Category Archives: Donald Trump

President Donald Trump responded to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, using the Persian language in a tweet on Friday. The president also tweeted an English version of his response.

Translated by Twitter, the tweet by Trump read: "The noble people of Iran, who love America, deserve a government that will help them achieve their dreams, rather than focusing on killing them for revenge. Instead of dragging Iran to ruin, Iran's leaders must put aside the terrorists and magnify Iran again!"

The English version of Trump's tweet included a play on his famous campaign slogan which may have been lost in translation: "Make Iran Great Again!"

Khamenei had earlier tweeted: "The villainous US govt repeatedly says that they are standing by the Iranian ppl. They lie. If you are standing by the Iranian ppl, it is only to stab them in the heart with your venomous daggers. Of course, you have so far failed to do so, & you will certainly continue to fail."

That was in response to Trump and other U.S. officials, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, offering statements of support to Iran's anti-regime protesters.

The latest Twitter exchange followed a rare public sermon by Khamenei on Friday, his first in eight years. Some of the the Iranian leader's remarks were then repeated by his Twitter account.

The Ayatollah criticized American leaders who he said "only pretend to support the Iranian people" but want to "stab them in the heart with your venomous daggers."

Khamenei also criticised the British, French and German governments and accused them of being "the footmen of the US. These 3 countries are the ones who helped Saddam as much as they could in his war against us."

In response, President Trump said: "The so-called 'Supreme Leader' of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!

Trump went on to say: "The noble people of Iranwho love Americadeserve a government that's more interested in helping them achieve their dreams than killing them for demanding respect. Instead of leading Iran toward ruin, its leaders should abandon terror and Make Iran Great Again!"

This was then followed up with the Persian language version of the tweet.

This exchange and the sermon came two weeks after a U.S. drone strike killed Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani, near Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, on January 3. In retaliation, on January 8, Iran attacked the Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad, which the Pentagon has confirmed injured 11 U.S. military personnel.

While Trump held back on ordering a U.S. counterstrike over the Ain al-Asad airbase attack, he has imposed more sanctions on Iran.

The heightened security status in Iran also resulted in the regime's accidental downing of a commercial jetliner minutes after it departed Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport. All 176 people aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 died. Of the people on board, 82 were Iranian, 63 Canadian, 11 Ukrainian (including nine crewmembers), 10 Swedish, seven Afghan and three German.

In his sermon on Friday, Khamenei expressed his condolences to the families of the victims but then claimed that foreign press tried to manipulate Iranians over the tragedy.

According to Khamenei's English language website, he said: "The plane crash was a bitter accident that truly broke our hearts. The loss of the dear, young people and those who had come here from other countries was a truly heartrending event.

"As much as we were grieved by the tragedy of the plane crash, enemies were happy about it. They tried to question the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic and use it to overshadow the great event. They were mistaken, 'And they planned and Allah (also) planned, and Allah is the best of planners.' [Qur'an 3:54]"

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.

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Donald Trump Tweets in Persian That Iranians 'Love America' in Twitter Joust With Ayatollah Khamenei - Newsweek

Winston Churchill supposedly said: Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else. In his new book, Andrew Bacevich goes far towards proving the second half of that sentence and casts doubt on the first, without offering much in the way of alternatives.

In what is mostly a social history of the post-cold war era dont expect to find an analysis of the Balkan wars Bacevich seeks to chronicle how the US wasted little time in squandering the advantage it had gained. Few would disagree.

Yet he defines Americas supposed post-cold war consensus as globalized neoliberalism, global leadership, freedom (as the expansion of personal autonomy, with traditional moral prohibitions declared obsolete and the removal of constraints maximizing choice), and presidential supremacy. The 2016 election, he writes, presented the repudiation of that very consensus.

The villains in this telling are the elites who pushed the consensus heedless of other views or interests expectations raised, but unfulfilled; outraged citizens left with no place to stand to the point where Donald Trump was elected and no one could understand why.

In 2016, he writes, financial impotence was to turn into political outrage, bringing the post-cold war era to an abrupt end. As for the people who shop for produce at Whole Foods, wear vintage jeans and ski in Aspen, they never saw it coming and couldnt believe it when it occurred.

Bacevich argues that the seeds of this failure were present throughout the cold war, notably in Vietnam and Ross Perots insurgent White House run in 1992. But how could there ever have been a consensus if the country were so divided?

