Chris Stewart says House impeachment push 'good news' because Senate trial will reveal truth - Fox News

U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart said Thursday it would be “good news” if the Democrat-led House votes for President Trump's impeachment because a trial in the Republican-led Senate would set the truth free.

The Utah Republican addressed his colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee as the second week of public impeachment hearings came to a close.

“Everyone knows what they're going to do next,” Stewart said of the panel's Democrats. “They're going to impeach the president. They're going to send it on to the Senate. But that is the good news. That's good news.

DEMS COULD DRAFT 4 ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, GOP PLANS FOR FULL SENATE TRIAL, SOURCES SAY

“The leadership of this committee has been unfair and dishonest,” Stewart continued, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. “I know we hear these crocodile tears from some of my colleagues who are heartbroken because they finally have to impeach this president. And we know that's absurd. They're not heartbroken. There's no prayerful tears over this. They're giddy over this. And there's not a person in the country who doesn't know that.”

“The leadership of this committee has been unfair and dishonest. They're giddy over this [impeachment inquiry]. And there's not a person in the country who doesn't know that.”

— U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah

The next step in the impeachment process involves the House Intelligence Committee sending a report to the House Judiciary Committee, which will then decide whether to file articles of impeachment against Trump. If the likely outcome occurs, the Senate is expected to hold a two-week-long trial that could begin as early as January, The Washington Post reported.

“These proceedings have been anything but fair. The Senate has an opportunity to fix that,” Stewart said, according to Deseret News of Salt Lake City. “I am confident they will. And I look forward to them completing the job that we could have done here.”

Stewart drew national attention last week when questioning former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who testified that she could supply the panel with no information regarding criminal activity or bribes that Trump may have been involved with. The White House praised Stewart on Twitter, saying it took Stewart just “30 seconds” to get the answer House Democrats spent seven hours trying to avoid.

According to Stewart, Democrats produced no evidence of bribery or extortion, and elicited from witnesses no “firsthand” knowledge of a quid pro quo agreement when Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for an investigation into Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings in the country, The Tribune reported. A transcript of the July 25 phone call between the two leaders showed Trump also asked for information about the hacking of the DNC server in 2016 – an issue that came up in Thursday’s hearing.

Also Thursday, Trump had lunch with two of his most vocal GOP critics in the Senate -- another Utah Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine – as the likelihood of an impeachment trial rises, Politico reported. The president has met with about 40 Republican senators this fall in an effort to communicate his account of the July 25 call that first prompted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to kick off an informal impeachment process in September.

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Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday heard testimony from two witnesses -- former National Security Council aide Fiona Hill and U.S. State Department official David Holmes.

Holmes, who described how he overheard a phone call this summer with Trump about wanting Ukraine to conduct political investigations, testified he eventually understood that “demand” to be linked to delayed military aid. Hill clashed with Republicans after accusing some lawmakers of embracing the “fictional narrative” that only Ukraine -- and not Russia -- interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Fox News’ Alex Pappas contributed to this report.

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2019-11-22 10:42:33Z
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Netanyahu to face indictment in criminal investigation - CNN

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2019-11-22 07:56:02Z
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Trump impeachment hearings day five: live updates - Fox News

The fifth day of public hearings in the Trump impeachment inquiry is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Fiona Hill, the former senior director for Russia at the National Security Council, will testify this morning, alongside David Holmes, an aide to diplomat Bill Taylor who overheard the phone call on July 26 between Ambassador Gordon Sondland and President Trump. Holmes said that he heard Trump ask Sondland about the status of "investigations" into his political rivals, just one day after the now-infamous phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Follow below on the live blog. Mobile users click here. 

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2019-11-21 13:48:56Z
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LIVE at 8:30 a.m. ET | Public Trump impeachment hearings: Fiona Hill and David Holmes to testify - Washington Post

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2019-11-21 13:00:45Z
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Prince Andrew didn't step back from royal duties – Queen Elizabeth 'fired' him - New York Post

Prince Andrew didn’t step down from royal duties — he was fired by his mom, Queen Elizabeth II, according to reports in the UK.

