Trump news: President accused of 'abuse of power' as he hits back against John Kelly in furious tweets

William Barr says president's 'bullying' and intervention in Roger Stone case makes it 'impossible' to do his job

Eric Swalwell says Trump's impeachment not off the table in Stone case

Donald Trump lashed out at his former chief of staff John Kelly while the White House welcomes back former communications director Hope Hicks after her stint at the parent company of Fox News.

The president has meanwhile been accused of spearheading a “descent into authoritarianism” by another possible rival, Elizabeth Warren, after admitting he asked his attorney general William Barr to intervene in the sentencing of Republican political trickster Roger Stone and refusing to rule out pardoning him.

Attorney General Barr warned that he won't be "bullied" by the president amid his attempts to make it "impossible" for him to do his job, he said. "I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody ... whether it's Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president," Mr Barr told ABC News. "I'm gonna do what I think is right. And you know ... I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me."

Mr Barr has agreed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee next month to explain himself after chairman Jerrold Nadler wrote to him to express concern over his politicisation of the Justice Department at the president’s behest since taking office. “He’s an enabler,” commented Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer. “That’s a kind word.”

Another top prosecutor from the office overseeing the case of longtime political operative Stone has resigned from the administration, days after the president withdrew Jessie Liu's nomination to the treasury department. Several prosecutors have fled Justice Department after the president's intervention in the latest criminal case involving his political allies.

The president also attacked 2020 contender Michael Bloomberg on Twitter, calling him “a 5’4 mass of dead energy”, only for the Democratic candidate to hit back and label the president “a carnival barking clown”, deriding his chequered real estate career as one defined by “stupid deals and incompetence”.

Mr Trump met with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday to seemingly establish yet another "quid pro quo" by attempting to reach a deal on the state's immigration policies if he agreed to drop all investigations of the president's personal life and businesses.

New York's trusted traveller and Global Entry programmes was suspended by the administration over the so-called "Green Light Law," which allows undocumented people to apply for state driver's licenses and ID and bans federal agents from looking at state motor vehicle records.

In a rare show of bipartisanship in the Senate, Democrats were able to narrowly pass a resolution that limits the president's war powers with Iran, establishing that Mr Trump must receive congressional approval before military action in the country.

Follow coverage as it happened:

[13 February 2020 16:17 · Alex Woodward]

Donald Trump has fired back at John Kelly after the former chief of staff unloaded on his former boss:

[13 February 2020 16:58 · Alex Woodward]

Top prosecutor in Roger Stone case resigns from administration

The former U.S. attorney who headed the prosecution of Roger Stone has resigned from the administration — two days after President Donald Trump withdrew her nomination for the treasury department.

Jessie Liu headed the US Attorney's Office, from which Robert Mueller led the investigation into Russian-backed interference in US elections in 2016. Several people with close ties to Trump were indicted and convicted, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn as well as Stone, who was found guilty of lying to Congress and tampering with witnesses.

Ms Liu was the president's pick for an undersecretary position at the US Treasury Department to oversee terrorism and financial crimes. He revoked that nomination earlier this week.

[13 February 2020 17:18 · Alex Woodward]

The Independent's Washington bureau chief John T Bennett has more on the president's attacks on his former chief of staff John Kelly and the rocky relationship between the two men during their shared time at the White House:

[13 February 2020 17:46 · Alex Woodward]

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — in a row with the president over the administration's cancellation of the trusted traveller programme for New Yorkers in retaliation for the state's alleged "sanctuary" city status — says Trump moved to Florida because he's not politically viable in New York.

From there, he then can score cheap political points by using New York "as a political pinata":

[13 February 2020 18:26 · Alex Woodward]

Eric Swalwell says the president's intervention in Roger Stone's case, if revealed by the Justice Department, is not immune from impeachment. Congress will hear from administration officials about the "independence" of the Justice Department, he says.

He told CNN: "We're not going to let him torch this democracy."

[13 February 2020 18:54 · Alex Woodward]

The president — after Governor Cuomo accused him of using New York as his "political pinata" after making attacks from his new political homebase in Florida — calls the governor's brother "Fredo".

In 2019, CNN's Chris Cuomo was caught on tape admonishing a man for calling him The Godfather character, "an Italian aspersion” that he said is "like the n-word" for Italians.

Donald Trump Jr mocked him later, saying he wasn't being called a slur but "the dumb brother".

[13 February 2020 19:43 · Alex Woodward]

Senate votes to limit Trump's war powers in Iran

In a rare show of (some) bipartisan support targeting the president, the US Senate passed its effort to curb Donald Trump's military actions in Iran.

The legislation says that the president must get approval from Congress before engaging in further action against Iran. The resolution passed by a vote of 55-45 with eight Republicans joining Senate Democrats to get the resolution the necessary votes to pass.

It follows the president's January airstrike that killed general Qassem Soleimani, stoking the violent tension between the countries and inflaming war debate as US officials defended the attack as a pre-emptive strike against incoming threats. The White House has waffled on the definition of those threats while the president has insisted it didn't matter whether there was one.

In response to the death of Soleimani, Tehran launched missiles at two US bases in Iraq, resulting in traumatic brain injuries in at least 64 troops.

The House passed a similar non-binding resolution last month and will likely take up the Senate's version this month.

[13 February 2020 20:14 · Alex Woodward]

John T Bennett in Washington breaks down the Senate's vote to limit the president's war powers in Iran in a bipartisan resolution.

The measure from Tim Kaine will "force a public debate and vote in Congress as intended by the framers of the Constitution to determine whether United States forces should be engaged in these hostilities", the senator said.

[13 February 2020 20:30 · Alex Woodward]

Three big reasons why the president will likely veto the war powers resolution the Senate just passed:

Also, the president fired a warning shot on Twitter yesterday:

[13 February 2020 21:33 · Alex Woodward]

Attorney General William Barr tells ABC that the president's ongoing stake in the Roger Stone case makes it "impossible" for him to do his job.

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy suggests AG Barr stay off Twitter.