Trump slams impeachment inquiry announcement as 'Witch Hunt' – live

House speaker condemns Trump’s ‘betrayal’Trump reportedly pressed Ukraine for dirt on Joe BidenPelosi announces impeachment inquiry into Trump over Ukraine scandal 2.15am BST Officials within the Trump administration tried to prevent Trump from meeting with or calling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky out of concern that Trump would use such occasions as opportunities to press Zelensky to get intel on Joe Biden, according to the Washington Post: “An awful lot of people were trying to keep a meeting from happening for the reason that it would not be focused on Ukraine-U.S. relations,” one former official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.White House officials disputed these accounts, saying that no such concerns were raised in National Security Council meetings and that Trump’s focus was on urging Ukraine to root out corruption. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.One official — speaking, like others, on the condition of anonymity — described the climate as verging on “bloodletting.”Trump has fanned this dynamic with his own denunciations of the whistleblower and thinly veiled suggestions that the person should be outed. “Is he on our Country’s side. Where does he come from,” Trump tweeted this week.“Rudy — he did all of this,” one U.S. official said. “This s—show that we’re in — it’s him injecting himself into the process.” 1.37am BST Although impeachment appears to be preoccupying the president, his administration did announce some new policy today:The US Agency for International Development announced today that it will be more than tripling aid to Venezuela. For the first time, the US will be directly funding Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó in his bid to topple the socialist administration of Nicolás Maduro. The funding was mostly repurposed from aid originally earmarked for Honduras and Guatemala that President Donald Trump cut last year after accusing the Central American countries of failing to stem the flow of migrants to the U.S.The funding boost shows the level of U.S. support for Guaidó, who has drawn recognition as Venezuela’s rightful leader by more than 50 nations. But he has been unable to translate the international support and popularity at home into real power capable of helping regular Venezuelans suffering from hyperinflation and an economic collapse akin to the destruction wrought by war. Continue reading…
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