Mueller. Now what?
Trump reverses stance and says Mueller should not testify – live updates
The president has backed away from an earlier claim that he would support William Barr’s decision on the special counsel testifying
The morning sky over the White House in Washington DC Monday.
Amanda Holpuch in New York
Mon 6 May 2019 10.13 EDT First published on Mon 6 May 2019 08.59 EDT
Key events
10.13am
The US House Judiciary Committee took its first step to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress this morning, after Barr failed to provide a copy of the unredacted Mueller report before the committee’s deadline.
On Wednesday, the committee will debate a resolution and a 27-page report on Barr being held in contempt, then hold a vote on the resolution. If the vote goes through, it will move to a full vote in the House to authorize legal proceedings.
House Judiciary committee chairman, Jerrold Nadler, said in a statement:
Even in redacted form, the Special Counsel’s report offers disturbing evidence and analysis that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice at the highest levels. Congress must see the full report and underlying evidence to determine how to best move forward with oversight, legislation, and other constitutional responsibilities.
Facebook Twitter
10.05am
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, just navigated through a swarm of photographers and television cameras outside his apartment in New York City, before hopping into a black SUV to take him to prison, about 70 miles north of the city.
Cohen made a brief statement to reporters:
I hope that when I rejoin my family and friends that the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country. There still remains much to be told and I look forward to the day the day I can tell the truth.
Cohen was sentenced last December to three years in prison for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. He is the third former Trump aide to go to prison in the past 12 months.
Khaki uniform, jingling keys, snoring: what Michael Cohen will find in prison
Facebook Twitter
9.51am
2020: Booker unveils gun violence prevention plan
2020 update: New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, this morning unveiled his plan to tackle gun violence – which in 2017 saw gun deaths in the US rise to its highest rate in more than 20 years.
Booker’s campaign outlined the ambitious plan on Medium. It included several measures which Booker said would be a focus on day one of his presidency:
Universal background checks.
Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
More funding for gun violence research.
Requiring gun owners to obtain a license to purchase and own a firearm.
A national database to register and track guns.
Repealing a law that protects the gun industry from nearly all lawsuits.
Require “microstamping,” which helps trace shell casings to a specific weapon.
Expand the law so people found guilty of non-felony abuse for violence against a partner of former partner are prohibited from purchasing a firearm - known as the “boyfriend loophole.”
Facebook Twitter
9.23am
Donald Trump shocked global financial markets this morning with an unexpected threat to further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
In September, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on $200bn in goods from China, including food, chemicals and electronics. On Twitter last night, Trump said he planned to hike that tariff to 25%. He also said another $325bn in goods would be subject to the 25% tariff.
This has upended global stock markets after months of seemingly positive negotiations between the US and China. Trump himself has declared that the discussions were moving in a positive direction, helping to boost global markets anticipating a positive outcome from the talks.
China’s market closed down 5.8% on Monday, its worst day since Feb 2016. Europe and US markets also fell, with oil prices – a benchmark for global trade – falling sharply.
Liu He, Beijing’s lead trade negotiator, was due in Washington this week for trade talks that experts predicted would be the last round of discussions before reaching a deal. China has not announced how Trump’s announcement will impact Liu’s travel plans.
And if you’re wondering, who pays for these tariffs? A long explanation is here. The quick version: Companies pay these tariffs when they import goods from China, despite Trump’s claims they are paid by China. US importers then decide to either pass the increased costs on to consumers by raising prices, absorb the cost and take a hit to their profits, try to negotiate costs down or find outside suppliers.
Nick Twidale, Sydney-based analyst at Rakuten Securities Australia, told the Guardian:
There is still a question of whether this is one of the famous Trump negotiation tactic, or are we really going to see some drastic increase in tariffs. If it’s the latter we’ll see massive downside pressure across all markets.
Facebook Twitter
8.59am
Trump reverses position on Mueller testimony
Happy Monday and welcome to today’s politics live blog. The Mueller report saga is far from over.
Donald Trump has reversed his earlier position on whether special counsel Robert Mueller should be allowed to testify before a Congressional committee about his 448-page report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Last night, Trump tweeted “Bob Mueller should not testify,” backing away from an earlier claim that he would support William Barr’s decision on whether Mueller should testify. The attorney general has said it would be fine if he did.