We have been here before, both in the history of the US and of ideology. Post-1989 featured the same universal self-congratulation and flinging up of caps that Thomas Carlyle critiqued in The French Revolution. Bacevich is right to criticize it again. But it is surely wrong to claim, for instance, that Reagans entire presidency was a pseudo-event, its achievements based on the masterful creation and manipulation of images. Mikhail Gorbachev, for one, doesnt think so.

Acerbic, even curmudgeonly his catalogue of Americas social ills is harsh but fair Bacevich veers between the commonplace and the sarcastic. The promotion of globalization included a generous element of hucksterism, he writes, the equivalent of labeling a large cup of strong coffee a grande dark roast while referring to the server handing it to you as a barista.

Clearly, for those who favor an expansive role for America and the west, and operating according to the principles of grand statecraft, the post-cold war years were the years the locust has eaten. Social mobility declined. The plight of the poor worsened. But JD Vance wrote more sensitively about this in Hillbilly Elegy and Bacevich adds little on either the wars or the peace.

Even if the Donald Rumsfeld-endorsed, technology-friendly Revolution in Military Affairs only purported to describe the culmination of a long evolutionary march toward perfection, which great power today does not rely on technology for military might? And what, other than isolationism, would preclude the possibility of another Vietnam?

Similarly, even as he chronicles their failures Bacevich is harshly critical of the view that presidents direct history. Abraham Lincoln, call your office. FDR too.

The elites Bacevich chides had many faults, and no president of the period left office fully content. But sometimes the authors strategy, as well as his history, is simply wrong.

The horrors of 9/11 notwithstanding, he writes, terrorism does not pose an existential threat to the United States and never has. As innumerable commentators have noted, terrorism is merely a tactic, and an ancient one at that.

Yet one nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day, as the bumper sticker read, and any leader is responsible for maintaining vigilance. Which threats can be ignored? Air piracy? Chemical weapons? Nuclear smuggling? Bacevich never offers what he would do to states harboring terrorists, even while noting failures in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The book starts out critical of Trump but then takes a more nuanced position. Chiding Barack Obama as the one who saved globalized neoliberalism and inadvertently laid the way for a powerful backlash, he says Trumps detractors commit this categorial error. They confuse cause and effect. They charge him with dividing America. Yet which other recent president attacked fellow citizens so harshly and took delight in smashing the norms of political debate?

Bacevich focuses on the neoconservative project in terms of wars but ignores its Burkean focus on domestic policy, not least David Brooks idea of national greatness conservatism, a very different thing than Maga. John McCain, who articulated a similar vision of national purpose, and whose policies were designed to help Joe the Plumber far more than Trump has, gets one brief mention.

Some people saw what was happening and sought to answer the question Rabbit Angstrom asked and Bacevich cites: Without the cold war, whats the point of being an American? They were ignored.

Bacevich now urges Americans to ignore the tweets and focus on events. But the tweets are events, the way in which the old guardrails are broken down and the boundaries of legitimate discourse weakened, which has let loose some very dangerous ideas, not least on race and republican norms. A tweet is not a notification to Congress under the War Powers Act.

Despite Bacevichs call for conversation on issues formerly beyond the pale such as abandoning globalism and militarism, his book has a fatal weakness: he never quite says what or who he is for. He is too good a historian not to know there was a tendency of anti-anti-communism during the cold war. Perhaps his book is about anti-anti-Trumpism. But the pale is there for a reason

One hopes some future historian will find the seeds of success in our present troubles. Meanwhile, Americans must pick up the pieces as best they can.

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The Age of Illusions review: anti-anti-Trump but for what, exactly? - The Guardian

Trumps allegations are not new he has sporadically claimed for years that the Democratic establishment sought to undermine Sanders in 2016, as have Sanders own supporters but they come as Trump has accelerated his offensive against the Vermont senator, who continues to show strength in early polling.

Earlier this week, Trump sought to play up a feud between Sanders and Warren, who are battling for progressive voters, and his campaign has begun to single Sanders out in press releases and on social media more often rather than focusing more exclusively on Biden.

Trump has also recently stepped up his attacks on former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is pouring money into TV ads attacking Trump to boost his late-start bid.

But Sanders rejected Trump's "attempts to divide Democrats" in a statement Friday evening.

Lets be clear about who is rigging what: it is Donald Trumps action to use the power of the federal government for his own political benefit that is the cause of the impeachment trial," he said. "His transparent attempts to divide Democrats will not work, and we are going to unite to sweep him out of the White House in November.

When the trial begins in earnest on Tuesday, all senators will be required to attend each day of the proceedings for as long as they last.

