ottawa_tj
不知名会员
- 注册
- 2015-02-22
- 消息
- 13,571
- 荣誉分数
- 4,162
- 声望点数
- 273
Pete市长在Fox台的town hall上赢得了standing ovation，掌声雷动，颇受好评，要知道Fox台好多观众都是trump的base，所以总统有点儿着急。
同情特朗普
- 主题发起人 ccc
- 开始时间
- 注册
- 2003-04-13
- 消息
- 238,913
- 荣誉分数
- 37,370
- 声望点数
- 1,393
- 注册
- 2003-04-13
- 消息
- 238,913
- 荣誉分数
- 37,370
- 声望点数
- 1,393
The House judiciary committee held a brief hearing on Tuesday morning in McGahn’s absence, with an empty chair where he was supposed to sit.
Trump blocked McGahn from testifying before Congress about the special counsel’s report on Russian election interference, prompting sharp criticism and fresh threats of impeachment.
The committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, said the House would hold the president accountable “one way or the other” and the committee was ready to hold McGahn in contempt. The committee will hear McGahn’s testimony, “even if we have to go to court”, Nadler said.
McGahn’s move leaves the Democrats without yet another witness – and a fuelled growing debate within the party about how to respond.
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, backed by Nadler, is taking a step-by-step approach to the confrontations with Trump.
Democrats were encouraged by an early success on that route, as a federal judge ruled against Trump on Monday in a financial records dispute with Congress.
The ranking Republican on the House judiciary committee, representative Doug Collins, said Democrats were “trying desperately to make something out of nothing”.
In a legal opinion released on Monday, the justice department said lawmakers on Capitol Hill could not compel McGahn, who was subpoenaed by the House judiciary committee, to answer their questions under oath.
“The Department of Justice has provided a legal opinion stating that, based on long-standing, bipartisan, and constitutional precedent, the former counsel to the president cannot be forced to give such testimony, and Mr McGahn has been directed to act accordingly,” the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said in a statement.
“This action has been taken in order to ensure that future presidents can effectively execute the responsibilities of the office of the presidency.”
McGahn is a central figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, often standing in the way of Trump’s efforts to obstruct justice. According to investigators, McGahn threatened to resign when the president ordered him to have Mueller fired.
McGahn was also dispatched by Trump to convince the former attorney general Jeff Sessions not to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation. (Sessions did not heed the president’s demands.)
Some members of the judiciary panel feel Pelosi should be more aggressive and launch impeachment hearings that would make it easier to get information from the administration. Such hearings would give Democrats more standing in court and could stop short of a vote to remove the president.
The issue was raised in a meeting among top Democrats on Monday evening, where some members confronted Pelosi about opening up the impeachment hearings, according to three people familiar with the private conversation who requested anonymity to discuss it.
The Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin made the case that launching an impeachment inquiry would consolidate the Trump investigations as Democrats try to keep focus on their other work, according to the people.
Pelosi resisted, noting that several committees were doing investigations already and they had been successful in one court case. But the members, several of whom have spoken publicly about the need to be more aggressive with Trump, are increasingly impatient with the careful approach. Other Democrats in the meeting siding with Raskin included David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Ted Lieu of California and the freshman Colorado representative Joe Neguse.
Just before the start of the meeting, Cicilline tweeted: “If Don McGahn does not testify tomorrow, it will be time to begin an impeachment inquiry of @realDonaldTrump.”
In the hours after the discussion, Pelosi and Nadler met privately. Shortly after emerging from that meeting, Nadler said “it’s possible” when asked about impeachment hearings. But he noted that Democrats had won a court victory without having to take that step.
“The president’s continuing lawless conduct is making it harder and harder to rule out impeachment or any other enforcement action,” Nadler said.
McGahn’s refusal to testify is the latest of several moves to block Democratic investigations by Trump, who has said his administration will fight “all of the subpoenas”. The judiciary committee voted to hold the attorney general, William Barr, in contempt earlier this month after he declined to provide an unredacted version of the Mueller report.
