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 whether President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his family and to investigate the country's involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
A quick summary of the latest news and what's to come:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
— House impeachment investigators have released a transcript of testimony from George Kent, a career official at the State Department. Kent said Trump wanted to hear three words from Ukraine's president: investigations, Biden and Clinton.
— Former national security adviser John Bolton failed to appear for an interview with impeachment investigators Thursday, making it unlikely that he will provide testimony to the House. Democrats say they will simply use the no-shows as evidence of the president's obstruction of Congress.
— The president wanted Attorney General William Barr to hold a press conference to declare Trump broke no laws during his July phone conversation with Ukraine's president, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump is angrily lashing out at media after the revelation, first reported by The Washington Post.
— The Oval Office has emerged as such a sought-after destination that Ukraine's new president was hell-bent on getting there and the White House was unafraid to dangle it as leverage.
WHAT'S NEXT
— Acting White House Chief of Staff "Mick" Mulvaney is scheduled to provide a deposition but is not expected to appear. Mark Sandy, the associate director for national security programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget, is also scheduled to appear, but probably will not do so.
NUMBERS THAT MATTER
Former national security adviser John Bolton's refusal to show up for a closed-door interview with impeachment investigators Thursday brings to 10 the number of Trump administration figures declining to appear before the panel this week. The White House has said it will not cooperate with the probe.
WORTH READING
Freshly-released transcripts of the deposition of State Department official George Kent, who spoke to impeachment investigators on Oct. 15: http://apne.ws/gX69QfC
Previously released transcripts:
Top Ukraine diplomat William Taylor, who is scheduled to testify at an open hearing next Wednesday: http://apne.ws/vtAi9aX
Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union: http://apne.ws/8NmlA02
Kurt Volker, former U.S. envoy to Ukraine: http://apne.ws/rTdEmG4
Michael McKinley, former adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: http://apne.ws/PrBMFaM
Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, also scheduled to testify at an open hearing next week: http://apne.ws/mBvxghb
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TRUMP TRIAL OPENING-AP EXPLAINS — Opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and places his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden. An AP reporter debrief. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving households in low- and middle-income communities — while blasting Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
President Joe Biden campaigns in Tampa, Florida. Events at 3 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.
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7 a.m. — Live NY Trump Pool coverage outside of Trump Tower in New York is planned.
8:30 a.m. — Live NY Trump Pool or Live AP coverage outside of the courthouse in New York is planned.
9 a.m. — Live pool coverage from the courthouse hallway in New York is planned.
4:15 p.m. — Live US Network Pool of President Joe Biden’s campaign event in Tampa, Florida.
TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY-MEDIA-BLOGS — With cameras not allowed at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, live news blogs are coming into their own as an important news tool. SENT: 710 words, photos.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — A longtime tabloid publisher is expected to tell jurors about his efforts to help Donald Trump stifle unflattering stories during the 2016 campaign as testimony resumes in the historic hush money trial of the former president. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, will be back on the stand Tuesday. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,200 words after trial resumes at 9:30 a.m.
ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-ELECTION INTERFERENCE — Donald Trump faces serious charges in two separate cases over whether he attempted to subvert the Constitution by overturning the results of a fair election. Yet it’s a New York case centered on payments to silence an adult film star that might provide the only legal reckoning this year. Some legal experts are dubious about attempting to tie a record-keeping case to manipulating an election. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT-THINGS TO KNOW — The core issue being debated before the Supreme Court on Thursday boils down to this: Whether a former president is immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office — and, if so, what is the extent of the immunity? SENT: 1,070 words, photo.
ELECTION 2024-PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday will cement the lineup for a high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are expected to win their presidential nominations easily. SENT: 890 words, photos. Polls close at 8 p.m.
ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-ABORTION — President Joe Biden is heading to Tampa, Florida, to decry the state’s looming six-week abortion ban as his campaign continued to seize on reproductive rights as a key campaign issue. SENT: 890 words, photos, video.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-HUSH MONEY-TAKEAWAYS — Opening statements provide a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. SENT: 860 words, photos.
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Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