But Sanders isnt the only 2020 candidate who will be kept off the campaign trail as the impeachment trial drags on.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), whom polls have shown is within striking distance in Iowa; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is hoping for a come-from-behind victory in the Hawkeye State, and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a longshot who has placed more stock in the New Hampshire primaries in less than a month, will all be sidelined by the proceedings.

The trial could be a huge boon to White House hopefuls like Biden and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who are clustered with Sanders and Warren at the top of the field. The senators currently running for president have all expressed disappointment at being kept off the campaign trail while pledging to fulfill their constitutional obligations and sending surrogates to campaign on their behalf.

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Trump accuses Dems of using impeachment trial to hurt Sanders campaign - POLITICO

President Donald Trump is speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federations convention in Austin on Sunday. That means people driving downtown will likely experience delays.

Austin Police Department said it couldnt release details of Trumps route through Austin due to safety concerns, but here is what we know so far.

The AFBF conference is taking place Friday through Wednesday at the Austin Convention Center. Trump will be delivering remarks at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Exhibit Halls 2-3 of the Convention Center, AFBF announced this morning.

If Air Force One lands at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the presidents motorcade then travels to the Convention Center, highways like 71, I-35 and 183 could see closures or congestion. Roads around ABIA and the convention center could be hectic as well.

APD usually posts road closures and updates on Twitter, so keep an eye out if you plan on heading downtown.

Why Is Trump Visiting?

Trump is addressing farmers and ranchers at the convention for the third year in a row. Each year, AFBF holds a convention and trade show somewhere in the U.S. The organization chose Austin for its 101st.

Expect Protests

Trumps previous visits to Austin spurred protests, and this one likely will as well. Organizers have created Facebook events to spread the word.

Indivisible Austin, which organized protests during Trumps visit in November, posted on its website that this time, the organization is choosing instead to focus on local organizing, but it will support any individuals or groups who feel called to organize a protest of Trumps visit.

Past Visits

Trump last visited Austin in November to tour an Apple manufacturing plant. Before that, he stopped in Austin in 2017 to meet with state officials following Hurricane Harvey. And as a presidential candidate, he visited Austin in 2016, during which he taped a town hall event at ACL Live at the Moody Theater and held a rally at the Travis County Expo Center.

This story has been updated.

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Trump Will Be In Austin Sunday. Here's What You Need To Know. - KUT

Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump's belligerent former campaign manager, recently decided against a US Senate run. That's good news for the civil-minded among us who respect a free press.

Lewandowski was famous for his rhetorical and sometimes literal pugilism, if you watched his chaotic congressional testimony or saw his altercations with a reporter and protesters. His campaign would've been Trump 2.0 but on a smaller scale.

Beyond Lewandowski, there are others in Trump's orbit contemplating higher office, including the president's son Donald Trump Jr., Trump loyalist and cable-TV staple Rep. Matt Gaetz, and even George Papadopoulos the Trump campaign aide who, as part of the Mueller investigation, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

As these Trump-adjacent figures start running, it'll be a test for the future of Republican politics and our country.

Trump rose to power with an unconventional, in-your-face style that works for him but not the country. For most of the 2016 primary campaign, he was ignored, considered a crude celebrity but not a president. As he started to gain traction, Republicans like Mitt Romney, an array of national-security officials, and retired military brass began to challenge his qualifications for office.

But they were too late. Trump had the momentum, and the Republicans ushered in the era of divide at will, lie with abandon, and point the finger at people who don't look like you.

And as the Trump presidency has progressed, the GOP has increasingly taken on the image of the president. Republican voters have stayed fiercely loyal to Trump, leading politicians in the party to mirror his style. Fueled by this positive reinforcement, the most Trump-like figures are now looking to work their way up the ranks of the party.

The resemblance between the man in the Oval and his disciples is striking. Don Jr. has been a true a chip off the old block with his Twitter fights, questionable testimony, and clashes with media. And "attack dog" Matt Gaetz's bullying,hypocrisy, and "alternative facts" often land him in hot water. Sound familiar?

So for everyone saying that a Democratic president will bring us a return to normality, the alternative narrative is this: The current game is just the first inning of increasingly incendiary leadership in America. We're already beginning to see evidence of this. Despite the turmoil engulfing his administration, Trump faces no credible primary challengers. As state GOP parties scrap their primaries and caucuses, Trump's takeover of the party has never been more apparent.

Twenty years from now, Trump will seem run of the mill, as the divide that began during the Clinton years seems now.

