WASHINGTON, DC — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Pressure had been mounting on the speaker, fueled by recent news reports that Trump asked the president of Ukraine in a phone call to investigate former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, over purported corruption.

Pelosi made the announcement from the speaker’s office at the Capitol. “The President must be held accountable,” Pelosi said. “No one is above the law.”

In response to Pelosi’s announcement, Trump fired off a series of tweets calling the move “presidential harassment” and a “witch hunt.”

Biden addressed the issue in a brief statement delivered Tuesday, urging Trump to stop stonewalling the investigation and provide Congress with all the facts, including a copy of the whistleblower complaint. Biden added that Trump should also stop blocking all other investigations into his alleged wrongdoings.

Biden called the prospect of impeachment a tragedy but one of the president’s own making. But he said that if the president doesn’t comply and continues to obstruct Congress, lawmakers would have no choice but to initiate impeachment.

Trump, who is currently in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said on Tuesday that he would allow the release of the full transcript of his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has led to the the recent mounting public pressure for the House to begin impeachment proceedings.

On Monday, The New York Times and others reported that Trump withheld $391 million in aid to Ukraine prior to the call where he is alleged to have made the request to investigate Joe Biden and his son.

However, along with the transcript of the call — which Trump said will clear him of any wrongdoing and details a “very friendly and totally appropriate call” —many are also demanding the release of the whistleblower complaint that brought the allegations to light.

“On Thursday, the Inspector General testified before the House Intelligence Committee, stating that the Acting Director of National Intelligence blocked him from disclosing the whistleblower complaint,” Pelosi said on Tuesday. “This is a violation of the law.” (You can read Pelosi’s full remarks here.)

The Washington Post, which broke the story, reported that Trump’s interactions with the Ukrainian president were so troubling that a U.S. intelligence community official filed the complaint.

On Thursday, acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire is scheduled to appear before House and Senate committees. Pelosi called on Maguire, who is said to be withholding the report from Congress, to release the report on Thursday when he appears before lawmakers.

Pelosi said Maguire must choose whether he wants to break the law or honor the constitution.

California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that the whistleblower’s lawyers have informed the panel of their client’s willingness to speak to them. Smith is seeking guidance from Maguire on how to make that happen.

“We’re in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower’s testimony as soon as this week,” Schiff said.

This report will be updated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cameron Diaz parmi les stars immortelles. L’actrice de 36 ans a inauguré lundi son étoile sur le Walk of Fame (le célèbre Hollywood Boulevard). L’ex-petite amie de Justin Timberlake rejoint es légendes du cinéma, de Marilyn Monroe à Will Smith en passant par Marlon Brando…

C’est fait. Une nouvelle étape vient d’être franchie dans la carrière (et la vie) de Cameron Diaz. L’actrice de 36 ans a inauguré son étoile sur le Walk of Fame à Hollywood (célèbre avenue sur Hollywood sur laquelle figure les noms de célébrités de l’industrie du spectacle honorées par la Chambre de Commerce de Los Angeles. « Je remercie mes parents pour m’avoir poussé dans cette voie » a déclaré l’héroïne de Mary A tout Prix, avant d’avouer qu’elle était heureuse d’exercer «le plus beau métier du monde».Parmi les invités, Tom Cruise (avec qui elle a partagé l’affiche dans Vanilla Sky) et sa femme Katie Holmes, venus soutenir leur amie.

La belle blonde révélée dans The Mask aux côtés de Jim Carrey (en 1994) aura attendu son 36e anniversaire pour voir son nom inscrit sur la «Promenade De La Gloire», aux côtés de ceux de Julia Roberts,Will Smith ou encore Dolly Parton… Côté coeur, la célibataire la plus convoitée de Los Angeles vient de mettre un terme à sa romance avec le mannequin Paul Sculfor, l’ex de Jennifer Aniston. Qui lui dispute la palme, hors des plateaux, de la trentenaire célib’ et décomplexée.

Mardi 23 juin 2009

Le réveillon de Noël sera placé sous le signe de la sécurité. Des policiers et gendarmes sont déployés autour des églises dans le cadre de l’opération Sentinelle. Lancée en janvier 2015, cette opération vise à faire face à la menace terroriste et à protéger les points sensibles du territoire. En direct de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, la journaliste Diane Schlienger détaille le périmètre de protection mis en place : “Une dizaine de véhicules de police encadre le parvis de Notre-Dame. Impossible d’y accéder sans être fouillé systématiquement”.Lieux de culte surveillésCe périmètre de protection élargi va durer jusqu’à 21 heures mardi 25 décembre avec des restrictions de circulation et des patrouilles renforcées. “La vigilance est accrue aussi autour des grands magasins, des marchés de Noël et de chaque église. Pour les messes de Noël, les forces de sécurité se sont mises en relation avec chaque paroisse. Les mesures sont adaptées selon les lieux avec une vigilance particulière pour les entrées et les sorties des fidèles”, conclut la journaliste de France 2.Le JT

