Trump news: President abruptly drops sanctions on Turkey, as Republicans storm impeachment hearings

Donald Trump: Carolyn Kaster/AP
Donald Trump: Carolyn Kaster/AP

Donald Trump continues to froth over the impeachment inquiry on Twitter as Laura Cooper, deputy assistant US secretary of defence for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, becomes the latest senior official to appear before the House panel on Capitol Hill to testify about the conduct of diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Bill Taylor, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, told the inquiry he was informed military aid to the country was “dependent” on president Volodymyr Zelensky agreeing to publicly announce a corruption probe into Donald Trump’s 2020 rival Joe Biden, confirming the existence of the suspected quid pro quo at the heart of the Democratic-led investigation.

Mr Biden’s polling lead in the Democratic 2020 primary race is meanwhile at its widest margin since April. The former vice president has won the support of 34 per cent of voters registered with the party, according to a new CNN survey.

There as quite a scuffle in Washington on Wednesday, however, after Republicans staged a sit in during a secured briefing as a part of the impeachment inquiry.

During that time, the Republicans reportedly ordered pizza and joked about as they successfully pulled off their publicity stunt.

Mr Trump also announced that he would be pulling back on Turkish sanctions, claiming that the cease fire his administration claims existed between Kurds and the Turkish military had succeeded.

He later claimed that the US was building a wall in Colorado, during a speech in Pittsburgh, even though the state is landlocked.

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