Section: European Voice (EU)
Trump goes on Twitter tear after White House official condemns his Ukraine call
President Donald Trump launched a sustained online offensive Tuesday morning after details emerged of damaging congressional testimony by a senior White House official — retweeting numerous messages by Republican lawmakers attacking the latest developments in House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. The flurry of activity on the...
Trump impeachment witnesses leave a trail of tantalizing clues
They showed up, offered prepared remarks and answered hours of questions to lay out their side of the Ukraine-related impeachment inquiry now engulfing President Donald Trump. But the current and former U.S. officials — several of them experienced diplomats accustomed to documenting almost everything — also left a trail of clues for investigators...
The revenge of the US State Department
They’ve been derided as a “Deep State,” slurred as “Obama holdovers,” threatened with draconian budget cuts and told that President Donald Trump doesn’t even need them. Now, America’s diplomats are taking their revenge. In recent days, current and former Foreign Service officers have defied Trump administration orders and...
Gordon Sondland to break from Trump in impeachment testimony
Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, plans to break sharply from President Donald Trump on Thursday, telling House impeachment investigators that he opposed the president’s request to run Ukraine policy through his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. “We were also disappointed by the president’s direction that we involve...
Ex-White House aide feared Gordon Sondland posed security risk: report
A former White House foreign policy adviser was concerned Gordon Sondland could pose a national security risk as EU ambassador because he was unprepared for the job, according to the New York Times. Fiona Hill expressed these concerns to House impeachment investigators this week, but did not accuse Sondland of intentionally putting the country in...
Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s private meetings with US conservative pundits
WASHINGTON — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been hosting informal talks and small, off-the-record dinners with conservative journalists, commentators and at least one Republican lawmaker in recent months to talk about issues like free speech and discuss partnerships. The dinners, which began in July, are part of Zuckerberg’s broader...
Orbán suffers defeat as opposition wins Budapest mayoral race
BUDAPEST — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suffered his biggest political setback in a decade on Sunday, when an opposition candidate became mayor of Budapest by defeating an incumbent backed by the ruling party. Gergely Karácsony, a 44-year-old liberal, triumphed over István Tarlós, an Orbán ally, by 50 percent to about 44 percent,...
Trump impeachment fight deepens a rift among ambassadors
Some have private planes. Others brag about their polo ponies. Then there are the ones with a direct line to the White House and a willingness to operate outside their mandates — with enough money on hand to cover the legal fees from a congressional investigation. U.S. President Donald Trump’s politically appointed ambassadors have long...
Fright night on the Polish campaign trail
CHEŁM, Poland — There are three things that the ruling Law and Justice party wants Polish voters to know before they head off to vote on Sunday — if the party stays in power, Poles will be richer, more secure and they won’t have to give in to demands from homosexuals. That message was hammered home on Friday night in the party’s...
Trump nominates Pompeo deputy John Sullivan to be ambassador to Russia
President Donald Trump on Friday formally nominated Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to be the next ambassador to Russia when current ambassador Jon Huntsman steps down later this year. The president telegraphed the move in August, when he didn’t deny reports that he was planning to tap Sullivan for the post and telling reporters...