• JT de 13h du lundi 24 décembre 2018 L’intégrale

Les autres sujets du JT

• 1
  

  Bouches-du-Rhône : un patient anonyme offre du champagne à un hôpital

• 2
  

  Noël : dernière course aux cadeaux dans les magasins spécialisés

• 3
  

  Ille-et-vilaine : le rayon poissonnerie pris d’assaut pour le réveillon

• 4
  

  Indonésie : le système d’alerte tsunami pointé du doigt

• 5

  Édouard Philippe à la rencontre des policiers agressés

• 6
  

  Contrôle technique : les tarifs vont-ils augmenter en 2019 ?

• 7
  

  Épargne : les Français plébiscitent les comptes courants

• 8
  

  Comment les entreprises s’organisent-elles pour le pont de Noël ?

• 9
  

  Aude : quel Noël pour les victimes des inondations ?

• 10
  

  Vers qui se tourner en cas d’urgence médicale ?

• 11
  

  Greffe du cœur : les parents d’un nourrisson lancent un appel

• 12
  

  Bénévolat : un Noël pour tous

• 13
  

  Alpes-Maritimes : des préparatifs de Noël ensoleillés

• 14
  

  Feuilleton : des saveurs étoilées (1/5)

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La fin de l’année 2018 approche, il est déjà temps de planifier vos vacances pour 2019. Au total, quatre week-ends prolongés seront possibles et vous pouvez même envisager deux ponts, en plus de celui du 1er janvier, à condition de vous organiser.Dans le détail, le jeudi de l’Ascension, le 30 mai, et le jeudi de l’Assomption, le 15 août, pourront faire l’objet d’un pont, à condition de poser à chaque fois votre vendredi. Quatre week-ends de trois jours seront aussi possibles : ceux des habituels lundis de Pâques et de Pentecôte, les 22 avril et 10 juin, celui de la Toussaint, le vendredi 1er novembre, et celui de l’armistice du 11 novembre, qui tombe un lundi.Un jour férié “perdu”En revanche, un jour férié sera “perdu”, puisque le 14 juillet tombe un dimanche. Les autres – la fête du Travail du 1er mai, la fête de la Victoire du 8 mai et le jour de Noël, le 25 décembre – tombent des mercredis. Il faudra là poser en plus votre lundi et votre mardi, ou votre jeudi et votre vendredi, si vous souhaitez profiter d’une coupure bien méritée de cinq jours. Même cas de figure pour la fin d’année 2019, puisque le 1er janvier 2020 tombera également un mercredi.Tous les jours fériés de 2019 sont indiqués en rouge dans le calendrier ci-dessous.

The legendary forward has revealed just how close he was to becoming a Red Devil – and Sir Alex Ferguson’s lack of response when he turned them down

England legend Alan Shearer has revealed just how close he was to joining Manchester United over Newcastle in 1996.

Although the striker eventually plumped for his hometown club, only the tenacity of then manager Kevin Keegan to pursue a world-record £15 million ($18m) deal prevented him from making a switch to Old Trafford.

It was no secret that Shearer was wanted by the Red Devils, but he has now lifted the lid on how close he came to signing for the club and the response of Sir Alex Ferguson when he did not.

The European Union’s finance ministers today urged Greece to reform its procedures for drawing up economic statistics.

Ministers said that the reforms were necessary if the government was to restore the confidence of financial markets in Greece’s economic data. That confidence was shattered in October when Greece revised sharply upwards its published deficit for 2008, and its projected deficit for 2009.

It raised its projected figure for 2009 by more than four percentage points to 12.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), more than four times the 3% limit allowed under the EU’s stability and growth pact. This was increased again to 12.7% in November.

The hike in Greece’s deficit projection influenced Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s to cut Greece’s credit rating in December. The credit rating agencies’ decisions to downgrade Greece prompted market panic as investors considered the possibility of a Greek default, or even the country’s exit from the eurozone.

The European Commission last week published a scathing report into Greece’s manipulating and massaging of economic data submitted to the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, over the last five years.

The finance ministers issued a statement today calling on the Greek government to “decisively address the shortcomings in administrative and operational capacity involved in the production of…statistics”. They said Greece should put in place “transparent working practices between the various institutions…granting them full accountability”.

The Commission said that it would, in the coming weeks, publish an action plan of measures that Greece should take to improve the quality of its statistics. It said that this action plan would be drawn up in co-operation with the Greek government and would be submitted to finance ministers for approval.