Barr is also due to respond to Representative Jerry Nadler, the House judiciary committee chairman, who gave the attorney general a Monday deadline to provide an unredacted version of the Mueller report.
Trump has repeatedly mischaracterized the report’s findings. Mueller did not assess collusion because it is not a legal term and instead focused on potential criminal conspiracy between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia. Mueller said there was not sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges for obstruction, but wrote the president couldn’t be exonerated from such allegations, either.
Elsewhere:
The president’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is set to begin serving his three-year prison sentence today in New York. Cohen is the third Trump campaign aide to go to prison in the past 12 months.
Trump unexpectedly announced he would further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods, sending global financial markets tumbling.
And the US is sending an aircraft carrier and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to “escaltory indications” from Iran, according to National Security Adviser, John Bolton, who did not identify what caused the US to escalate tensions in the region.
We’ll have more on all this throughout the morning, as well as rolling updates through the day.
© 2019 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
!!!
Democrats move to hold Barr in contempt over failure to release full Mueller report – live
House takes first step to hold attorney general in contempt of Congress after Barr failed to provide unredacted copy of Mueller report before deadline
On Wednesday, the committee will debate a resolution and a 27-page report on Barr being held in contempt, then hold a vote on the resolution.
Amanda Holpuch in New York
Mon 6 May 2019 11.20 EDT First published on Mon 6 May 2019 08.59 EDT
Key events
11.20am
The top Republican on the House Judiciary committee, representative Doug Collins, of Georgia, was critical of Wednesday’s planned vote on contempt for Attorney General William Barr.
“Democrats have launched a proxy war smearing the attorney general when their anger actually lies with the president and the special counsel, who found neither conspiracy nor obstruction,” Collins said.
Collins said the upcoming vote is “illogical and disingenuous” as negotiations are underway with the Justice Department for access, according to the AP.
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10.47am
Donald Trump is complaining about disaster funding to Puerto Rico, again.
On Twitter, Trump said Puerto Rico has already received more money from Congress than any state in the history of the US and complained Democrats won’t back a bill that gives disaster relief money to states including Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama.
“Puerto Rico should be very happy and the Dems should stop blocking much needed Disaster Relief!” Trump tweeted.
The president is in a standoff with Democrats, who want a disaster aid funding bill to include money for Puerto Rico, as well as the others states.
In the tweets, Trump said Puerto Rico had received $91bn in disaster relief funding - which is not true. There has been $41bn in announced funding. The additional $50bn is money that one internal estimate said could need to be committed in the long-term.
This weekend, Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, said he wouldn’t visit the White House to celebrate the team’s 2018 World Series win because of the Trump administration’s response to the hurricane. Cora is Puerto Rican. Several other Red Sox players have also said they would be skipping the ceremony.
Since Hurricane Maria devastated the entire island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Trump has routinely minimized, dismissed or ignored the scale of destruction– including denying the official death toll.
Facebook Twitter
10.13am
The US House judiciary committee took its first step to hold the attorney general, William Barr, in contempt of Congress this morning, after Barr failed to provide a copy of the unredacted Mueller report before the committee’s deadline.
On Wednesday, the committee will debate a resolution and a 27-page report on Barr being held in contempt, then hold a vote on the resolution. If the vote goes through, it will move to a full vote in the House to authorize legal proceedings.
House Judiciary committee chairman, Jerrold Nadler, said in a statement:
Even in redacted form, the Special Counsel’s report offers disturbing evidence and analysis that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice at the highest levels. Congress must see the full report and underlying evidence to determine how to best move forward with oversight, legislation, and other constitutional responsibilities.
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, just navigated through a swarm of photographers and television cameras outside his apartment in New York City, before hopping into a black SUV to take him to prison, about 70 miles north of the city.
Cohen made a brief statement to reporters:
I hope that when I rejoin my family and friends that the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country. There still remains much to be told and I look forward to the day the day I can tell the truth.
Cohen was sentenced last December to three years in prison for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. He is the third former Trump aide to go to prison in the past 12 months.
Khaki uniform, jingling keys, snoring: what Michael Cohen will find in prison
Facebook Twitter
9.51am
2020: Booker unveils gun violence prevention plan
2020 update: New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, this morning unveiled his plan to tackle gun violence – which in 2017 saw gun deaths in the US rise to its highest rate in more than 20 years.
