The inquiry centres on a call between Trump and Ukraine’s president in which Trump asks for a probe into the Bidens. Trump also wanted a probe into a conspiracy theory about the 2016 elections.
At the time of the call, Trump was withholding $391m in military aid from Ukraine, and conditioned a White House meeting on the probes, according to witnesses. Trump denies any wrongdoing.
WASHINGTON-(MaraviPost)-US President Donald Trump is expected to be impeached on Wednesday by the Democratic-led House of Representatives for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power related to his dealings with Ukraine.
Wednesday’s historic votes on impeachment comes after a two-month inquiry by House Democrats, who accuse the president of pressuring Ukraine to open an investigation into the president’s political rival and former vice president, Joe Biden, who is also a frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic presidential race.
They also charge that the president obstructed their investigation by refusing to comply with subpoenas and directing members of his administration to do the same.
If the articles of impeachment are approved, as expected, Trump will become only the third president in United States history to be impeached.
Wednesday’s votes set the stage for a trial in the Republican-led Senate in January.
No president has ever been removed from office via the impeachment process set out in the Constitution, and Republican senators have given little indication of changing that.
As the House prepares for the landmark impeachment vote, here are all the latest updates as of Wednesday, December 18:
President Trump autographs a Bible as he greets people at Providence Baptist Church in Smiths Station, Ala., on Friday. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
WASHINGTON-(MaraviPost)-When US President Trump autographed Bibles while visiting an Alabama church last week, some reacted with dismay.
They shouldn’t have. There is nothing more natural than Trump putting his name in the Bible. The man is a prophet!
With the assurance of Jeremiah, the clairvoyance of a seer and the prolificacy of a bookie, Trump has peered into his crystal ball and foretold visions of all description: He would have a “tremendous summit” in Hanoi with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
House and Senate negotiators would not agree on border spending. Republicans would win the midterms in a “giant red wave.”
What is preternaturally eerie about these prophesies is that, in every single case, Trump was wrong.
Naysayers (not to mention soothsayers) might call Trump’s prophetic record pathetic.
But to be this wrong this often is a gift. It takes more than mere skill to be so unerringly errant.
It is as though the president has the ability to look into the future and then, with uncanny accuracy, predict the opposite.
In June, he boldly predicted that North Korea’s main missile-launching site “is going to be destroyed very soon.”
Monitoring groups last week reported that Pyongyang is instead expanding the site at an accelerated pace.
In July, Trump predicted that economic growth in the second quarter of 4.1 percent “is just a stepping stone” to higher third-quarter growth and ultimately “eight or nine” percent annual growth — as the trade deficit would be cut “in half” and debt would be paid off “like water.”
And the White House budget, released Monday, forecasts budget deficits of more than US$1 trillion for the next four years.
The vast wrongness of Trump’s forecasts is equaled only by his confidence in their correctness.
Perhaps this is because he predicted his victory in 2016 and the polls didn’t. Perhaps this is because he revises his predictions in hindsight.
Consider Trump’s prediction of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. People “are saying, ‘You know, Trump predicted Osama bin Laden,’ which actually is true,” he has said. Actually, it is not true.
Likewise, Trump said that when visiting his golf course in Scotland “the day before Brexit .?.?. I think you will agree that I said I think Brexit will happen.” We will agree his comments came after the Brexit vote.
Trump alluded to his tendency to revise predictions when he said that if he were wrong in predicting North Korea would dismantle its missile site, “I don’t know that I’ll ever admit that, but I’ll find some kind of an excuse.”
On occasion, the cosmic forces of the universe are disturbed and Trump’s forecasts prove correct, including his prediction that the Patriots would win the Super Bowl.
His prediction that he will “never” win the Nobel Peace Prize also seems a safe bet (but not a certainty, because he also predicts he has a “good shot” at solving Middle East peace).
Trump has also guaranteed success at times by predicting opposite outcomes for the same events: both “pain” and a “very good chance” of a trade deal with China, both “escalation” and diplomacy with Iran, both exoneration and harassment by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III: “We’ll see what happens.”
History already looks unkindly on Trump’s predictions that Marine Le Pen would surge in the French election, that Obamacare would be quickly repealed, that North Korea wouldn’t obtain a missile capable of reaching the United States, that he would pay more in taxes after his tax cut, that the Manchester Union Leader would go out of business by the end of 2017, that John F. Kelly would be “one of the great ever” chiefs of staff and that Jeff Flake would “go to work for CNN.” (Close! The former senator from Arizona chose CBS.)
