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Donald Trump has given an 11th-hour endorsement to a host of sitting members of Congress on the eve of the next round of Republican primaries. The former president backed candidates hoping to win their respective elections in Utah, Oklahoma and Illinois on Tuesday. While the apparent influence of a Trump endorsement has been the focal point in some GOP primaries, such as J.D. Vance's victory in the GOP Senate primary in Ohio or Mehmet Oz's eventual win in the Pennsylvania Senate primary, the latest batch of endorsements from the current president pose almost next to no risk. As with a large majority of Trump's endorsed candidates in primaries across the country, the former president has backed incumbents, who very rarely lose midterm elections, never mind party primaries. The lateness of the announcements may suggest Trump is attempting to boost the figures on his apparent knack for picking eventual winners in GOP primaries following a recent bout of losses in Georgia . … [Read more...] about Donald Trump backs surefire primary candidates in bid to boost success rate

President Donald Trump's only rebuttal so far of a career diplomat who gave damning testimony at impeachment proceedings was to label him as a "never-Trumper"—without addressing any of the statements that the diplomat made. Trump's comments came after he was asked to respond to statements made by Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, in which he provided evidence for ongoing the alleged quid-pro-quo attempt to make military aid to Ukraine contingent on the country probing 2020 Democratic front-runner Joe Biden. In Taylor's opening statement to impeachment proceedings on Tuesday, he said that Trump wanted the Ukrainian president to "go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference." Taylor said that U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland told him that "'everything' was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance." Speaking to reporters outside the White House before flying to a Criminal … [Read more...] about Trump launches fresh attack on his own acting ambassador to Ukraine: “He’s a never-Trumper and his lawyer is a never-Trumper”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi ridiculed President Donald Trump for attacking the credibility of former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch or the whistleblower during testimony, cautioning him that such a move is a direct challenge to her leadership. Pelosi said Trump and anyone else in Washington understands that the president's words have massive repercussions and "he should not frivolously throw out insults, but that's what he does." Speaking Sunday morning on CBS' Face the Nation , Pelosi said Trump's actions in the White House are "much worse" than those of former President Richard Nixon. She defended the impeachment process and warned Trump against trying to intimidate or harass the currently anonymous Ukraine whistleblower. "I will make sure he does not intimidate the whistleblower," Pelosi said in an interview with Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan,which aired Sunday morning. "I told the president you're in my wheelhouse when you come after the whistleblower." … [Read more...] about Nancy Pelosi warns Trump against harassing whistleblower: “You’re in my wheelhouse”

In an interview with CBS' Face the Nation from Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted President Donald Trump for his Twitter attacks of former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch during the congressional impeachment inquiry hearing, calling them a reflection of "his own insecurity as an imposter." Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Pelosi about Trump's tweets attacking Yovanovitch while she was giving her testimony at the hearing. Trump began his tweet with: "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch turned went bad." Pelosi noted that Trump's knowledge of his own error was the source of his decision to tweet about Yovanovitch. "He made a mistake, and he knows her strength, and he was trying to undermine it." She went on to denounce the president's decision to tweet about Yovanovitch. "People don't insult people, especially when they're giving testimony before the Congress of the United States." Brennan pointed out that the White House stated that Trump wasn't … [Read more...] about Pelosi says Trump’s Twitter attacks on Yovanovitch are part of “his own insecurity as an imposter”

Attorney General William Barr gave his most vociferous defense of President Donald Trump on Friday and accused his political opponents of trying to upend the Trump administration. In an hour-long speech at the Federalist Society—a largely Conservative and influential legal group—Barr hit out at Democrats for trying to dismiss voters who elected Trump by "using every tool and maneuver to sabotage" his administration. "In waging a scorched-earth, no-holds-barred war of resistance against this administration, it is the left that is engaged in a systematic shredding of norms and undermining the rule of law," Barr said. Barr's comments came a week after the Washington Post reported that he declined a request from Trump to hold a press conference to state that there was no illegality in a July phone call between the president and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The call is central to Democrats' impeachment probe into whether Trump was withholding military aid in order … [Read more...] about William Barr accuses Democrats of “scorched-earth, no-holds-barred war” against Trump