Booker’s campaign outlined the ambitious plan on Medium. It included several measures which Booker said would be a focus on day one of his presidency:
Universal background checks.
Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
More funding for gun violence research.
Requiring gun owners to obtain a license to purchase and own a firearm.
A national database to register and track guns.
Repealing a law that protects the gun industry from nearly all lawsuits.
Require “microstamping,” which helps trace shell casings to a specific weapon.
Expand the law so people found guilty of non-felony abuse for violence against a partner of former partner are prohibited from purchasing a firearm - known as the “boyfriend loophole.”
9.23am
Donald Trump shocked global financial markets this morning with an unexpected threat to further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
In September, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on $200bn in goods from China, including food, chemicals and electronics. On Twitter last night, Trump said he planned to hike that tariff to 25%. He also said another $325bn in goods would be subject to the 25% tariff.
This has upended global stock markets after months of seemingly positive negotiations between the US and China. Trump himself has declared that the discussions were moving in a positive direction, helping to boost global markets anticipating a positive outcome from the talks.
China’s market closed down 5.8% on Monday, its worst day since Feb 2016. Europe and US markets also fell, with oil prices – a benchmark for global trade – falling sharply.
Liu He, Beijing’s lead trade negotiator, was due in Washington this week for trade talks that experts predicted would be the last round of discussions before reaching a deal. China has not announced how Trump’s announcement will impact Liu’s travel plans.
And if you’re wondering, who pays for these tariffs? A long explanation is here. The quick version: Companies pay these tariffs when they import goods from China, despite Trump’s claims they are paid by China. US importers then decide to either pass the increased costs on to consumers by raising prices, absorb the cost and take a hit to their profits, try to negotiate costs down or find outside suppliers.
Nick Twidale, Sydney-based analyst at Rakuten Securities Australia, told the Guardian:
There is still a question of whether this is one of the famous Trump negotiation tactic, or are we really going to see some drastic increase in tariffs. If it’s the latter we’ll see massive downside pressure across all markets.
Trump reverses position on Mueller testimony
Happy Monday and welcome to today’s politics live blog. The Mueller report saga is far from over.
Donald Trump has reversed his earlier position on whether special counsel Robert Mueller should be allowed to testify before a Congressional committee about his 448-page report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Last night, Trump tweeted “Bob Mueller should not testify,” backing away from an earlier claim that he would support William Barr’s decision on whether Mueller should testify. The attorney general has said it would be fine if he did.
Barr is also due to respond to Representative Jerry Nadler, the House judiciary committee chairman, who gave the attorney general a Monday deadline to provide an unredacted version of the Mueller report.
Trump has repeatedly mischaracterized the report’s findings. Mueller did not assess collusion because it is not a legal term and instead focused on potential criminal conspiracy between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia. Mueller said there was not sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges for obstruction, but wrote the president couldn’t be exonerated from such allegations, either.
Elsewhere:
The president’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is set to begin serving his three-year prison sentence today in New York. Cohen is the third Trump campaign aide to go to prison in the past 12 months.
Trump unexpectedly announced he would further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods, sending global financial markets tumbling.
And the US is sending an aircraft carrier and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to “escaltory indications” from Iran, according to National Security Adviser, John Bolton, who did not identify what caused the US to escalate tensions in the region.
We’ll have more on all this throughout the morning, as well as rolling updates through the day.
© 2019 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
The Guardian -
Trump would have been charged with obstruction if he wasn’t president, say prosecutors – live
More than 370 former federal prosecutors signed a statement saying Mueller’s investigation would have resulted in charges for Trump
Mon 6 May 2019 15.47 EDT First published on Mon 6 May 2019 08.59 EDT
Key events
3.47pm
Donald Trump’s bitter confrontation with his political opponents continued to intensify on Monday, after House Democrats set up a vote to hold his attorney general, William Barr, in contempt of Congress, writes David Smith, the Guardian’s Washington Bureau Chief.
A contempt vote would carry symbolic force but it would not compel Barr to hand over the report. The full House would need to approve it, sending a criminal referral to the US attorney for the District of Columbia – a justice department official likely to defend the attorney general.
