Russia affair: allegations against former Trump employee Michael Flynn dropped

The allegations against Donald Trump's former security adviser Michael Flynn have been dropped by the U.S. Department of Justice. 

• US President Donald Trump expects an  impeachment procedure due to the Ukraine affair . 
• The impeachment process was initiated by the Democrats , above all opposition leader Nancy Pelosi .
• According to Pelosi, there is enough evidence to remove Trump from office.
• The important documents have been signed and the impeachment proceedings are starting

Update of 7 May 2020:  bang in Russia - Affair : The US Department of Justice makes the allegations against the former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, Michael Flynn , fall. The Ministry said on Thursday in a document submitted to the court. US President Donald Trump had repeatedly campaigned for his former employee and described Flynn as unschoolig. 

Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to having lied to the Federal FBI about his contacts with former Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak. The former general later said he would withdraw the confession of guilt.

The US Department of Justice has now stated that Flynn's FBI survey was without a "legitimate basis of investigation". Therefore, his statements are not legally relevant, even if they are wrong.

Flynn had to resign as a national security advisor in February 2017 - after only three weeks in office. He was one of Trump's employees, against whom investigations were initiated in the course of the Russia affair.

Now it's getting serious for Trump: Senate starts impeachment procedure today - Supreme Judge is coming

Update from February 1, 2020: Donald Trump is likely to be discharged from office, the US President could be acquitted on Wednesday. The Democrats speak of a "tragedy" and "cover-up".

January 16, 7:00 am update: The U.S. Senate meets on Thursday for the first session in the historic impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump . Senators on Wednesday approved Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell's proposal to receive the House Prosecutors at the Senate on Thursday afternoon at 12:00 noon (local time / 6:00 p.m. CET). There they will present the two charges against Trump: he is accused of abuse of power and hindrance to the House investigation.

The Senate further decided that at 2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Central European Time - the US Supreme Judge, John Roberts , would be received in the chamber. He will then be sworn in before taking an oath from the 100 senators. McConnell said the impeachment process will begin next Tuesday - Monday is a public holiday in the United States. The White House had been notified of the upcoming trial.

Trump: Impeachment proceedings finally cleared - charges go through the US House of Representatives

Update of January 15, 7:51 p.m .: The way for the historic impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump is finally clear. The US House of Representatives decided on Wednesday with the majority of Democrats to submit the charges against Trump to the Senate and to send seven MPs to represent the charges against the president in the trial. After the vote, these so-called impeachment managers should bring the charges to the Senate and present them there. 

The White House said on Wednesday: "These are the weakest charges that have ever been passed in impeachment proceedings against a president." The Senate process is therefore not expected to take longer than two weeks. The White House plans to "soon" announce who will be on the President's defense team, it said.

According to the White House, Trump expects a complete discharge from all allegations. White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said Wednesday that Trump expects "to be fully relieved." He was looking forward to the right to a proper trial in the Senate, which the Democrats in the House of Representatives had denied him. Grisham spoke of an "illegitimate impeachment process" and emphasized: "President Trump has done nothing wrong."

Impeachment: Democrats announce new evidence against Trump

Update January 15, 17:15: In a tweet that has  chairman of the US House of Representatives , Nancy Pelosi , the seven MEPs announced that the role of the prosecutor in the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump to take. The group is to be led by the chairman of the secret service committee, Adam Schiff.

Today, I have the privilege of naming the Managers of the impeachment trial of the President. #DefendOurDemocracy pic.twitter.com/Y2613Ni3pC

Impeachment: Trump's former security advisor recalls admission of guilt

Update of January 15, 9:34 am:  Former National Security Advisor in the White House, Michael Flynn, wants to withdraw his confession of guilt in the Russia affair. Flynn's lawyer submitted an application to the court on Tuesday. The former adviser to President Donald Trump therefore alleges that the federal prosecutor broke an agreement he had entered into. Defense lawyer Sidney Powell's application accuses law enforcement officers of "revenge."

Flynn pleaded guilty under the agreement in December 2017 to the FBI's federal police about its contacts with former Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak . The former general hoped for a relatively mild punishment from the agreement. A judge must decide on his current application to withdraw his plea. The sentence for Flynn has been announced for January 28th.

According to his defense lawyer, Flynn is angry that the federal prosecutors have asked him to admit that his lobby firm's activities for Turkey are concealed. According to lawyer Powell, this demand violates the law enforcement agreement .

Flynn had to resign because of the affair in February 2017 - after only three weeks in office. The reason for his resignation was his false information about his calls to Kislyak.

Impeachment: Democrats announce new evidence against Trump

Update of January 15: The impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump are imminent - and the Democrats in the US House of Representatives say they have further incriminating evidence against the US President. Among other things, this involves confidential telephone data , according to a statement released on Tuesday evening by four democratic committee chairs. 