But there is no denying Trump one distinction: He predicted himself.
Britain’s Guardian newspaper dubbed him “Trumpadamus” for prescient tweets before he came into office saying “the world is laughing at us” and the president makes Putin “look like the genius of all geniuses.”
Similarly, he retweeted a 2013 message saying “our president has ruined our country,” adding, “not totally, yet!” And he tweeted, in 2014, a cartoon of the Framers saying “I think we should include something in the Constitution in case the people elect a f—ing moron.”
Don’t worry, Arnie is alive and well (Picture: Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage)Back at the start of the decade, did you ever think that in 2019, there’d be beef between the Terminator and Donald Trump?
CALIFORNIA-(MaraviPost)-Arnold Schwarzenegger has been forced to clarify he is alive after President Donald Trump appeared to claim he was dead.
The action legend has had some health problems recently, undergoing heart surgery in April 2018, but he’s still very much here and fitter than most of us will ever be.
Which makes it all the stranger that the US President said he was ‘there’ when Arnie died, as he spoke at a social media summit.
Yahoo’s White House Correspondent Hunter Walker tweeted: ‘“Arnold Schwarzenegger … You know what? He died … I was there.” – President Donald J. Trump — Arnold Schwarzenegger is, in fact, alive.’
And Arnie, 71, was keen to set the record straight.
The former Governor of California tweeted: ‘I’m still here. Want to compare tax returns, @realDonaldTrump?’
Being sassed by the Terminator – ouch.
It turns out, however, that Trump didn’t think Schwarzenegger had actually kicked the bucket – he was apparently talking about the ratings of the Celebrity Apprentice dying when Arnold took over from Donald in 2015.
Y’know, the real issues America is facing.
Trump mocked the ratings of Celebrity Apprentice after he left (Picture: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA)Walker tweeted: ‘The president was talking about Apprentice ratings when he quipped that Schwarzenegger “died.” Real life and death stuff.’
Trump has had a real bee in his bonnet about the Twins star taking over as the Celebrity Apprentice host when he decided to run for office.
He repeatedly mocked Arnold’s ratings, saying at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2017: ‘They hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster. And Mark [Burnett, the creator of Apprentice] will never, ever bet against Trump again.
‘I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings.’
Arnold hit back: ‘Hey, Donald, I have a great idea. Why don’t we switch jobs? You take over TV because you’re such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job, and then people can finally sleep comfortably again.’
He told Empire: ‘I learned a lot, I had a great time, it was a really great opportunity. But under the circumstances I don’t want to do it again.”
‘Even if asked [to do it again] I would decline. With Trump being involved in the show people have a bad taste and don’t want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show. It’s a very divisive period now and I think this show got caught up in all that division.’
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The US First Lady Melania Trump arrives in Malawi on Thursday, during her solo African trip that has taken her to Ghana and will see her visit other African countries.
The tour, which also takes in Kenya and Egypt, will focus on promoting health and education. Meanwhile, First Lady Getrude Mutharika returns home Wednesday in time to welcome the US Firs Lady.
Madam Mutharika accompanied President Peter Mutharika to the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (Unga) that closed last Friday in New York. State House press officer Chikondi Juma confirmed that Madam Mutharika will arrive on Wednesday ahead of the US First Lady’s arrival on Thursday.
“Issues to do with the welfare of children will take centre stage since the two first ladies have similar interests and passion for children,” said Juma.
Juma said the Malawi First Lady is championing girl-child education and fighting early marriages through the Beautify Malawi Trust project. Ahead of her trip, Mrs Trump said that she was looking forward to seeing how the US can continue working together with Malawi to support a USAid programme that is focused on children’s education.
Many past American first ladies have also made trips to the African continent, including Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.
Melenia Trump’s visit to Africa could be made difficult because of the past actions and words of her husband President Donald Trump reportedly used a vulgar and insulting term to describe African nations.
The US President Trump has always denied making the comments insisting that its fake news .
Malawi breaking news and World News. News about Malawi, Malawi Business, Malawi Tourism, Malawi Politics, Malawi News, World and Africa Top News.