Democrats argue they need to see the full report, including underlying materials, in order to conduct a complete review of Mueller’s investigation. Nadler said the committee wants to see witness interviews and “items such as contemporaneous notes” that are cited in the report. He also asked that all members of Congress be allowed to review an unredacted version.
As the conflict with Barr has worsened, Democrats have been in negotiations to hear from Mueller himself. Trump complicated those negotiations on Sunday when he tweeted that he would oppose Mueller’s testimony. Trump had previously said he would leave the question to Barr, who has said he has no objection to Mueller testifying.
Nadler said last week the committee was “firming up the date” for Mueller’s testimony, hoping it would be 15 May.
Trump escalates fight with Democrats as they move to hold Barr in contempt
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3.30pm
The prosecutors, who have worked for administrations hailing from both sides of the political aisle, contradicts the conclusion made by attorney general William Barr after Mueller did not come to a decision on whether the president should be indicted, that there was not a criminal case for obstruction.
Mueller had specifically said that Trump was not exonerated.
The prosecutors say in their statement:
“Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the former federal prosecutors wrote.
“We emphasize that these are not matters of close professional judgment,” they added. “Of course, there are potential defenses or arguments that could be raised in response to an indictment of the nature we describe here . . . But, to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice — the standard set out in Principles of Federal Prosecution — runs counter to logic and our experience.”
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1.24pm
Prosecutors sign statement saying Trump would have been charged with obstruction if he wasn’t president
More than 370 former federal prosecutors have signed a statement saying they believe special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation would have resulted in obstruction of justice charges for Donald Trump if he wasn’t the president of the United States.
The statement has been issued on publishing platform Medium this afternoon. More details in the coming moments.
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12.56pm
Republican Rick Scott, Florida’s ex-governor and now US Senator, really doesn’t like 2020 Dem candidate Cory Booker’s progressive gun violence prevention plan, unveiled this morning.
Scott tweeted the, to him, outrageous notion that “if you want to buy a gun, @CoryBooker wants you to register with the federal government”, adding: “This would be scary if Booker had any chance of becoming president.”
He called it the latest terrible idea from Dems in the 2020 race.
He then went on, or possibly off the rails, in the second of a two-post tweet shower, thus: “What’s next? Will we have to register sharp knives? Maybe @AOC will make us register every time we buy meat as part of her #GreenNewDeal.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez promptly countered with her trademark blast of straight-talking fresh air.
The freshman Democratic representative from New York, aka @AOC, tweeted: “That a sitting US Senator can say something lacking so much critical thinking + honesty is embarrassing to the institution. If you were a female candidate, maybe you’d be called “unlikeable,” “crazy,” or “uninformed.” But since you’re not, this inadequacy is accepted as normal.”
Updated at 12.58pm EDT
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12.28pm
Afternoon summary
Donald’s Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, just arrived at prison in New York to begin serving his three-year prison sentence today in New York. Cohen is the third Trump campaign aide to go to prison in the past 12 months. Outside his New York City apartment this morning, Cohen promised: “There still remains much to be told and I look forward to the day the day I can tell the truth.”
In a series of Tweets last night, Trump attempted to control the aftermath of the Muller report, which has seen Congressional committees calling up Trump associates for testimonies and requests for additional, unredacted documents.
The House Judiciary committee announced it would vote Wednesday on whether to find attorney general William Barr in contempt of Congress.
Trump unexpectedly announced he would further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods, sending global financial markets tumbling.
Trump complained about disaster relief funding in Puerto Rico, amid a standoff with Democrats to approve a disaster aid bill that includes Puerto Rico as well as several US states.
US senator Cory Booker, a 2020 Democratic hopeful, unveiled an ambitious gun violence prevention plan.
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12.05pm
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, has arrived at an upstate New York prison around 11:30 am on Monday.
Here’s what he can expect, writes the Guardian’s Tom McCarthy:
The prison, which houses about 800 inmates, has been rated among the country’s cushiest, thanks to its facilities for non-violent offenders which include bunkhouse-style sleeping and personal lockers.
It is also especially set up for Jewish inmates, such as Cohen will be, with availability of such specialty foods as matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish and rugelach pastries, as well as access to a full-time rabbi.
