Trump news: Top Democrat calls for House Intel Committee investigation to be reopened after Cohen guilty plea
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Donald Trump's disastrous week continues to rumble on, as the US president attempts to change a narrative that is swiftly spiralling out of his control and once again leading opponents to call for thorough investigations.
On Tuesday, two former associates of Mr Trump were convicted of a number of charges, with the president's former lawyer admitting to a pair of campaign finance violations during the presidential election.
Michael Cohen, Mr Trump's so-called legal "fixer" implicated the president when he told the court his client had directed him to make payments to two women for the "purpose of influencing the election".
Cohen admitted paying the hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, two women who have alleged they had extramarital affairs with Mr Trump.
The developments have once again raised the spectre of impeachment, with one Democratic congressman warning the "countdown" is underway. The threat to Mr Trump's presidency was raised once again on Friday, when Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that the committee's now-closed Russia investigation should be reopened in the light of the disclosures from Cohen.
Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide, has added fuel to the fire, saying she is "fully willing and ready" to testify in impeachment proceedings against the president.
Paul Manafort, Mr Trump's one-time campaign manager, was also found guilty on Tuesday over numerous charges of financial and tax fraud, the same day Cohen admitted his guilt.
The convictions stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, as well as the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 election.
On Thursday, it was revealed the White House opposed a bill which would significantly bolster America's defences against future election hacking.
Mr Trump has consistently dismissed the threat posed by Russia, and has flip flopped on whether he believes Moscow interfered in the last election.
Hello and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the deepening crisis surrounding Donald Trump's presidency.
The president has begun his morning by firing off a pair of tweets demanding Jeff Sessions, his attorney general, investigate what he describes as Democratic collusion with Russia.
Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide, had added to the spectre of impeachment against Donald Trump by saying she is "fully willing and ready" to testify in congress against him.
“I have the truth on my side as well as a hundred emails and documents and other things,” she told Yahoo News.
Asked specifically about serving as an impeachment witness, she said: “I think I’ve made it very clear that I am fully willing and ready to testify, to cooperate, to help advance this investigation.”
Donald Trump has been told by one Democratic congressman "the countdown to impeachment has already begun".
It appears that once again, the president's public declarations are being driven by Fox News' editorial decisions.
Donald Trump has tweeted about Jeff Sessions again, effectively claiming Hillary Clinton deserves to spend several years in jail.
Here's more on the former NSA contractor Mr Trump was referring to in the tweet below. Reality Winner was jailed for more than five years for leaking classified information about Russian interference in the US election.
Here's more on Jeff Sessions hitting back at Donald Trump's complaints about his attorney general. These are the quotes that sparked the president's ire earlier this morning.
Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator and a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, made this case for impeachment back in 1999.
Donald Trump, echoing statements made at a rally in Virginia earlier this week, is once again raising the issue of free speech. He has been accusing social media companies of silencing conservative voices.
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