Politics Election category, Page 317
GOP defends Trump as Bolton book adds pressure for witnessesVideo
WASHINGTON — Pressure is increasing on senators to call John Bolton to testify at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial after the revelation that a draft of a book by the former national security adviser undercuts a key defense argument — that Trump never tied withholding military aid to Ukraine to...
Report: John Bolton says Trump tied Ukraine funds to Biden probe
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told his national security adviser he wanted to maintain a freeze on military assistance to Ukraine until it launched political investigations into his Democratic rivals, according to a report in The New York Times on Sunday. The newspaper said John Bolton’s description of his exchange...
Who can topple Trump? Dems’ electability fight rages in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — The urgent fight for the Democratic presidential nomination was raging across Iowa on Sunday as the party’s leading candidates and their allies fanned out across the state to deliver closing arguments centered on the defining question of the 2020 primary: Who is best positioned to defeat...
Defense resumes in key impeachment week; Dems seek witnesses
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial enters a pivotal week as his defense team resumes its case and senators face a critical vote on whether to hear witnesses or proceed directly to a vote that is widely expected to end in his acquittal. The articles of impeachment charge Trump...
Trump suggests Adam Schiff ‘has not paid the price’ for prosecuting impeachmentVideo
President Donald Trump lashed out at Rep. Adam Schiff in a series of tweets on Sunday, saying the California Democrat has “not paid the price, yet” for his role in the impeachment process, a statement Schiff said he viewed as a threat. “Shifty Adam Schiff is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and...
Pompeo lashes out at journalist; NPR defends its reporter
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out in anger Saturday at an NPR reporter who accused him of shouting expletives at her after she asked him in an interview about Ukraine. In a direct and personal attack, America’s chief diplomat said the journalist had “lied” to him and...
Trump defends Sanders, stoking Democratic divisions
WASHINGTON — As tensions between Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren rose earlier this month, Sanders found himself with an unusual ally: President Donald Trump. During a raucous campaign rally in which Trump critiqued some of his Democratic challengers, the president launched into an unprompted defense of Sanders....
Senate floor belongs to Trump team as defense case opens
WASHINGTON — The floor of the Senate now belongs to President Donald Trump’s lawyers as they push the Republican-led chamber for his impeachment acquittal on charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress. The president’s lawyers planned to begin their arguments Saturday in the impeachment trial and were expected...
Trump’s lawyers prepare a blistering defense
WASHINGTON — Over the last three days, House Democrats have presented compelling evidence in the form of snappy video clips, punchy PowerPoint slides and impassioned oratory, building a case that removing President Donald Trump from office is imperative to protect the Constitution and the country. Starting Saturday, Trump’s lawyers will...
Trial highlights: Dems cry cover-up, Trump hails activists
WASHINGTON — From the floor of the Senate, Democratic impeachment prosecutors said Friday that President Donald Trump tried to cover up his actions with Ukraine, another reason to remove him from office. A few blocks away, Trump told anti-abortion activists on the National Mall that he proudly stands with them....
Report: Recording links Trump to Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s ousterVideo
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump can be heard in a taped 2018 conversation saying he wants to get rid of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, whose removal a year later emerged as an issue in Trump’s impeachment. The president was talking with a small group that included Lev Parnas,...
On impeachment, McConnell ‘plays to win’
WASHINGTON — In 1999, a rank-and-file Republican senator named Mitch McConnell was, in his words, the “go-to guy” for explaining how arcane Senate rules could influence the outcome of Democratic President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. “The reason Clinton was not removed from office,” McConnell mused in his 2016 memoir, “was...
Trump, a late convert to cause, attends anti-abortion rally
WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed to stand with anti-abortion activists Friday as he became the first sitting president to speak at the March for Life, an annual gathering that is one of the movement’s highest profile and most symbolic events. “Today as President of the United States, I am truly...
South Huntingdon carpenter is GOP nominee for 58th House special election
Westmoreland County Republicans selected a union carpenter making his first run for public office as the GOP’s candidate in a special election for the Pennsylvania State House 58th District seat. Eric Davanzo, 43, of South Huntingdon was nominated Thursday night to run against Democrat Robert Prah in the March 17...
Pompeo heads to Ukraine next week as impeachment winds down
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Ukraine next week, making his first trip to the country at the heart of President Donald Trump’s impeachment. As Trump’s Senate trial on impeachment charges continues, the State Department announced Friday that Pompeo would travel to Kiev as part of a...
Trump administration picks a new leader for U.S. Border Patrol
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has named a new head of the U.S. Border Patrol. Rodney Scott will take over for Carla Provost, who is retiring, according to an announcement obtained Friday by The Associated Press from Mark Morgan, acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott has been...
‘Bogus’ Ukraine theory led to Trump’s abuse, Democrats tell trialVideo
WASHINGTON — Democratic House prosecutors made an expansive case Thursday at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial that he abused power like no other president in history, swept up by a “completely bogus” Ukraine theory pushed by attorney Rudy Giuliani. On Friday, the Democrats will press their final day of arguments before...
Trump administration ends some protections for waterways, aiding developersVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday ended federal protection for many of the nation’s millions of miles of streams, arroyos and wetlands, a sweeping environmental rollback that could leave the waterways more vulnerable to pollution from development, industry and farms. The policy change, signed by heads of the Environmental...
Trump to attend anti-abortion rally in WashingtonVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Donald Trump will become the first president to attend the annual anti-abortion gathering in Washington called the March for Life. Trump has made it a priority to embrace social conservatives, particularly on the issue of abortion. In past years, he has sent members...
Dems’ challenge: Making impeachment case with evidence recap
WASHINGTON — The challenge is becoming increasingly clear for House Democrats prosecuting President Donald Trump’s impeachment case as the Senate convenes for a second day of arguments in the landmark trial. The evidence confronting Trump becomes less compelling when presented again and again, day after day, as Democrats try to...
Democrats appeal for GOP help to convict ‘corrupt’ TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — House Democrats launched into marathon arguments in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial Wednesday, appealing to skeptical Republican senators to join them in voting to oust Trump from office to “protect our democracy.” Trump’s lawyers sat by, waiting their turn, as the president blasted the proceedings from afar, threatening...
Trump administration to impose visas restrictions for pregnant women
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is coming out Thursday with new visa restrictions aimed at restricting “birth tourism,” in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can have a coveted U.S. passport. Visa applicants deemed by consular officers to be coming to the United...
Tulsi Gabbard sues Hillary Clinton over Russia ‘favorite’ comments
NEW YORK — Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard filed a defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton on Wednesday over an interview in which Clinton appeared to call Gabbard “the favorite of the Russians.” Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman, said in her lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan that Clinton’s comments in...
Lawsuit claims inaugural committee spending enriched Trump family
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s inaugural committee spent more than $1 million to book a ballroom at the Trump International Hotel in the nation’s capital as part of a scheme to “grossly overpay” for party space and enrich the president’s own family in the process, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday....
Speculation grows about Pennsylvania House speaker Mike Turzai’s future
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai, the most prominent fiscal and social conservative in state government, will hold a news conference Thursday amid speculation in the Capitol this week that he will leave the powerful office after five years. Turzai had repeatedly declined to comment this week on questions...