Prison consultants say Otisville has become a requested destination for Jewish inmates due to its proximity to New York City’s large Jewish population and upstate New York’s Orthodox Jewish enclaves.
But it’s still prison, former Otisville case manager Jack Donson said.
“Prison is disrespectful. It’s impersonal,” Donson said. “He’s never going to get any sleep because there’s always lights on, there’s always inmates snoring. There are officers walking around jingling keys. You shower out in the open. It’s very demeaning.”
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen leaves Manhattan apartment to serve three-year prison sentence
Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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11.42am
A majority of Americans support getting rid of the Electoral College and having elections determined exclusively by the popular vote, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Of those polled, 53% said the presidential election should use a popular vote, while 43% should continue to use the electoral college.
The findings fall pretty closely in line with whether people backed Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million votes, while Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232 electoral votes
Of the people surveyed who voted for Trump in 2016, 74% wanted to keep using the electoral college, while 78% of Clinton voters want to use the popular vote.
The Electoral College allocates electoral votes to each state based on how many representatives and senators it has. Because each state has two senators, electoral votes tilt toward giving smaller states more power in the election. For instance, California has one electoral vote per 712,000 people and Wyoming has one for 195,000 people, according to NBC News.
How does the US electoral college work?
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11.20am
The top Republican on the House Judiciary committee, representative Doug Collins, of Georgia, was critical of Wednesday’s planned vote on contempt for Attorney General William Barr.
“Democrats have launched a proxy war smearing the attorney general when their anger actually lies with the president and the special counsel, who found neither conspiracy nor obstruction,” Collins said.
Collins said the upcoming vote is “illogical and disingenuous” as negotiations are underway with the Justice Department for access, according to the AP.
Facebook Twitter
10.47am
Donald Trump is complaining about disaster funding to Puerto Rico, again.
On Twitter, Trump said Puerto Rico has already received more money from Congress than any state in the history of the US and complained Democrats won’t back a bill that gives disaster relief money to states including Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama.
“Puerto Rico should be very happy and the Dems should stop blocking much needed Disaster Relief!” Trump tweeted.
The president is in a standoff with Democrats, who want a disaster aid funding bill to include money for Puerto Rico, as well as the others states.
In the tweets, Trump said Puerto Rico had received $91bn in disaster relief funding - which is not true. There has been $41bn in announced funding. The additional $50bn is money that one internal estimate said could need to be committed in the long-term.
This weekend, Boston Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, said he wouldn’t visit the White House to celebrate the team’s 2018 World Series win because of the Trump administration’s response to the hurricane. Cora is Puerto Rican. Several other Red Sox players have also said they would be skipping the ceremony.
Since Hurricane Maria devastated the entire island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Trump has routinely minimized, dismissed or ignored the scale of destruction– including denying the official death toll.
Facebook Twitter
10.13am
The US House judiciary committee took its first step to hold the attorney general, William Barr, in contempt of Congress this morning, after Barr failed to provide a copy of the unredacted Mueller report before the committee’s deadline.
On Wednesday, the committee will debate a resolution and a 27-page report on Barr being held in contempt, then hold a vote on the resolution. If the vote goes through, it will move to a full vote in the House to authorize legal proceedings.
House Judiciary committee chairman, Jerrold Nadler, said in a statement:
Even in redacted form, the Special Counsel’s report offers disturbing evidence and analysis that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice at the highest levels. Congress must see the full report and underlying evidence to determine how to best move forward with oversight, legislation, and other constitutional responsibilities.
Updated at 10.46am EDT
Facebook Twitter
10.05am
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, just navigated through a swarm of photographers and television cameras outside his apartment in New York City, before hopping into a black SUV to take him to prison, about 70 miles north of the city.
Cohen made a brief statement to reporters:
I hope that when I rejoin my family and friends that the country will be in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country. There still remains much to be told and I look forward to the day the day I can tell the truth.
Loading video
Michael Cohen hints at more Trump revelations on way to prison – video
Cohen was sentenced last December to three years in prison for tax evasion, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. He is the third former Trump aide to go to prison in the past 12 months.
Khaki uniform, jingling keys, snoring: what Michael Cohen will find in prison
Updated at 1.51pm EDT
Facebook Twitter
9.51am
2020: Booker unveils gun violence prevention plan
2020 update: New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, this morning unveiled his plan to tackle gun violence – which in 2017 saw gun deaths in the US rise to its highest rate in more than 20 years.
