Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, expressed frustration Friday that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff,
D-Calif., has not yet released the transcripts of depositions from four
witnesses who gave testimony behind closed doors in the House of
Representatives' impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
"The
chairman has promised that we'd get to see the transcript," Jordan said
during Friday’s televised impeachment hearing, "but there are still
four people that we have not been able to see their transcripts.
“Therefore,
the testimony they provided, we’re not able to use in these open
hearings,” Jordan added. “If it’s an open hearing, all the available
testimony of depositions that has been taken by the committee should be
available to be discussed, for the American people to see.”
“If it’s an open hearing, all the available testimony ... should be available to be discussed, for the American people to see.” — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio
Jordan
was referring to the closed-door testimony given by Tim Morrison, the
National Security Council's outgoing senior director of European and
Russian affairs and White House deputy assistant; Jennifer Williams,
Vice President Mike Pence's special adviser on Europe and Russia; David
Hale, undersecretary of state for political affairs; and Philip Reeker, a
top State Department diplomat in charge of U.S. policy for Europe.
Both
Morrison and Williams were on the July 25 phone call between Trump and
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during which Trump asked Zelensky
to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s Biden’s conduct regarding Ukrainian oil company Burisma.
Schiff’s team has said they will release those transcripts “shortly,” without providing a specific date, according to Axios.
Morrison, Hale and Williams are all scheduled to publicly testify next week.
From the view of the White House and some top Republicans, U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart's questioning of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch on Friday was the point where House Democrats' impeachment argument showed the party had "no case" against President Trump. During Friday's public hearings, Yovanovitvh told Stewart, a Utah
Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, that she could supply
the panel with no information regarding criminal activity or bribes that
President Trump may have been involved with. Stewart:
"I would now feel compelled to ask you, Madam Ambassador, as you sit
here before us, very simply and directly, do you have any information
regarding the president of the United States accepting any bribes?" Yovanovitch: "No." Stewart:
"Do you have any information regarding any criminal activity that the
president of the United States has been involved with at all?" Yovanovitch: "No." Stewart thanked Yovanovitch before predicting that public support for impeachment would decrease after the hearings. "The American people know this is nonsense," Stewart said. "The American people know this is unfair."
"The American people know this is nonsense. The American people know this is unfair." — U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, House Intelligence Committee
Both
the White House and some top Republicans reacted to the exchange,
saying it proved their argument that the impeachment inquiry was without
merit. "In 30 seconds," a White House message on Twitter read,
"@RepChrisStewart got the answers that House democrats have spent 7
hours trying to avoid. "7 hours that Congress could've spent
working for you--on drug price legislation, USMCA, immigration reform,
or infrastructure--instead of for their own political careers." "Zero
evidence of wrongdoing by the President was presented," White house
press secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote in a statement. "In fact,
Ambassador Yovanovitch testified under oath that she was unaware of any
criminal activity involving President Trump." Grisham added later:
"It is difficult to image a greater waste of time than today's hearing,
and yet unfortinately we expect more of the same partisan political
theater next week from House Democrats."
"Zero
evidence of wrongdoing by the President was presented. ... It is
difficult to image a greater waste of time than today's hearing." — Stephanie Grisham, White House press secretary
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., reacted to the exchange on Twitter, saying that Democrats had "no case." "The
Democrats second day impeachment witness, Ambassador Yovanovitch, has
no information on any of the relevant questions," Meadows tweeted. "They
have no case. This is not serious." Earlier, Meadows wrote that Stewart's questioning of Yovanovitch had "summarized this whole hearing." Stewart later predicted that more Americans would support Trump as a result of the hearings. "The
American people are going to be able to see the evidence and they're
going to be able to make their own determination regarding that,"
Stewart told the Salt Lake Tribune. He also apologized to Yovanovitch for being "drugged" [dragged] into appearing. Fox News' Adam Shaw and Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
President
Donald Trump speaks during an event on healthcare prices in the
Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, in Washington.
(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
OAN Newsroom
President Trump is delivering on his promise to make health care
prices more transparent for Americans. On Friday, the Trump
administration unveiled new rules to require increased disclosure of
health care prices, in a move to promote competition and push down
costs.
“We’re putting forward a proposed rule to require health insurance
providers to disclose their pricing information to consumers,” stated
President Trump. “We’re giving American families control of their health
care decisions and the freedom to choose that care.”
One regulation would require hospitals to provide an online page
where prices are listed for common procedures like lab tests. The second
would require insurers to provide an online tool where people could
compare their out-of-pocket costs with different medical providers
beforehand.