The vocal GOP opposition candidate Trump faced has long subsided in the era of President Trump. While Republicans continue to grumble about Trump in private, they're afraid to stand up to him publicly, even on the smallest matters. If Republicans can stop Trump's disciples from winning office, they'll have a chance to rediscover and recommit to their principles.

For the non-Trumpist Republicans, there's still room to survive and thrive. But their opportunity and maneuverability are limited with Trump at the helm. Their best bet will be when they drop Trump and his minions and rally around a normal standard bearer.

Republicans will need to make a choice about whether to stick with the Trump brand or reject it. Just as with impeachment, they'll have an opportunity to put country first. If they don't, eventually it will catch up to them. But the damage to the country will be beyond repair.

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The final test of Trump's domination of the GOP will have nothing to do with his reelection - Business Insider

The UK government is preparing to defy Donald Trump and strike a deal with Chinese telecoms company Huawei, despite the president's repeated threats to cut off security ties with the country.

Trump has warned the UK that the intelligence-sharing arrangement between the two allies will be at risk if the deal for a role in Britain's 5G network goes ahead, with US officials warningthat "Donald Trump is watching closely."

However, Johnson is preparing to allow the Huawei deal to go ahead despite the threats, amid a widespread belief in Europe that Trump's warnings are a "bluff".

EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan on Thursday told an event in London that the President's threat was simply not credible.

"I don't think that will happen at the end of the day," he said.

"You can call their bluff on that one."

Johnson is now preparing to agree to allow Huawei a "limited" role in the UK's 5G network, with one UK official telling the Daily Mail that the UK security services simply do not believe Trump's blanket ban on Huawei is justified.

"The security world does not endorse the need for a blanket ban on Huawei. They are not naive they are well aware of the risks but they believe they can be contained," the official said.

Another source told the paper: "From a security point of view the risk is manageable."

Johnson repeatedly promised to upgrade Britain's sluggish communications network during his recent victorious election campaign and has publicly backed the possibility of a role for Huawei.

Asked on Tuesday whether he would allow the Huawei deal to go ahead, Johnson told the BBC that "the British public deserves access to the best possible technology."

He added: "If people oppose one brand or another they have to tell us what's the alternative?"

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson Getty

The development came as Johnson's administration responded to Trump's threats by threatening that the UK would cut UK support for future US-led wars.

The UK Defence Secretary told the Sunday Times that Trump's isolationist foreign policy stance meant that the UK would increasingly look to other international allies instead.

"Over the last year we've had the US pullout from Syria, the statement by Donald Trump on Iraq where he said NATO should take over and do more in the Middle East," Wallace said.

"The assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a US coalition is really just not where we are going to be."

Johnson's administration has repeatedly criticised Trump's aggressive stance towards Iran, with Johnson warning last week that the president's threats to target Iranian cultural sites could be a war crime.

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UK prepares to ignore Trump's threats and call his 'bluff' on Huawei - Business Insider

Ronald Reagans son lacerated Donald Trump in a scathing interview with The Daily Beast published Friday, saying his late father never would have voted for Trump.

He would have been embarrassed and ashamed that a president of the United States was as incompetent and traitorous as the man occupying the White House now, said Ron Reagan, 61. Hes a disgrace to the office of the presidency.

Reagan, speaking to the Beast from Italy, where he lives half the year, said if his father were alive today, he suspects the popular 40th commander in chief would say something like:Our nation is at a real turning point. Our republic is in danger. Democracy is in danger, and we need to put somebody else in the White House because this man is betraying the country every single day he occupies the Oval Office.

Because of Trump, it is perhaps the most dangerous time for our republic in my lifetime, perhaps since the Civil War, said the liberal commentator. Though Reagans views often clashed with his conservative fathers perspectives, he said his dad conducted his presidency with dignity and class.

If there is a second Trump administration, hes going to feel liberated to do whatever he wants to do. Hell try and go for the third, fourth, however long he lasts. He wants to be president for life. It would keep him out of jail, for one thing, Reagan said.

Reagan also lashed the GOP. He said his dad would be ashamed of this Republican Party.

The GOP at this point, for a whole host of reasons to do with Donald Trump, is an entirely illegitimate political party just made up of a bunch of sycophantic traitors mouthing Kremlin propaganda to defend this squalid little man who is occupying the White House, said Reagan.

Reagans powerful2014 ad for the Freedom From Religion Foundationplayed again this week during the Democratic presidential debate. He calls himself an unabashed atheist who supports the group to keep state and church separate, just like the Founding Fathers intended.