Booker’s campaign outlined the ambitious plan on Medium. It included several measures which Booker said would be a focus on day one of his presidency:
Universal background checks.
Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
More funding for gun violence research.
Requiring gun owners to obtain a license to purchase and own a firearm.
A national database to register and track guns.
Repealing a law that protects the gun industry from nearly all lawsuits.
Require “microstamping,” which helps trace shell casings to a specific weapon.
Expand the law so people found guilty of non-felony abuse for violence against a partner of former partner are prohibited from purchasing a firearm - known as the “boyfriend loophole.”
Facebook Twitter
9.23am
Donald Trump shocked global financial markets this morning with an unexpected threat to further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
In September, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on $200bn in goods from China, including food, chemicals and electronics. On Twitter last night, Trump said he planned to hike that tariff to 25%. He also said another $325bn in goods would be subject to the 25% tariff.
This has upended global stock markets after months of seemingly positive negotiations between the US and China. Trump himself has declared that the discussions were moving in a positive direction, helping to boost global markets anticipating a positive outcome from the talks.
China’s market closed down 5.8% on Monday, its worst day since Feb 2016. Europe and US markets also fell, with oil prices – a benchmark for global trade – falling sharply.
Liu He, Beijing’s lead trade negotiator, was due in Washington this week for trade talks that experts predicted would be the last round of discussions before reaching a deal. China has not announced how Trump’s announcement will impact Liu’s travel plans.
And if you’re wondering, who pays for these tariffs? A long explanation is here. The quick version: Companies pay these tariffs when they import goods from China, despite Trump’s claims they are paid by China. US importers then decide to either pass the increased costs on to consumers by raising prices, absorb the cost and take a hit to their profits, try to negotiate costs down or find outside suppliers.
Nick Twidale, Sydney-based analyst at Rakuten Securities Australia, told the Guardian:
There is still a question of whether this is one of the famous Trump negotiation tactic, or are we really going to see some drastic increase in tariffs. If it’s the latter we’ll see massive downside pressure across all markets.
Facebook Twitter
8.59am
Trump reverses position on Mueller testimony
Happy Monday and welcome to today’s politics live blog. The Mueller report saga is far from over.
Donald Trump has reversed his earlier position on whether special counsel Robert Mueller should be allowed to testify before a Congressional committee about his 448-page report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Last night, Trump tweeted “Bob Mueller should not testify,” backing away from an earlier claim that he would support William Barr’s decision on whether Mueller should testify. The attorney general has said it would be fine if he did.
Barr is also due to respond to Representative Jerry Nadler, the House judiciary committee chairman, who gave the attorney general a Monday deadline to provide an unredacted version of the Mueller report.
Trump has repeatedly mischaracterized the report’s findings. Mueller did not assess collusion because it is not a legal term and instead focused on potential criminal conspiracy between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia. Mueller said there was not sufficient evidence to establish criminal charges for obstruction, but wrote the president couldn’t be exonerated from such allegations, either.
Elsewhere:
The president’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is set to begin serving his three-year prison sentence today in New York. Cohen is the third Trump campaign aide to go to prison in the past 12 months.
Trump unexpectedly announced he would further raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods, sending global financial markets tumbling.
And the US is sending an aircraft carrier and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to “escaltory indications” from Iran, according to National Security Adviser, John Bolton, who did not identify what caused the US to escalate tensions in the region.
We’ll have more on all this throughout the morning, as well as rolling updates through the day
Fired by Trump: former US attorney Preet Bharara on American justice
Fired by Trump: former US attorney Preet Bharara on American justice
‘The NRA is in grave danger’: group’s troubles are blow to Trump’s 2020 bid
‘The NRA is in grave danger’: group’s troubles are blow to Trump’s 2020 bid
Why did Trump threaten to raise China tariffs – and what now?
Why did Trump threaten to raise China tariffs – and what now?
Markets slide after Trump threatens to dramatically increase China tariffs
Markets slide after Trump threatens to dramatically increase China tariffs
‘Tentative date’ of 15 May agreed for Mueller to testify before Congress
‘Tentative date’ of 15 May agreed for Mueller to testify before Congress
American democracy is broken.
© 2019 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.