The Commission said it would, in tandem with the action plan, present a legal proposal to ministers to grant Eurostat auditing powers. Joaquín Almunia, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said these powers would have helped to prevent the situation that has unfolded in Greece.

Almunia said that the audit powers would allow Eurostat officials to carry out visits and investigations in a member state if it had “reasonable doubts about the accuracy of the figures received”.  He said that the powers would not be used every day.

The Commission made a similar request for auditing powers in 2005, but it was rejected by member states. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the Eurogroup, said yesterday that this rejection had been a “major mistake”.

Necessary measures

Giorgos Papaconstantinou, the Greek finance minister, said that Greece would take all the necessary measures to restore faith in its finances.

“I want to make it absolutely clear that the Greek government will do everything possible to provide a free and full flow of information to Eurostat,” Papaconstantinou said.

He said that the Greek government had already drawn up draft legislation to make the Greek national statistics office independent from government, and submitted it for comments to the Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said the bill would be turned into law within a month of the ECB, IMF and Commission giving their feedback.

Papaconstantinou said that he would next week send to the Commission a draft action plan of other measures to improve the quality of statistics. He said the draft plan would include “certification of procedures” and a “clear memorandum of understanding on who does what [in Greek statistics collection]”.

He said he presented details to ministers of a three-year deficit reduction plan that the Greek government submitted to the Commission on Friday. The plan, which includes cutting the number of municipal authorities from more than 1,000 to 370, a freeze on recruiting civil servants, and tax reform, aims to cut Greece’s deficit to below 3% of GDP by 2012.

The Commission will, either later this month or in early February, adopt an opinion on the plan, and a proposal for how long Greece should have to bring its deficit within 3%. 

Finance ministers are expected to adopt a decision on Greece’s deficit-reduction plan, and the timetable for deficit reduction, at a meeting on 16 February

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Tweed Roosevelt, the great grandson of former President Theodore Roosevelt, said the captain of an aircraft carrier who was relieved from command following the ship’s struggle with a coronavirus outbreak is “a hero.”

Capt. Brett Crozier, who led the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam, sent a letter that was leaked to the media pleading for permission to relieve his crew, dozens of whom tested positive for COVID-19. 

“In this era when so many seem to place expediency over honor, it is heartening that so many others are showing great courage, some even risking their lives. Theodore Roosevelt, in his time, chose the honorable course,” Tweed Roosevelt said in an op-ed in The New York Times. “Captain Crozier has done the same.”

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Navy Secretary Thomas Modly announced Crozier’s removal Thursday at a Pentagon briefing, noting, “It is not an indictment of character, but rather of judgment.” Defense Secretary Mark EsperMark EsperSunday shows preview: As coronavirus spreads in the U.S., officials from each sector of public life weigh in Trump says 1,000 additional military personnel to deploy to NY Teddy Roosevelt’s great-grandson weighs in on dismissal of Navy captain: ‘Crozier is a hero’ MORE backed his firing, according to Reuters.

After Crozier’s letter leaked, Navy officials announced they would offload 2,700 sailors by Friday. 

“Perhaps this was not the best approach for his career, but it got results,” Tweed Roosevelt said.

Tweed Roosevelt said Crozier showed judgement similar to that of Theodore Roosevelt when he was a commander during the Spanish-American War, which resulted in hundreds of deaths from diseases such as yellow fever and malaria.

After Crozier’s firing, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam SmithDavid (Adam) Adam SmithTeddy Roosevelt’s great-grandson weighs in on dismissal of Navy captain: ‘Crozier is a hero’ Pentagon gets heat over protecting service members from coronavirus Overnight Defense: Aircraft carrier captain removed from duty after pleading for help with outbreak | Trump to expand use of defense law to build ventilators | Hospital ships receiving few patients MORE (D-Wash.) and three subcommittee chairmen said Saturday they were “concerned about the lack of guidance from Department of Defense leadership” and that Esper is “forcing” commanders “to make decisions on matters outside of their expertise while under immense pressure.”

President TrumpDonald John TrumpPelosi eyes end of April to bring a fourth coronavirus relief bill to the floor NBA to contribute 1 million surgical masks to NY essential workers Private equity firm with ties to Kushner asks Trump administration to relax rules on loan program: report MORE said as of Saturday that 40,000 Americans have been repatriated who were stuck abroad due to flying restrictions and last-minute lockdowns amid the spread of the coronavirus.

“We brought back 40,000 Americans who were literally stuck in other countries,” Trump said at a White House briefing Saturday. 

Trump said the U.S. nationals were brought back on 400 flights from 75 countries. 