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Ron Reagan Goes Scorched Earth On 'Traitor' Trump: My Dad Wouldn't Have Voted For Him - HuffPost

Why buy one copy when you could have five?

Johannes Eisele/Getty Images

Over the weekend, former president Barack Obama released lists of his favorite books, movies, and TV shows from 2019, and once again the internet is ablaze with fond reminiscences of the good old days, when the empire had better table manners. Comparing reading and viewing habits have always struck me as a strange way to judge politicians: It doesnt really matter if the boot stamping on a human face knows it is alluding to Orwell. But if taste is a notoriously unreliable measure of virtue, let alone presidential ability, its an extremely reliable measure of taste. So here is a list of every book Donald Trump recommended on Twitter in 2019. As youll see, while Barack Obamas list represents a broad sampling of the planets cultural output, Trumps interests are narrower. Much, much narrower.

Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency, by Andrew C.McCarthy. The Case Against Socialism, by Rand Paul. The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free, by Rich Lowry.

The Case for Trump, by Victor Davis Hanson.

Choosing the Extraordinary Life: Gods 7 Secrets for Success and Significance, by Robert Jeffress.

Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump, by George Papadopoulos

Exonerated: The Failed Takedown of President Donald Trump by the Swamp, by Dan Bongino.

Game of Thorns: The Inside Story of Hillary Clintons Failed Campaign and Donald Trumps Winning Strategy, by Doug Wead. The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get, by Joe Ricketts.

Inside Trumps White House: The Real Story of His Presidency, by Doug Wead.

Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court, by Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino.

Our Lost Declaration: Americas Fight Against Tyranny From King George to the Deep State, by Mike Lee.

Paloma Wants to Be Lady Freedom, by Rachel Campos-Duffy.

The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Scandal in U.S. History, by Lee Smith.

Power Grab: The Liberal Scheme to Undermine Trump, the GOP, and Our Republic, by Jason Chaffetz.

Radicals, Resistance, and Revenge: The Lefts Plot to Remake America, by Jeanine Pirro.

The Real Deal: My Decade Fighting Battles and Winning Wars With Trump, by George A. Sorial and Damian Bates.

Rebuilding Sergeant Peck: How I Put Body and Soul Back Together After Afghanistan, by John Peck, Dava Guerin, and Terry Bivens.

Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters Are Breaking America, by Kimberley Strassel.

Sacred Duty: A Soldiers Tour of Arlington National Cemetery, by Tom Cotton.

Still Winning: Why America Went All in on Donald Trump and Why We Must Do It Again, by Charles Hurt.

Taken for Granted: How Conservatism Can Win Back the Americans That Liberalism Failed, by Gianno Caldwell.

Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us, by Donald Trump, Jr.

Unfreedom of the Press, by Mark R. Levin.

What Really Happened: How Donald J. Trump Saved America From Hillary Clinton, by Howie Carr.

Why We Fight: Defeating Americas EnemiesWith No Apologies, by Sebastian Gorka.

Witch Hunt: The Story of the Greatest Mass Delusion in American Political History, by Gregg Jarrett.

With All Due Respect: Defending America With Grit and Grace, by Nikki R. Haley.

Wow! Those are definitely all books! As for TV and movies, besides his constant bragging about The Apprentice and obsessive love for Fox & Friends, this appears to be the only television program Donald Trump recommended all year:

While its impossible to predict which books, movies, and television shows Donald Trump will recommend in 2020, it seems like its extremely easy to predict why he will recommend them. Start retitling your upcoming work now.

Link:

Here Are All the Books Donald Trump Recommended in 2019 - Slate

President Donald Trump's request to block nearly $400 million in military aid from Ukraine reportedly drove deep divisions between administration officials who were taken aback by the move.

A comprehensive investigation by The New York Times into the attitudes inside the administration during the 84 days between when Trump first inquired about the funding package to his decision to call back the block in September revealed tensions between top members of Trump's inner circle.

In addition to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Russell T. Vought, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget, Robert Blair, the senior adviser to Mulvaney, and Mark Paoletta, the budget office's top lawyer were the main group of officials responsible for executing a secret effort "to bring pressure on a country [Trump] viewed with suspicion, if not disdain," the Times wrote.

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney listens as President Donald J. Trump participates in a working lunch with governors on workforce freedom and mobility in the Cabinet Room at the White House on Thursday, June 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Early in Trump's inquiry about withholding funds, Blair told Mulvaney "that it would be possible, but not pretty" to block the aid package, The Times reported, and wrote in an email that the administration should "expect Congress to become unhinged" if the White House tried to pull back spending that was approved in Congress.