And the House intelligence committee is expected to take a vote on a separate “enforcement action” against the justice department this week after Barr declined a similar request from that panel.
McGahn’s lawyer, William Burck, said in a letter to Nadler that McGahn was “conscious of the duties he, as an attorney, owes to his former client” and would decline to appear.
Still, Burck encouraged the committee to negotiate a compromise with the White House, saying that his client “again finds himself facing contradictory instructions from two co-equal branches of government”.
- 注册
- 2003-04-13
- 消息
- 238,913
- 荣誉分数
- 37,370
- 声望点数
- 1,393
Tokyo (CNN) Hours before President Donald Trump was set to begin a day of male bonding with his Japanese counterpart, he issued a tweet underscoring his lingering divides with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over security matters.
The episode highlights the challenges that Abe faces in cultivating an ally in Trump, whose deeply personal view of diplomacy has led to ample displays of friendship that nevertheless sometimes fail to yield results.
Trump tweeted -- as he prepared for a round of golf with Abe -- that he doesn't view North Korea's recent short range missile tests as disturbing, a view deeply at odds with his Japanese hosts and in conflict with statements made a day earlier by his national security adviser.
"North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump wrote on Twitter.
The Japanese government has said North Korea's recent test of short range missiles violated UN resolutions -- a determination that national security adviser, John Bolton, agreed with in Tokyo on Saturday during a briefing with reporters.
Trump, who has chafed in recent weeks at what he views as an overly hawkish approach from Bolton, signaled he was more intent on preserving his relationship with Kim Jong Un.
"I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me," Trump said in his tweet before taking a swipe at Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
It was a startling start to what was meant to be an ostentatious display of US-Japan unity, orchestrated by a prime minister whose stabs at becoming Trump's closest global ally are bound by few limits of enthusiasm or taste.
There were the gold-plated golf clubs he presented the newly-elected Trump during a visit to his Manhattan tower in November 2016. There were the white baseball caps he embroidered with gold -- "Donald and Shinzo: Make Alliance Great Again" -- to wear over a lunch of hamburgers a year later. There was the rumored nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize, an episode still vague in detail but not denied by the Japanese government.
And this week, there is the royal pageantry of a state visit, the first for Japan's newly enthroned emperor.
Whether any of that has helped Abe cultivate Trump into anything more than a friend is unclear. What is certain, however, is the example he set early on for his fellow world leaders hoping to make inroads with an untested and unpredictable president. His model of conspicuous flattery has been mimicked by leaders across the globe, though few have carried out the task with as much gusto as the Japanese leader.
On Sunday, that is set to continue as Abe joins Trump at a course outside Tokyo for another round of golf, the latest of several outings the men have enjoyed both in Japan and Florida, over the past two years.
Later, it's back to the capital for a highly anticipated appearance at the finals of a spring sumo wrestling tournament, where Trump will observe a few rounds of the tradition-bound sport from ringside seats. He'll present a four-and-a-half foot tall trophy, weighing between 60 and 70 pounds, to the victor. Though initial reports in Japan indicated the hardware would be termed the "Trump Cup," the White House on Saturday clarified the prize would be referred to simply as the "President's Cup."
The trophy presented, Trump and Abe will join their wives for dinner at a traditional charcoal grill restaurant in Tokyo -- an accommodation for a President not always eager to experience his host country's more exotic offerings (Abe took Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, to what is regarded as the best sushi restaurant in the world, Sukiyabashi Jiro).
It's an entire day of face time with Trump for Abe, who is eager to diffuse trade tensions while also ensuring the US remains committed to pressuring North Korea on its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The two men will meet more formally on Monday after participating in royal events with the new emperor -- bringing the times they have spoken by phone or met in person north of 40.
For Abe, a strategy of cultivating Trump has drawn some criticism and even light mockery. And though Trump himself is not popular in Japan, surveys show most Japanese believe maintaining strong ties to the US is essential, no matter who its president is.