Republican Representative Mike Turner described Donald Trump's actions towards Ukraine as "alarming" and "not OK," but defended the president against the impeachment inquiry moving forward rapidly in the House Intelligence Committee. Turner's comments came in an interview with CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, during which he largely defended the president, while criticizing House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California. But the GOP lawmaker, who represents Ohio, also criticized the president's actions towards Ukraine. After anchor Jake Tapper outlined the allegations that had been laid out by multiple credible witnesses, Turner admitted it was concerning. "Well, of course, all of that is alarming. And as I've said from the beginning, I think this is not OK," the congressman said. "The president of the United States should not have even in the original phone call [with Ukraine's president] be on the phone with the president of another country and … [Read more...] about Republican congressman calls Trump’s Ukraine actions “alarming” and “not OK,” but defends president

Nearly a month after objecting to electoral votes cast for President Biden, Rep. Mike Garcia wanted to clear the air. In a lengthy Jan. 30 op-ed in a local newspaper, the Santa Clarita Republican and former Navy fighter jet pilot denounced the blowback on social media that branded him “a seditionist, a traitor, or even worse.” Roughly 150 miles to the north, Rep. David Valadao also had some explaining to do after voting to impeach President Trump for his part in inciting the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. He, like Garcia, was disparaged by some constituents as a traitor. Two votes in Congress in successive weeks — one to certify Biden’s election and another to impeach the president — snared the two California Republicans into the pitched battle over the future of their party: whether the GOP will demand allegiance to Trump or break from his influence. On one side sits Garcia and the majority of House Republicans, who on Jan. 6 aligned with Trump in rejecting the will of the … [Read more...] about For two California Republicans, diverging approaches to Trump lead to the same place: Backlash

House Republicans have geared up for the first public impeachment hearings in the Ukraine scandal, set to take place this week, by having GOP staffers send a memo to lawmakers that outlines the strategy to best defend President Donald Trump. But flaws remain within their arguments, which fail to address some of the damning allegations that Democrats will focus their questions on. The 18-page document details four main points of evidence that Republicans believe "are fatal to the Democrats' allegations" that Trump made an effort to force his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democrats and 2016 election interference by withholding foreign military aid. "The July 25 call summary—the best evidence of the conversation—shows no conditionality or evidence of pressure." "President Zelensky and President Trump have both said there was no pressure on the call." In his now-infamous call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump said he "would like you to do us a favor, … [Read more...] about House Republicans’ defense strategy for impeachment hearings reveals flaws: Analysis

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace called out Republican House Minority Whip Steve Scalise after the GOP representative from Louisiana attempted to discredit the testimony against President Donald Trump in the ongoing impeachment inquiry, suggesting that the witnesses were partisan. As Wallace emphasized that Trump had specifically urged Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals in exchange for military aid, according to multiple credible witnesses, Scalise interrupted, saying: "Those were Schiff's witnesses," during an interview on Fox News Sunday . The congressman's remark was a reference to Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and is leading the impeachment inquiry. "Well wait a minute, no sir," Wallace responded. He then proceeded to fact-check Scalise's claim, pointing out that the witnesses served in Trump's administration and were not partisan. "They're career foreign service officers and these are people … [Read more...] about Fox News anchor fact-checks GOP congressman as he attempts to dismiss impeachment witnesses as partisan

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified for hours on Friday about being removed from her post and attacks on her from President Donald Trump as part of the House Democrats' ongoing impeachment inquiry. Yovanovitch appeared before the House Intelligence Committee for a public hearing and was the third witness to testify to Congress this week about the Ukraine controversy. On Wednesday, diplomat William Taylor and State Department official George Kent gave damning testimony against the president. Yovanovitch was appointed ambassador under several different presidents, both Republican and Democrat, and began serving in Ukraine in August 2016. In May 2019, she was abruptly removed from her post even though, she says, her bosses assured her she'd done nothing wrong. The reasoning behind her dismissal has become a major focus of the House investigation of the president's conduct toward Ukraine. Yovanovitch told Congress that Trump and his personal attorney Rudy … [Read more...] about Five highlights from former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s testimony at Day 2 impeachment hearing