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On Friday, the State Department announced 37,000 U.S. citizens from more than 60 countries had boarded more than 400 flights back to the United States since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. Of those, more than 20,000 U.S. citizens repatriated in the past week alone.  

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoTrump says 40,000 Americans have been repatriated who were stranded abroad US should adopt a Marshall Plan for Ethiopia Tired of worrying about the pandemic? There’s always Pyongyang MORE said Americans who are still abroad and wish to return to the U.S. should do so “immediately.” Pompeo has been particularly adamant about repatriating Americans during the crisis. 

“Americans who wish to return home from abroad should do so immediately and make arrangements to accomplish that,” Pompeo said during a Tuesday briefing.

Trump has touted the State Department’s efforts to bring back Americans at previous briefings. On Tuesday he reported the State Department has repatriated 25,000 Americans from more than 50 countries, saying that “they were literally stuck in some cases, locked in.”

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“Almost everybody’s out now, back home with their parents” or other family members, Trump said.

President TrumpDonald John TrumpPelosi eyes end of April to bring a fourth coronavirus relief bill to the floor NBA to contribute 1 million surgical masks to NY essential workers Private equity firm with ties to Kushner asks Trump administration to relax rules on loan program: report MORE said he would consider boosting the funds available to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus if the money allocated under the recently passed $2.2 trillion relief package runs out.

“I will immediately ask Congress for more money to support small businesses under the #PPPloan if the allocated money runs out. So far, way ahead of schedule. @BankofAmerica & community banks are rocking!” Trump tweeted Saturday.

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The most recent coronavirus relief package, which Trump signed into law last week, laid out a $349 billion program to help small businesses. However, banks, credit unions and other lenders warn that guidelines for the plan are unclear and could lead to trouble handling a crush of loan applications.

“The guidance was released hours before this program is set to begin and there are still a number of unanswered questions which will very likely complicate quick fulfillment of these critical loans,” Jim Nussle, president and CEO of the Credit Union National Association, a trade group for credit unions, told The Hill.

Hundreds of thousands of small and midsize firms are expected to compete for the funds made available under the relief package, raising the potential for a backlog for banks and credit unions that still have to vet, approve and process the applications. 

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Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinTrump eyes additional funds for small businesses impacted by pandemic Decentralized leadership raises questions about Trump coronavirus response Progressive group knocks McConnell for talking judicial picks during coronavirus MORE, who was instrumental in crafting the relief package, has sought to allay concerns over the available funds, providing regular Twitter updates on the amount of money that has already been doled out. Mnuchin said Friday that more than $1.8 billion has already been allocated by the Small Business Administration. 

However, skepticism remains about whether the program will run smoothly enough to grapple with the burgeoning economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a poll Friday that found that 24 percent of small businesses say they will close permanently within two months or less due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

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The European Commission on Monday (29 November) raised its growth forecast for the EU, despite the debt crisis affecting the eurozone.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the EU is predicted to increase by 1.8% in 2010, up from the 0.9% forecast in May, and then to rise further – by 1.7% in 2011 and by 2.0% in 2012. Growth in the eurozone is expected to lag slightly behind this rhythm, at 1.7% in 2010, 1.5% in 2011 and 1.8% in 2012.

This latest edition of the Commission’s twice-yearly economic report balanced signals of accelerating recovery with warnings of uneven performance across the member states – with some peripheral countries, in particular, still lagging.

Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said the economic recovery had “taken hold”, and that he was “encouraged by the prospect that employment is finally set to improve next year”. He added that public deficits are starting to decline as a result of consolidation measures and the resumption of growth.

The budget deficit for the 27 EU member states is forecast to fall from 6.8% of GDP this year to 5.1% next year and to 4.2% in 2012. The members of the eurozone are expected to do better, with 6.3% in 2010, 4.6% in 2011 and 3.9% in 2012.

German ‘growth’ motor

Rehn identified Germany as the source of the momentum for the upturn, with growth of 3.7% predicted for 2010, slowing to 2.2% in 2011 and 2.0% in 2012. The forecast for the French economy is a rise of 1.6% in 2011 and 1.8% in 2012, following 1.6% in 2010. The fastest growth will be seen in Estonia, which will adopt the euro in January. Its economy is predicted to grow by 4.4% next year and 3.5% in 2012, compared to a forecast 2.4% in 2010.

All countries in the EU, apart from Greece and Portugal, are expected to be out of recession by the beginning of next year, according to the forecast. GDP is expected to contract in Greece, Latvia and Romania, and, to a smaller degree, in Bulgaria and Ireland. Portugal is expected to fall back into recession, contracting 1% in 2011, before returning to growth of 0.8% in 2012. Greece’s economy will slowly improve, the report said. It is predicted to shrink by 3% in 2011 before growth of 1.1% for the following year.