“The Queen summoned the Duke to Buckingham Palace to tell him her decision,” one of Andrew’s friends told The Sun of the Duke of York’s downfall that royal experts have called “monumental.”

“It was a devastating moment for both of them. His reputation is in tatters,” the source said, referring to the overwhelming backlash to his BBC interview discussing his ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

“It is unlikely he will ever perform royal duties again. He is disgraced,” the source told the paper.

The Queen, 93, made her decision to fire her “favorite son” Wednesday after heavy pressure from her other eldest son, Prince Charles, who also had crisis talks with his scandal-hit brother, several UK papers stated.

“Charles was very involved in the decision as heir to the throne,” a senior Palace source told The Sun of the royal currently in New Zealand.

“He knew action had to be taken. The Duke knew he couldn’t fight any more. His royal career is over.”

The source also admitted that the Queen was “privately very disappointed” with Andrew, according to The Sun.

Prince Andrew on ThursdayPA Images via Getty Images

“She has spent her whole life protecting the monarchy and in just one week her son’s actions threatened to tear it apart,” the source said.

“Something had to be done to draw a line under all of this.”

Andrew will no longer receive his $323,000  Sovereign Grant allowance but will still receive his income from the Queen’s private funds, the paper noted.

However, sources stressed that Andrew “remains a member of the Royal Family” even though he will not carry out public duties.

“He will still appear during Trooping the Color and on the balcony at major events,” a source told the paper.

Royal biographer Robert Lacey told The Times of London that it was a “monumental” moment in royal history.

“Nothing like this has happened in the Queen’s long reign,” he said.

Prince Andrew poses with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts, wearing pink, and Epstein’s alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, wearing white.MediaPunch / BACKGRID

Royal author Penny Junor also believes the Queen must be “horrified.”

“This is absolutely unprecedented that a fairly senior member of the Royal Family should be forced to retire from public life,” she told The Sun.

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2019-11-21 12:42:00Z
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Impeachment Inquiry Updates: Fiona Hill and David Holmes to Testify - The New York Times

Here’s what you need to know:

• The basics: Who, what, when and how to watch.
• Hill can detail how Bolton saw Giuliani as a ‘hand grenade’ meddling in Ukraine policy.
• An embassy official who overheard a Trump-Sondland phone call is expected to recount a memorable conversation.
• Before then, catch up on some important background on the impeachment inquiry.

Image

Fiona Hill, President Trump's former top adviser on Russia and Europe will testify to the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.Credit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

The basics: Who, what, when and how to watch.

Who: Ms. Hill and Mr. Holmes will testify during a morning session. There is no afternoon session scheduled.

What: The House Intelligence Committee, led by its chairman, Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, will continue to examine the case for impeaching Mr. Trump. The Republican minority, led by Representative Devin Nunes of California, will again work to poke holes in testimony implicating the president.

When and Where: The morning proceedings start at 9 Eastern in the House Ways and Means Committee chambers. It will most likely last until the afternoon.

How to Watch: The New York Times will stream the testimony live, and a team of reporters in Washington will provide real-time context and analysis of the events on Capitol Hill. Follow along at nytimes.com, starting a few minutes before 9.

The Impeachment Inquiry’s Main Players

Here are the lawmakers to watch as the process unfolds.

Hill can detail how Bolton saw Giuliani as a ‘hand grenade’ meddling in Ukraine policy.

Fiona Hill, the former senior expert on Russia and Europe at the National Security Council who is testifying in the impeachment inquiry on Thursday, has told House investigators that John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, was alarmed about a pressure campaign on Ukraine that was being led by Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer.

In previous closed-door testimony, Ms. Hill described in detail a July 10 White House meeting during which Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, told Mr. Bolton that he was working with Mr. Giuliani to press Ukraine to investigate Democrats in exchange for a White House meeting for the country’s new president.

Mr. Bolton was so disturbed that he abruptly ended the meeting and instructed Ms. Hill to tell the National Security Council’s top lawyer about what Mr. Sondland, Mr. Giuliani and Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, were up to, Ms. Hill has testified. Mr. Bolton told Ms. Hill that he was not “part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up.”

Later, Ms. Hill said that Mr. Bolton told her that “Giuliani’s a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.”