For that reason, analysts say the state visit invitation this week is less about Abe's personal relationship with Trump than it is about a trans-pacific alliance rooted in decades-old security and economic concerns.
"It had to be the American president first," said Michael Green, senior vice president and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "It's more about that than showing Donald Trump a lot of pomp and circumstance. The Japanese diplomatic agenda meant that whoever was president, they had to have the American president first."
Whether Abe will succeed in converting his warm friendship into trade and security wins remains unknown. Trump, whose view of Japan as an economic rival dates from its boom period in the 1980s, continues to harp on the $68 billion trade deficit with the United States. He's refused Abe's pleas to remove steel and aluminum tariffs on the country. And he's threatening new auto tariffs if a new bilateral trade agreement can't be struck within six months.
Speaking at a dinner of business leaders shortly after touching down in Tokyo on Saturday, Trump repeated his gripes with the trade situation, but expressed optimism on a resolution.
"I would say that Japan has had a substantial edge for many, many years," he said. "But that's okay, maybe that's why you like us so much. But we'll get it a little bit more fair I think. I think we'll do that."
On security matters, too, Japanese officials have felt rattled by Trump. His diplomatic opening with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un caused concern in neighboring Japan, where the threat of missiles is far more potent than on the US mainland. Japan has pressed Trump to maintain pressure on Pyongyang, and has eyed the budding friendship between Trump and Kim warily -- particularly because a number of Japanese citizens were abducted by the North Korean regime decades ago, an issue Abe has pressed Trump to raise with Kim during their summits.
According to White House officials, those issues would be under discussion during this week's visit to Japan. But they were expected to play only a supporting role to the main ceremonial events of the week.
Trump, who was briefed by Abe on some of the visit's details during a visit to Washington last month, has been hotly anticipating the pageantry, according to officials. He told reporters as he was preparing to leave he would be witnessing "something that hasn't happened in over 200 years," though didn't specify what he meant.
When Abe told him the sumo wrestling tournament would be bigger than the Super Bowl, Trump couldn't refuse.
"I said, 'I'll be there. If that's the case, I'll be there,'" Trump said in the Oval Office during Abe's visit.
It's a model that other world leaders have utilized to varying levels of success on a President highly susceptible to extravagant displays of flattery.
During a first stop abroad in Saudi Arabia two years ago, Trump was treated to a royal sword dancing display and a now-mocked ceremony involving a glowing orb. His relationship with Riyadh appears stronger than ever, despite its concerning human rights record and involvement in the murder of an American journalist.
The US' strongest ally has found the flattery route somewhat harder to execute. A state visit to the United Kingdom had been an on-and-off affair for nearly two years after Prime Minister Theresa May came to the White House to extend the invitation.
It will finally come to fruition next week -- and the royal welcome from Queen Elizabeth will be met with expected protests. May, meanwhile, has announced she'll resign from office days later.
- 注册
- 2003-04-13
- 消息
- 238,913
- 荣誉分数
- 37,370
- 声望点数
- 1,393
One day after President Donald Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said North Korea's missile launches earlier this month violated a U.N. Security Council resolution, the president said Kim Jong Un's launch of "small weapons" doesn't bother him.
The president, who spent Sunday morning playing golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, went on to say he has confidence that Kim will "keep his promise" to not launch any missiles and thinks Kim's recent insult against presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden -- calling him a "low-IQ individual," the same language Trump himself has used -- is a "signal" to him. He also spelled Biden's name incorrectly -- as "Bidan" -- in an initial tweet, before correcting it and resending.
Trump tweeted, "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that’s sending me a signal?"
A Biden campaign aide responded after the tweet, saying, "“I would say the tweet speaks for itself, but it’s so unhinged and erratic that I’m not sure anyone could even say that with a straight face.”
The same aide said of the president’s tweet correcting the spelling of Biden’s name: “The spelling error was not the main problem with the first one.”
