking his administration’s “brazenness” over the handling of the investigation into Russian collusion.
Mueller investigation: The key figures
Show all 12Democratic contender Eric Swalwell has likewise called for impeachment to remove the “really bad kid in the White House” as Joe Biden surges ahead of nearest rival Bernie Sanders in the opinion polls
Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin has meanwhile refused to release the president’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means committee.
The White House is also instructing former counsel Don McGahn not to comply with a subpoena for documents from the House Judiciary Committee, arguing the materials are subject to executive privilege.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday saying Mr McGahn has been directed not to disclose the documents. The committee requested information about Mr McGahn's interactions with Mr Trump that were provided to the special counsel.
Mr Cipollone says Mr McGahn does not have any "legal right" to the documents because they're under White House control. He says the committee should direct its request to the White House.
She said enough evidence is in the report to try and remove the president. She said, "It's there in black and white in the report."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Elizabeth Warren has been standing on the Senate floor reading aloud Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, entering the speech into the Congressional record. Reporters say she has lasted at least 20 minutes so far:
Elizabeth Warren has brought her calls for impeachment to the Senate floor after reading a large portion of Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“The information that has been given to us in the Mueller report clearly constitutes adequate information to begin an impeachment proceeding in the House of Representatives,” the senator and 2020 candidate said Tuesday.
Here's more on 2020 hopeful Pete Buttigieg's remarks suggesting God would "certainly" not be a member of the Republican Party that voted Donald Trump into office in 2016:
Elizabeth Warren reportedly read off portions of the Mueller report that were initially redacted by Attorney General William Barr when it was released to the public and lawmakers, though several members of Congress received a less redacted version.
In concluding her remarks, the 2020 candidate said, “We took an oath not to try to protect Donald Trump. We took an oath to protect & serve the Constitution of the United States of America & the way we do that is we begin impeachment proceedings now against this President.”
Donald Trump has posted a message to Twitter calling on the Democratic-led Congress to “close the terrible loopholes at the Southern Border,” though it remains unclear what loopholes he is specifically referring to.
The list of former federal prosecutors signing onto a letter that says Donald Trump would have faced obstruction of justice charges were he not the president of the United States has grown to an astounding 650.
The New York Times has reported New York lawmakers are preparing to advance a bill Wednesday that would allow House committees to review Donald Trump’s state tax returns.
Donald Trump will host Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban next week, the White House has announced.
The meeting is likely to prove controversial, as Hungary‘s far-right leader has regularly clashed with the EU over his anti-immigrant rhetoric and judicial reforms.
He was also at odds with former US president Barack Obama’s administration over what critics described as an erosion of democratic values by his government.
China has refused to join nuclear talks with the US and Russia, quashing Donald Trump’s hopes for trilateral disarmament negotiations between the globe’s major atomic powers.
The US president said he and Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms. Mr Trump said the accord could eventually include China.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said: “China opposes any country talking out of turn about China on the issue of arms control, and will not take part in any trilateral negotiations on a nuclear disarmament agreement.”
This concludes today's live coverage from Washington. Be sure to check back tomorrow as The Independent brings you the latest.
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