Ms. Hill left the White House before the July 25 call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. But Democrats believe her account could be crucial in helping to establish that top White House officials like Mr. Bolton felt the pressure campaign was inappropriate, and that Mr. Mulvaney was deeply involved in it.

Mr. Sondland said in Wednesday’s hearing that Ms. Hill’s account of the July 10 meeting did not “square with my own.”

An embassy official who overheard a Trump-Sondland phone call is expected to recount a memorable conversation.

William B. Taylor Jr., the top diplomat in Ukraine, testified last week that he had only recently become aware of a cellphone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Sondland overheard by one of his aides. On Thursday, that aide, David Holmes, who works in the United States Embassy in Kyiv, will testify in a public session.

In closed-door testimony, Mr. Holmes told lawmakers that he overheard Mr. Trump, who was speaking loudly, asking Mr. Sondland whether Mr. Zelensky was “going to do the investigation.” Mr. Sondland, a wealthy hotelier and political donor turned ambassador, told Mr. Trump that Mr. Zelensky “loves your ass,” and would conduct the investigation and do “anything you ask him to,” according to Mr. Holmes’s statement.

In Mr. Holmes’s account, Mr. Sondland later told him that Mr. Trump cared only about “big stuff that benefits the president” like the “Biden investigation” into the son of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Mr. Sondland largely confirmed that account on Wednesday but said he did not recall specifically mentioning Mr. Biden.

Democrats believe the conversation helps establish that the president was preoccupied with persuading Ukraine to publicly commit to investigations that benefited him politically. They want Mr. Holmes to describe the scene in detail.

Before then, catch up on some important background on the impeachment inquiry.

• Mr. Trump repeatedly pressured Mr. Zelensky to investigate people and issues of political concern to Mr. Trump, including the former vice president. Here’s a timeline of events since January.

• A C.I.A. officer who was once detailed to the White House filed a whistle-blower complaint on Mr. Trump’s interactions with Mr. Zelensky. Read the complaint.

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transcript

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Who Are the Main Characters in the Whistle-Blower’s Complaint?

President Trump’s personal lawyer. The prosecutor general of Ukraine. Joe Biden’s son. These are just some of the names mentioned in the whistle-blower’s complaint. What were their roles? We break it down.

Congressman: “Sir, let me repeat my question: Did you ever speak to the president about this complaint?” Congress is investigating allegations that President Trump pushed a foreign government to dig up dirt on his Democratic rivals. “It’s just a Democrat witch hunt. Here we go again.” At the heart of an impeachment inquiry is a nine-page whistle-blower complaint that names over two dozen people. Not counting the president himself, these are the people that appear the most: First, Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani. According to documents and interviews, Giuliani has been involved in shadowy diplomacy on behalf of the president’s interests. He encouraged Ukrainian officials to investigate the Biden family’s activities in the country, plus other avenues that could benefit Trump like whether the Ukrainians intentionally helped the Democrats during the 2016 election. It was an agenda he also pushed on TV. “So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden.” “Of course I did!” A person Giuliani worked with, Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine’s former prosecutor general. He pushed for investigations that would also benefit Giuliani and Trump. Lutsenko also discussed conspiracy theories about the Bidens in the U.S. media. But he later walked back his allegations, saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens. This is where Hunter Biden comes in, the former vice president’s son. He served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company run by this guy, who’s had some issues with the law. While Biden was in office, he along with others, called for the dismissal of Lutsenko’s predecessor, a prosecutor named Viktor Shokin, whose office was overseeing investigations into the company that Hunter Biden was involved with. Shokin was later voted out by the Ukrainian government. Lutsenko replaced him, but was widely criticized for corruption himself. When a new president took office in May, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky said that he’d replace Lutsenko. Giuliani and Trump? Not happy. They viewed Lutsenko as their ally. During a July 25 call between Trump and the new Ukrainian president, Trump defended him, saying, “I heard you had a prosecutor who is very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair.” In that phone call, Trump also allegedly asked his counterpart to continue the investigation into Joe Biden, who is his main rival in the 2020 election. Zelensky has publicly denied feeling pressured by Trump. “In other words, no pressure.” And then finally, Attorney General William Barr, who also came up in the July 25 call. In the reconstructed transcript, Trump repeatedly suggested that Zelensky’s administration could work with Barr and Giuliani to investigate the Bidens and other matters of political interest to Trump. Since the whistle-blower complaint was made public, Democrats have criticized Barr for dismissing allegations that Trump had violated campaign finance laws during his call with Zelensky and not passing along the complaint to Congress. House Democrats have now subpoenaed several people mentioned in the complaint, as an impeachment inquiry into the president’s conduct continues.

