Trump news : White House denies Kushner security clearance files as Democrats threaten 'next steps'

The Independent's live coverage of politics in Washington, as it happened

Trump: 'We have people in Congress right now that hate our country'

Donald Trump has lashed out at “stone cold CRAZY” Democrats in the House of Representatives, whom he accuses of “obstructing justice” and instigating “a big, fat, fishing expedition” to discredit him because the opposition is “desperately in search of a crime”.

The outburst comes after House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler launched a new abuse of powers investigation into President Trump on Tuesday, requesting information from 81 members of his inner circle, including sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon and Trump Organisation CFO Allen Weisselberg and executive VP Matthew Calamari.

With six such enquiries currently underway into the Trump administration, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised voters, “We’ll fight him in the Congress, we’ll fight him in the courts and we’ll fight him in the court of public opinion... What he’s doing is wrong and the Republicans know it.”

Her party’s national emergency disapproval resolution meanwhile looks set to pass the Senate, a vote that would force Mr Trump's first veto of his presidency.

The veto would be unlikely to be sustained in Congress, however, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying on Tuesday he believes the initial effort will be approved in his chamber but nothing more.

As the day progressed on Tuesday, Democrats showed signs that they will push forward with other priorities as well. Ms Pelosi, on a visit to Austin, Texas, indicated that the House is going to pass a voting rights bill that would significantly expand access ot the ballot in the US.

And, controversy continued to swirl on Tuesday around Mr Kushner's White House security clearance, with Democrats vowing to take "next steps" in order to obtain documents related to that decision, and Mr Trump calling investigations into his administration a "shame".

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Key Points

• President attacks 'stone cold crazy' Democrats in morning tweets
• 'We'll fight him in Congress, we'll fight him in the court'
• Ex-Trump lawyer calls Robert Mueller 'an American hero'
• Judiciary Committee requests documents from 81 Trump associates
• Hillary Clinton will not run against president in 2020

[5 March 2019 19:01 · Clark Mindock]

Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill “National Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End Veteran Suicide" any minute now. We will provide updates when or if he provides comment beyond what is in that legislation.

[5 March 2019 19:30 · Clark Mindock]

Here is our earlier report that the prosecutor in charge of the investigation into Trump is comfortable with filing charges against the president:

[5 March 2019 19:45 · Clark Mindock]

Donald Trump says he is going to visit Alabama soon to see the devastation from the recent tornados. 

“I’ll be heading to Alabama on Friday ... it’s been a tragic situation, but a lot of good work is being done,” Mr Trump said.

[5 March 2019 20:00 · Clark Mindock]

In recent days, reports have raised questions about the process by which Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was able to receive top security clearance in the White House.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings has asked the West Wing for documents related to that clearance approval, but it appears the White House is resisting.

A copy of the White House's response is linked in the tweet below.

Here is what Mr Cummings had to say in response:

“The White House appears to be arguing that Congress has no authority to examine decisions by the Executive Branch that impact our national security—even when the President’s former National Security Advisor has pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with foreign government officials.  There is a key difference between a president who exercises his authority under the Constitution and a president who overrules career experts and his top advisors to benefit his family members and then conceals his actions from the American people.  The White House’s argument defies the Constitutional separation of powers, decades of precedent before this Committee, and just plain common-sense.  The White House security clearance system is broken, and it needs both congressional oversight and legislative reform.  I will be consulting with Members of the Committee to determine our next steps.”

[5 March 2019 20:15 · Clark Mindock]

[5 March 2019 20:30 · Clark Mindock]

While we await a vote in the Senate on a resolution to terminate Donald Trump's emergency declaration to build a border wall, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is saying the whole thing is basically all for nothing.

As many as 10 Republican senators have indicated they may vote against the president, which would force Mr Trump's first veto of his presidency. 

[5 March 2019 20:45 · Clark Mindock]

Here is Donald Trump's tweet regarding his signing of a veterans bill earlier this afternoon.

[5 March 2019 21:33 · Clark Mindock]

Michael Bloomberg has decided against running for president on the Democratic ticket in 2020, and has instead pledged to double down on his efforts to combat climate change by working to close every coal powered power plant in the next 11 years.

Mr Bloomberg is a billionaire, and has previously worked on this issue through a partnership with the Sierra Club on a programme called "Beyond Coal", which has helped close more than half of America's coal powered power plants.

Here is his op-ed, published in his news outlet Bloomberg.

[5 March 2019 22:33 · Clark Mindock]

That's it for us today, folks. Thanks for reading along!