While Trump has tried to spin North Korea's recent launch, both Bolton and Japan have accused North Korea of violating U.N. resolutions. Bolton's comments were the first time a U.S. official said North Korea was in violation.
The Trump administration is trying to keep diplomatic doors open to North Korea, even though Bolton admitted the U.S. has not "heard much" from North Korea since the last summit in Hanoi fell apart. He said U.S. Special Envoy to North Korea Stephen Biegun has not received contact from his counterpart in Pyongyang.
Bolton also said he supports Japan's efforts to sit down for negotiations with Kim. Abe still has not met with the North Korean leader.
Japanese officials said that during Trump's four-day state visit, Abe will be introducing Trump to the families of Japanese abducted by North Koreans. Trump had a similar meeting during his last visit to Japan. The release of Japanese abductees is a top priority for Abe.
Despite the defense of Kim, the two foreign leaders appeared to be getting along great on the golf course Sunday. Abe tweeted a photo of the two smiling from the course talking about an "unwavering" alliance between the two countries in Japanese.
Trump himself tweeted about the round of golf -- a pastime both leaders have bonded over -- and his love for former South African great and nine-time major champion Gary Player.
- 注册
- 2003-04-13
- 消息
- 238,913
- 荣誉分数
- 37,370
- 声望点数
- 1,393
- 注册
- 2003-04-13
- 消息
- 238,913
- 荣誉分数
- 37,370
- 声望点数
- 1,393
Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump set the stage for his upcoming visit to the United Kingdom, Ireland and France next week during a wide-ranging interview with the British newspaper The Sun, weighing in on everything from outgoing UK Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit to the contenders vying to replace her to Meghan Markle's dislike of his politics.
May will formally step down as Conservative Party leader after Trump visits on June 7.
Trump, during his Oval Office interview with the Sun published Friday, criticized May's efforts on Brexit, saying he thinks "the UK allowed the European Union to have all the cards."
"I had mentioned to Theresa that you have got to build up your ammunition. ... I am sure that you could have built up a big advantage for your side and negotiated from strength," he said.
"And it is very hard to play well when one side has all the advantage," he continued. "They had nothing to lose. They didn't give the European Union anything to lose."
However, he acknowledged, "at the same time, I respect Theresa and she would certainly know the facts a lot better than I know them."
The royal family
During his interview with The Sun, Trump was confronted by comments made by Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, ahead of the 2016 election.
Speaking on "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" in 2016, Markle called Trump misogynistic and said his politics are divisive, saying she would move to Canada if he won the presidency.
Trump responded, "I didn't know that she was nasty. I hope she is OK. ..." He seemed to bury the hatchet saying, "I am sure she will go excellently (as a royal). She will be very good."
The US President also previewed his meeting with Prince Charles in the UK, where talks of climate change are expected.
"Well, we will be talking, we will be talking. I can say we have among the cleanest climate in the world right now. Our air and water are doing very well," Trump said.
However, despite Trump's claim, the 20th annual State of the Air report, supported by the American Lung Association, found that pollution in the US has gotten measurably worse over the last three years.
Boris Johnson and contenders to replace May
May's June resignation will trigger a party leadership contest, and once a new party leader is in place she will no longer be Prime Minister, a process that could take weeks, if not months.
The Tory leadership contest that will decide May's successor will be an internal party vote. The Conservative Party leadership will narrow it down to two candidates and then it goes to party membership.
Trump expressed his support for Boris Johnson, calling him "a very good guy, a very talented person."
"I think Boris would do a very good job," the President told The Sun. "I think he would be excellent."
Earlier this week, Trump also said he "may" meet Johnson and Nigel Farage during the trip.
He also showed favor for British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
"Yup, I like him," he said.
The President criticized contenders such as Environment Secretary Michael Gove for accusing him of "sabre rattling" over Iran and called out Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for not attending the Queen's state banquet, saying Corbyn is "making a mistake."
