Trump news: President sends furious letter to Pelosi about impeachment as former campaign aide sentenced to jail
The Republican Party “will not survive” Donald Trump’s impeachment trial if Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s “corrupt” conduct continues, a chief White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush has warned.
Richard Painter’s admonition comes on the likely eve of a historic impeachment vote in the House amid a brewing battle over the shape of a near-inevitable trial in the Senate, with minority leader Chuck Schumer weighing his options over how to best ensure the president is held to account.
Meanwhile, one of the president's former campaign managers was sentenced to three years of probation and 45 days in jail for charges stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Rick Gates, an associate of Paul Manafort, committed tax evasion and skirted federal lobbying laws by concealing millions of dollars they received in Ukraine. Gates pleaded guilty in 2018. Manafort is currently serving a seven and a half year sentence.
As the House prepares to vote on impeaching the president on obstruction charges, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani admitted that he wanted ousted Ukraine envoy Marie Yovanovitch “out of the way”, suggesting he fed the president “gossip” in order to turn him against her.
The House Rules Committee is debating the process for the vote in Congress, which is set for Wednesday.
But Senate leaders McConnell and Schumer are in a tug of war over how to proceed with the Senate's impeachment trial.
Mr McConnell rejected Mr Schumer's request for witnesses and accused Democrats of trying to "short circuit" the hearings.
Mr McConnell had previously boasted that he was in "total coordination" with the White House over impeachment strategy, raising criticisms against Republicans for their apparent hypocrisy while underlining the active obstruction charges against the president.
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