Pastor Robert Jeffress praises Donald Trump at White House Hanukkah event
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Donald Trump is set to face impeachment in the House of Representatives, becoming the fourth president in US history to face removal from office on charges of misconduct after the House Judiciary Committee'prepares to send articles of impeachment to the full Congress.
The full House is expected to vote on impeachment next week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she doesn't plan to whip votes to support impeachment, saying that House leadership won't pressure Democrats in vulnerable districts or moderate Democrats fearing political fallout from supporting efforts to remove the president from office.
She said: "We are not whipping this legislation, nor do we ever whip something like this. People have to come to their own conclusions. They've seen the facts as presented ... They'll make their own decision. I don't say anything to them."
Meanwhile, the president had an explosive day on Twitter, including an attack on teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg after she was named TIME magazine’s Person of the Year ahead of him as the committee prepared to resume its debate over articles of impeachment threatening to end his presidency.
Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal
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“So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” the president wrote on Twitter.
The president's campaign also shared a photo of the TIME cover with Mr Trump's face superimposed over the teenage climate activist.
Mr Trump also faced criticism for hosting notoriously antisemitic Texan pastor Robert Jeffress at his White House Hanukkah party, a man who once claimed Jews would go to hell and that Mr Trump’s impeachment would cause a “Civil War-like fracture” in American society.
Pence refused to declassify his own Zelenksy call to Adam Schiff
Mike Pence's office refused to release information on a call that took place between the vice president and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on 18 September after its declassification was requested by House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, according to a letter obtained by The Hill.
Schiff was tipped to the call by Pence staffer Jennifer Williams in her deposition to the impeachment inquiry and, suspecting further wrongdoing or a possible coverup, wrote to the veep on 6 December asking for details:
"While the contents of a classified call with a foreign head of state should never have been discussed in an unclassified vommittee hearing or an unclassified deposition, it is clear from public testimony that the vice president never raised the Bidens, Burisma, or Crowdstrike in his conversation with President Zelensky," Pence's counsel Matthew Morgan responded.
"As you well know, a witness answered your direct question that the vice president never raised those investigations," the letter continues. "As such, the request to declassify and release another world leader transcript serves no purpose."
Morgan also used his oppportunity to attack the inquiry, writing: "This once again again illustrates the committee's lack of commitment to fundamental fairness and due process".
"The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has already voted out its partisan report and transmitted it to the House Judiciary Committee," it continues. "Your request, coming after the completion of your report, serves no legitimate legislative or impeachment inquiry purpose."
Trump attacks Greta Thunberg over Time magazine cover with spectacularly childish and patronising tweet
This is next level from the president. How petluant and jealous can you get?
Here he is attacking a 16-year-old for beating him onto the cover of a news magazine by showing geniune leadership qualities on the world stage on an issue of planet-ending importance.
Keep in mind that the first lady runs an anti-bullying initiative while you digest those words.
Trump denounced for 'absurd, juvenile' Thanos meme
The troll-in-chief has since resumed firing out retweets to cover his tracks, most of which are the inevitable Republican interview clips from Fox and reflections on his speech from Pennsylvania on Tuesday night.
No fewer than 12 (!) concern Florida congressman and overgrown frat boy Matt "Pizza" Gaetz.
The president's Twitter game has been iffier than ever recently but last night's retweet of some Conan the Hero Dog fan art courtesy of his daughter-in-law Lara was a definite lowlight.
One man who is less than impressed with the president's meme game is CNN anchor Don Lemon, who lost all patience with the president's recent Thanos video.
"What are we, in junior high school?" he asked, utterly incredulous that he had to discuss a viral Marvel video on the evening news. "This is literally crazy. Are you people insane?"
Here's Ellie Harrison on the aggrieved reaction of the character's creator.
Jailed Trump lawyer Michael Cohen makes desperate plea for clemency after admitting he 'sold his soul'
"He who steals my purse steals trash, he who steals my good name steals all," says Iago in Shakespeare's Othello.
The president's former fixer Michael Cohen says he now understands the quotation to its fullest extent as he pleads to have his three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress shortened. He has been "disbarred, financially crushed, and personally embarrassed and humiliated," he says between sobs.
If that wasn't grandiose and self-serving enough for you, Cohen also concedes he engaged in a "Faustian pact" the day he first bowed his head to Donald J Trump, that Mephistopheles of the chintzy Manhattan real estate scene.
ICE deported 12,000 family members and unaccompanied minors in a year
US immigration officials deported approximately 12,000 family members and unaccompanied minors last fiscal year, far fewer than the “millions” Trump pledged to arrest months ago in frustration about rising border crossings, according to a federal report.
Donald Trump‘s team have edited his face on to the body of teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg after she was named Time‘s Person of the Year.
The official Trump War Room account on Twitter posted the altered front cover of the magazine on Wednesday, the same day the 16-year-old won the accolade for “turning vague anxieties about the planet into a worldwide movement calling for global change”.
Mr Trump’s team said: “When it comes to keeping his promises, there’s only one Person Of The Year.”
Listing the reasons why they believe he deserved the award, they added: “Booming Economy, Record Job Creation, Historic Tax Cuts, #AmericaFirst Trade Deals, Isis Destroyed, Building the Wall.”
Good morning and welcome to another historic day on Capitol Hill, as the House Judiciary Committee begins marking up the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.
I'm Chris Riotta, and I'll be guiding you through today's hearings with the help of The Independent's Andrew Feinberg, who is sitting in the room where the committee is currently marking up the impeachment charges.
We'll bring you live updates, video and analysis as they come in.
Republicans are objecting to the impeachment articles being read, and Democrats are calling on the charges to continue being read.
This is significant because the majority of Americans tuning into the first few minutes of the impeachment proceedings will be able to hear the exact charges as they are written against the president.
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