Blair also reportedly warned that the move might pile on to Trump's pro-Russia image, which has popped up in impeachment proceedings as a concern across the administration after Trump reportedly credited a debunked conspiracy theory for disliking Ukraine.

The Times reported that Vought had grown used to addressing unusual requests from Trump that had little to do with formal policy research by the time he identified an article by conservative outlet the Washington Examiner, which said that American security aid would total $1.5 billion between this year and 2014, as the trigger for Trump's request.

Divisions within the administration hardened as more reports surfaced over the aid block, evidenced by actions like then-national security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who met with the president to privately urge him to release the funding, according to the Times.

Blair, who has since been elevated to special representative for international telecommunications policy, and Vought could become more prominent figures in the upcoming impeachment proceedings set to take place in the Republican-majority Senate, which will hold a trial and most likely acquit the president.

However, Democratic lawmakers have identified prominent officials who were instrumental in pushing the aid block, which created deep tensions within the administration's budget and military departments, the Times reports.

Mark Sandy was the only OMB official to testify in the impeachment inquiry and he identified Mike Duffey, Trump's appointed associate director for national security programs in the Office of Management and Budget, as having abruptly taken over authority in signing off on documents that concerned aid for Ukraine, which he said made his staff "surprised" and "concerned."

Like Duffey, Vought and Blair were subpoenaed for testimony but defied the orders.

Republican lawmakers have publicly called for a quick trial with no witnesses, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would follow cues from White House counsel.

The rest is here:

Trump's secret plan to pressure Ukraine reportedly pitted administration officials against each other - Business Insider

President Donald Trump has slammed New York, city and state, for repeatedly investigating him, saying officials do it to make him "hate them even more than I should." Trump also laid into New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, claiming the city and state are "falling apart" on his watch.

"So sad to see that New York City and State are falling apart," Trump wrote in a tweet on Saturday. "All they want to do is investigate to make me hate them even more than I should. Governor Cuomo has lost control, and lost his mind. Very bad for the homeless and all!"

In an earlier tweet, he slammed Cuomo and his Californian counterpart, Governor Gavin Newsom, for allegedly failing to tackle "homeless problems."

"California and New York must do something about their TREMENDOUS Homeless problems. They are setting records! If their Governors can't handle the situation, which they should be able to do very easily, they must call and 'politely' ask for help. Would be so easy with competence!" the president wrote.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Cuomo and other New York officials as the state continues to pursue his tax returns and financial records. In a tweet last month, he blasted Cuomo along with New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, claiming they were causing his hometown's decline.

"So sad to see what is happening in New York where Governor Cuomo & Mayor DeBlasio are letting out 900 Criminals, some hardened & bad, onto the sidewalks of our rapidly declining, because of them, city," he wrote. "The Radical Left Dems are killing our cities. NYPD Commissioner is resigning!"

Donald Trump, his children Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and the Trump Foundation charity, were ordered in November by a New York State judge to pay a $2 million fine over the misuse of charity assets for personal, business and politcal gain, among other violations.

Earlier this month, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that as well as the Trump Foundation being shut down, the president was forced to concede he had misused funds for political gain. She said the settlement money was distributed to eight charities.

James added that as part of the settlement, Trump's children Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. had undergone mandatory training.

James is also investigating whether Trump exaggerated his wealth in order to obtain loans. The Associated Press reported in September that she issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank in March seeking loan applications and other records related to Trump real estate projects and his failed bid to buy the Buffalo Bills. James has been contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is seeking Trump's tax returns as part of a criminal investigation of the president, the Trump Organization and the Trump family's real estate business.

The New York Times reported in September that Vance subpoenaed Trump and the Trump Organization seeking state and federal tax returns for the last eight years. It came shortly after an investigation was launched into the president's role in payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, who claimed she had an affair with Trump. Vance has been contacted for comment.

Cuomo said Trump's decision to declare residency in Florida earlier this year was a ploy to avoid disclosing his finances to New York officials. "There is a legal proceeding against the president from the Manhattan district attorney's office where they're trying to get him to turn over the taxes," Cuomo told MSNBC last month.

"My guess is he was advised by his lawyer that would help his case to not to release his taxes to the Manhattan district attorney if he could say he was no longer a resident of the state of New York."

The White House and Cuomo have been contacted for comment.

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Donald Trump Says He Hates New York 'Even More Than I Should' Because of Investigations - Newsweek