President Trump’s personal lawyer. The prosecutor general of Ukraine. Joe Biden’s son. These are just some of the names mentioned in the whistle-blower’s complaint. What were their roles? We break it down.CreditCredit...Illustration by The New York Times

• Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in September that the House would open a formal impeachment proceeding in response to the whistle-blower’s complaint. Here’s how the impeachment process works, and here’s why political influence in foreign policy matters.

• House committees have issued subpoenas to the White House, the Defense Department, the budget office and other agencies for documents related to the impeachment investigation. Here’s the evidence that has been collected so far.

• Read about the Democrats’ rules to govern impeachment proceedings.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/us/politics/impeachment-hearing.html

2019-11-21 12:00:00Z
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Trump expected to sign Hong Kong bill after it clears House, Senate amid Chinese threats - Fox News

President Trump is expected to sign a bill aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong amid an escalating pro-democracy movement in the semiautonomous city after the legislation cleared both chambers of Congress this week, with overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle.

HONG KONG PROTESTERS’ FAMILIES FEAR UNIVERSITY SHOWDOWN COULD SPARK ‘TIANANMEN 2.0’

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act passed in the House Wednesday by a 417-1 vote. The proposed legislation was unanimously approved in the Senate on Tuesday. The bill gained support in recent days as police tightened their siegeof the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where hundreds of young protesters remained holed up trying to evade arrest.

“Today, the Congress is sending an unmistakable message to the world that the United States stands in solidarity with freedom-loving people of Hong Kong, and we fully support their fight for freedom,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during the bill’s consideration, according to Politico.

Florida’s GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who first introduced the Senate’s version of the bill in June, asked President Trump on Wednesday to sign the proposed legislation after the House vote.

“The U.S. House has just passed our #HongKongHumanRightsandDemocracyAct. It’s now headed just an @Potus signature away from becoming law. A powerful moment in which a united, bipartisan coalition made it clear that we #StandWithHongKong,” Rubio said on Twitter.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would require the secretary of state to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy in order to retain special trade status under U.S. law, something which allows the city to thrive as a world financial hub. Under the proposed legislation, President Trump would be responsible for imposing sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials who commit human rights violations against protesters in the city.

The White House has not commented on the bill. Its passage comes as Trump tries to negotiate a trade deal with China amid his bid for re-election in 2020. Trump told reporters on Wednesday he would be content continuing to accept the more than $350 in tariffs imposed on Chinese goods if a deal couldn’t be reached, according to Politico.

“We continue to talk to China. China wants to make a deal. The question is: Do I want to make a deal? Because I like what’s happening right now. We’re taking in billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang slammed the U.S. for challenging its sovereignty over Hong Kong after the bill first cleared the Senate on Tuesday.

“China will have to take strong countermeasures to defend our national sovereignty, security and development interests if the U.S. continues to make the wrong moves,” he said in a press conference.

The legislation passed in the House despite China’s warning. China assumed control of the former British colony in 1997 but promised to let Hong Kong retain a high-level of autonomy.

“Today, it is beyond question that China has utterly broken that promise,” Pelosi said. “America has been watching for years as the people of Hong Kong have been increasingly denied their full autonomy and faced with a cruel crackdown on their freedoms and an escalation of violence.”

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She added that recent escalations in violence in Hong Kong– which saw protesters use gasoline bombs and bows and arrows to fend off police backed by armored cars and water cannons -- “have shocked the world as unconscionable and unacceptable.”

The House and Senate this week both unanimously passed a second bill that aims to ban American companies from exporting crowd control munitions to Hong Kong police, Politico reported.

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2019-11-21 10:58:47Z
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