For only the fourth time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has started a presidential impeachment inquiry. House committees are trying to determine if President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking a foreign country to investigate a political opponent.
A quick summary of the latest news:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
— Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch told House investigators that Ukrainian officials had warned her before her abrupt recall from Kyiv earlier this year that Rudy Giuliani and other allies of President Donald Trump were planning to "do things, including to me" and were "looking to hurt" her reputation. A transcript of Yovanovitch's testimony was released Monday.
— Four White House officials scheduled to appear before House impeachment investigators for depositions failed to show up Monday, following Trump's orders not to cooperate with the probe. Those scheduled for depositions were John Eisenberg, Trump's deputy counsel for national security affairs; Robert Blair, a senior adviser to acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; Michael Ellis, senior associate counsel to the president; and Brian McCormack, with the Office of Management and Budget.
— The whistleblower who raised concerns about Trump's dealings with Ukraine and sparked the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry is willing to answer written questions submitted by House Republicans. But Trump indicated in a Twitter posting Monday that such an arrangement is not good enough. The whistleblower "must be brought forward to testify. Written answers not acceptable!" Trump said in his tweet.
WHAT'S NEXT
Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said interview transcripts from the depositions of former special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland will be released Tuesday.
Democrats have called for 11 witnesses to meet the impeachment investigators this week, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and former national security adviser John Bolton. It's unclear whether any of them will come to Capitol Hill.
NUMBERS THAT MATTER
The House has 16 legislative days between now and the end of the year. Dec. 12 is the final day lawmakers have votes scheduled — unless leaders extend the calendar — before everyone heads home for the holidays and the beginning of the election year.
WORTH READING
The freshly released transcripts of interviews with Yovanovitch, ousted from her post in Kyiv in May, and Michael McKinley, a former top aide to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. They spoke to House investigators in October.
Yovanovitch: http://apne.ws/mBvxghb
McKinley: http://apne.ws/PrBMFaM
TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.
“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.
“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.
The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”
Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.
Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.
The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.
The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.
In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