Officials said the rules would shine a light on the confusing process
and allow patients to find quality services at the lowest costs.
“We’re stopping American patients from just getting, pure and simple,
ripped off,” said the president. “They’ve been ripped off for years.”
Disclosure requirements for hospitals would not take effect until
2021 — for insurers, the timing is unclear. Officials said health care
companies are expected to sue to block the policy.
President
Donald Trump holds up some papers as speaks at a campaign rally in
Bossier City, La., Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
OAN Newsroom
President Trump is weighing in on a recent statement from Ukraine’s
foreign minister. During a ‘Keep America Great’ rally in Louisiana
Thursday, the president said Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has stated
EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland did not link financial military
assistance to an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and
his son Hunter.
“Here it is — Ukrainian Foreign Minister (Vadym Prystaiko) said on
Thursday that the United States Ambassador (Gordon Sondland) did not
link financial military assistance to a request for Ukraine to open up
an investigation into former Vice President and current Democratic
presidential (candidate Joe Biden),” stated President Trump, reading
from the minister’s statement.
He echoed those remarks in a tweet, saying “Democrats must apologize to the USA” in light of the new report.
Democrats must apologize to USA: Ukrainian
Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that “United States Ambassador
Gordon Sondland did NOT link financial military assistance to a request
for Ukraine to open up an investigation into former V.P. Joe Biden &
his son, Hunter Biden…..
The article in question was published by Ukrainian state media on
Thursday. The story quoted the foreign minister, saying “I have never
seen a direct link between investigations and security assistance.” He
added, “yes — investigations were mentioned, but there was no clear
connection between these events.”
The statement has undermined Sondland’s testimony and undercuts the
basis of the House’s ongoing impeachment inquiry, which prompted the
president to say “the fake impeachment inquiry is now dead.”
….Ambassador Sondland did not tell us, and
certainly did not tell me, about a connection between the assistance and
the investigation.” THE FAKE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY IS NOW DEAD!
President Trump said Sondland did not tell him or any other
administration official of a connection between the assistance and the
investigation. Despite this, opponents said the matter must continue to
be investigated to its fullest and the probe remains in full swing.
President
Donald Trump claps as he finishes speaking during a campaign rally at
the CenturyLink Center, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, in Bossier City, La.
(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
The
House Ethics Committee on Thursday released a trove of striking
internal campaign communications sent in 2018 by Michigan Democratic
Rep. Rashida Tlaib,
in which Tlaib urgently requested money from her congressional campaign
to defray personal expenses -- and, a government watchdog said,
possibly violated federal law in the process.
The document dump
was related to the committee's ongoing ethics probe into Tlaib, which
the panel said on Thursday would be "expanded" based on a referral from
the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Additionally, the Ethics
Committee acknowledged for the first time on Thursday an investigation
into Florida Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings concerning a "personal relationship with an individual employed in his congressional office."
Texts and emails released by the Ethics Committee show Tlaib frantically contacting members of her staff for financial help.
In
one April 2018 email offered as an exhibit by OCE, Tlaib wrote that she
was "struggling financially right now" and was "sinking." She
continued: "So I was thinking the campaign could loan me money, but Ryan
said that the committee could actually pay me. I was thinking a one
time payment of $5k."
In another email, on April 4, 2018, Tlaib wrote: "I am just not going to make it through the campaign without a stipend."
"With
the loss of a second income to lean back on," she wrote. "I am
requesting $2,000 per two weeks but not exceeding $12,000. The cost of
living stipend is going towards much needed expenses due to campaigning
that includes car maintenance, child care and other necessities. Please
let me know if I can proceed."
In
August of that year, Tlaib texted her future chief of staff Ryan
Anderson at 6:38 a.m.: "Sorry for the early text but do you think the
campaign can still pay me a stipend until the general. Trying to get out
of debt."
"I think we definitely afford to do so. But we need to
really clearly define your time and space," Anderson responded, noting
that the arrangement could arouse "concern" among the media.
The OCE also attached scans of checks made out to Tlaib from her campaign, totaling thousands of dollars.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., once vowed to impeach 'the
motherf---er' -- and now is the subject of an Ethics Committee probe.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Talib's lawyers said in August
there was no evidence that she violated the law on purpose or
otherwise, and insisted there were no bad intentions. They noted that
Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulations permit campaigns to "pay
limited salary to candidates who curtail outside employment to focus on
their campaigns" in certain limited conditions that, the lawyers said,
were met in this instance.