- 注册
- 2003-04-13
- 消息
- 238,913
- 荣誉分数
- 37,370
- 声望点数
- 1,393
Donald Trump and the Queen toasted to their shared alliance on Monday during an elaborate state dinner at Buckingham Palace in honour of the U.S. president and his wife.
"Tonight we celebrate an alliance that has helped to ensure the safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades, and which I believe will endure for many years to come," the Queen said, speaking in front of about 170 guests in London.
She told Trump security and a shared heritage link the U.S. and U.K. On his first state visit to the U.K, the president acknowledged the common values he said will unite the two countries long into the future, including freedom, sovereignty and self-determination.
It was one of many moments marking the president's largely ceremonial visit to Britain, which also included tea with Prince Charles and a royal gun salute from Green Park and the Tower of London, one of the highest honours Britain can bestow on a foreign leader.
The ceremony took place under clear blue skies on the spacious garden next to the 775-room palace that is the official residence of the Queen. Trump and Charles inspected the Guard of Honour formed by the Grenadier Guards wearing the traditional bearskin hats.
Melania Trump, left, Queen Elizabeth, U.S. President Donald Trump, Prince Charles and wife Camilla, stand on the steps as the U.S. national anthem plays during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Monday. (Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)
Trump and his wife paid their respects at the grave of an unknown British warrior, at Westminster Abbey. They were greeted inside the abbey by Prince Andrew and clergy.
They stood silently at the tomb of the British soldier, whose body was brought from France to be buried at the abbey in November 1920. The grave contains soil from France and is covered by a slab of black marble.
The president and his wife prayed and bent down to touch a colourful wreath, which had red and white roses, and bright blue and pink flowers.
Trump paid his respects at the tomb of an unknown British soldier inside Westminster Abbey. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Their trip, meant to strengthen ties between the two nations, was immediately at risk of being overshadowed by Brexit turmoil and a political feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Even before Air Force One touched down north of London, Trump unleashed a Twitter tirade against Khan in the city, where Trump will stay for two nights while partaking in a state visit full of pomp and circumstance.
The move came after a newspaper column that reported Khan said Trump did not deserve red-carpet treatment in Britain and was "one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" from the far-right to liberal democracy.
"[Sadiq Khan], who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly 'nasty' to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom," Trump tweeted just before landing. "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me."
The president said Khan reminded him of the "terrible" mayor of his hometown, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, though "only half his height." De Blasio, a Democrat, is a longshot candidate in the 2020 presidential race. Khan supporters have previously accused Trump of being racist against London's first Muslim mayor.
The president then added a few warm words for his hosts, tweeting he was looking forward "to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit."
No formal meeting scheduled with May
The agenda for Trump's week-long journey is largely ceremonial:
- A state visit and an audience with Queen Elizabeth in London.
- D-Day commemoration ceremonies on both sides of the English Channel.
- His first presidential visit to Ireland, which will include a stay at his coastal golf club.
May's office says the two leaders will meet Tuesday at 10 Downing Street, accompanied by senior officials, and will also tour the Churchill War Rooms, then-prime minister Winston Churchill's underground Second World War headquarters.
Downing Street says there is "nothing unusual" about the arrangements.
A year ago, Trump was an ungracious guest, blasting May in an interview just hours before Air Force One touched down in England. This time, he spared May but praised her rival, prime ministerial hopeful Boris Johnson, just before she steps down as Conservative leader Friday for failing to secure a Brexit deal.
Precarious time for visit
The U.S. president arrived at a precarious moment, as he faces a fresh round of impeachment fervour back home and uncertainty on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use the 75th anniversary of the Second World War battle that turned the tide on the Western Front to call for strengthening the multinational ties the U.S. president has frayed.
"My greatest hope is this: the president and all the leaders stay focused on the extraordinary heroism of that of D-Day and focusing on what brought allies to that position," said Heather Conley, senior vice-president of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "Dark clouds are forming once again in Europe, and rather than encourage those forces, we need to find much better tools to defeat them."