The attorneys went on to say it was
"most irregular" for OCE to call for a probe into a member of Congress
based on pre-election activities, and argued that there was no
"conscious disregard of any law or regulation." Tlaib was paid by her
campaign after Election Day, the attorneys conceded, but they asserted
that the money was for services performed before Election Day.
But
Tlaib's campaign committee, Rashida Tlaib for Congress, allegedly
"reported campaign disbursements that may not be legitimate and
verifiable campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaign or
political purposes," according to a release from OCE that unanimously recommended the Ethics Committee investigate Tlaib.
If Tlaib
"converted campaign funds from Rashida Tlaib for Congress to personal
use, or if Tlaib’s campaign committee expended funds that were not
attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes, then Tlaib may
have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law," the
OCE continued.
"The Board recommends that the Committee further
review the above allegation concerning Rep. Tlaib because there is
substantial reason to believe that Rep. Tlaib converted campaign funds
from Rashida Tlaib for Congress to personal use or Rep. Tlaib’s campaign
committee expended funds that were not attributable to bona fide
campaign or political purposes," it said.
The Ethics Committee first announced on August 16, 2019 that it had received a referral from the concerning Tlaib.
"So I was thinking the campaign could loan me money ..." — Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, in 2018 email released by OCE
Meanwhile, the Ethics Committee also said
it was looking into an alleged relationship between Hastings and a
staffer, and whether Hastings "has received any improper gifts,
including any forbearance, from that employee."
Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
"The Committee is specifically considering whether
Representative Hastings’ relationship with the individual employed in
his congressional office is in violation of House Rule XXIII, clause
18(a)," the ethics panel said. That provision refers to improper sexual
relationships with "any employee of the House who works under the
supervision of the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, or who is
an employee of a committee on which the Member, Delegate, or Resident
Commissioner serves."
"The Committee continues to gather additional information regarding the allegations," the panel noted.
The
announcement from the ethics panel came less than a month after
California Democratic Rep. Katie Hill resigned amid allegations that she
had improper personal relationships with her own staffers.
“I
have cooperated with the Committee since May 14, 2019," Hastings said in
a statement. "As they continue to conduct their work, I stand ready to
fully cooperate with their inquiry." Tlaib and Hastings have both
vocally supported impeaching and removing President Trump from office,
saying he is unfit to serve. Earlier this year, Tlaib boasted that
Democrats would "impeach the motherf---er," referring to the president.
And,
in a striking scene at the outset of a Rules Committee meeting last
month, Hastings -- who himself was impeached and removed from the
federal bench in 1989 for taking bribes -- outlined the alleged "high
crimes and misdemeanors" that he said Trump had committed. Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., slammed the Beltway "elite" during President Trump's rally for GOP gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispone in Bossier City on Thursday evening.
Kennedy,
who received raucous cheers from the crowd, called out the Washington
D.C. establishment and claimed they do not care for the average American
as Trump or Rispone do.
"I stand before you tonight a proud
Deplorable," said Kennedy, referring to the moniker Hillary Clinton
bestowed on Trump supporters during the 2016 campaign.
"And,
unlike some of the folks in Washington, D.C. -- I'm talking about the
'cultured', cosmopolitan, goat's milk latte-drinking, avocado
toast-eating insider elite -- as a Deplorable, I believe that everybody
counts."
"And I care about you, and so does the president of the United States of America."
Turning
his attention to Saturday's runoff election between businessman Rispone
and incumbent Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, Kennedy urged attendees
to get out the vote.
"Unless you're happy with 'crappy', vote Eddie Rispone for governor," he remarked.
Kennedy,
who holds degrees from Vanderbilt University, the University of
Virginia and Oxford University, created controversy last week when he
made critical comments about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. at
another Louisiana Trump rally.
At that event in Monroe, Kennedy discussed the Trump impeachment inquiry and said of Pelosi: "It must suck to be that dumb.
"The
same people that are backing Speaker Pelosi are sending tens of
millions of dollars to support Governor Edwards. And all ... Edwards has
given us is decline and uncertainty."
At the Bossier City rally, Trump introduced a new political attack line against House Democrats amid their ongoing impeachment inquiry, forcefully declaring, "We did nothing wrong -- and they're doing nothing."
Hours earlier, Pelosi accused the president of "bribery" by
allegedly "threatening to withhold military aid and a White House
meeting in exchange for an investigation into his political rival" --
signaling that House Democrats are preparing to go all-in on
impeachment even as the Trump administration touts its successes on
unemployment and energy independence. Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., once vowed to impeach 'the
motherf---er' -- and now is the subject of an Ethics Committee probe.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