Since this data contained "sensitive personal information", it would not be made public. In addition, a man named Lev Parnas, who has ties to Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has made incriminating material available to the Intelligence Committee.

Parnas and a companion were arrested in Washington in October. They are accused of using illegal campaign donations to force the removal of what was then the US ambassador to Ukraine . Among the documents that have now been published is a letter from Giuliani, in which he, in his role as Trump's personal lawyer, sought to meet with the designated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj in May . In a handwritten note from Parnas, it says, "Get Selenskyj to announce that the Biden case will be investigated." The Democrats accuse Trump of urging Selenskyj to investigate his political rival Joe Biden in order to benefit the 2020 US presidential election to influence.

Impeachment: Pelosi announces evidence against Trump - he must fear key witnesses

Update of January 14, 11:00 p.m .: Shortly before the impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump begin, a report on a Russian hacker attack alarmed Democrats in the US Congress. An American cyber security company, Area 1, has been accusing Russia's military intelligence agency GRU of attacking Ukrainian gas company Burisma since early November 2019 to steal employee email credentials. Burisma plays a role in the Ukraine affair about possible abuse of office by the president.

The US Democrats accuse Trump of urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj to investigate the son of his democratic rival Joe Biden. Hunter Biden worked at Burisma until April last year. With the investigation, Trump wanted to harm Biden in the US presidential election campaign, the accusation of the Democrats. The Ukraine affair has launched an investigation into impeachment that Trump faces as the third president in US history.

Trump's impeachment: explosive report published

Against this background, the report is not only explosive. US intelligence agencies accuse Russia of trying to influence the 2016 elections - and will be re-elected in the US in November.

The House of Representatives chairwoman, Nancy Pelosi , accused Trump of not protecting the US elections sufficiently on Tuesday . "The alarming reports that the Russian government continues to interfere in our elections in favor of the president and to undermine our democracy underscores the urgent need to act," said Pelosi. "American elections should be decided by the American people, not by the Russian government." The chairman of the House Secret Service Committee, Adam Schiff, said again that Russian influence was aimed at helping Trump. The hacker attack could be the prelude to greater interference in the 2020 election , he warned.

The Area 1 report does not reveal what information was allegedly tapped in the alleged hacker attack. Military intelligence was directly accused of hacking the camp of Trump's then-competitor Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign to investigate Russian interference.

Impeachment: Pelosi announces evidence against Trump - he must fear key witnesses

Update at 6:17 p.m .:  The impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump could start this week: On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives will vote on a transfer of the charges against Trump to the Senate. This was announced by Nancy Pelosi, the chair of the Congress Chamber, on Tuesday.

"The American people deserve the truth and the constitution demands a trial," said the opposition leader. The charges in the Ukraine affair must be forwarded to the Senate. The impeachment proceedings against Trump are conducted there. The House of Representatives must also determine who represents the Trump indictment in the Senate.

Trumps must fear key witnesses in impeachment

Update of January 14, 4:57 p.m .: According to opposition leader Nancy Pelosi , the delay in impeaching US President Donald Trump has an advantage: In the meantime, former national security adviser John Bolton has also signaled his willingness to testify in impeachment proceedings.

Pelosi told ABC on Sunday that there was “enough evidence” for Trump to be successfully removed from office. However, it is not yet clear whether Bolton will really testify. Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell refuses to question witnesses in the Senate. 

And as Spiegel.de reports, he currently had enough votes theoretically to prevent the questioning of Bolton. He would need 51 votes and a total of 53 Republicans sit in the Senate.

Trump's impeachment: Bolton in the Ukraine affair as key witness

However, it is not certain whether they will really vote in favor of Trump and speak against a hearing of Bolton. Because even among the Republicans there are Trump critics who could vote with the Democrats for the questioning of the former security adviser. Discussions are already underway behind the scenes. If Bolton were to testify, this could significantly affect the process. Because he is considered a key witness to the Ukraine affair and his lawyer has already indicated that he might still have some interesting things to say, reports spiegel.de .  

In any case, Pelosi seems to be keen to initiate a statement by Bolton. So she posted a table on Twitter on Tuesday that compares the impeachment of former US President Bill Clinton with Trump's trial. Among other things, it concerns key witnesses who were blocked by the President. "Trump Impeachment 12 - Clinton Impeachment 0" can be seen in the comparison. Pelosi's comment: "This is why President Trump was charged with obstructing Congress and why a Senate hearing without witnesses or documents is a cover-up."

This is why President Trump was impeached for obstruction of Congress, and why a Senate trial with no witnesses or documents is a cover-up. #EndTheCoverUp #DefendOurDemocracy pic.twitter.com/w9Gl5VmjBu

Trump's impeachment: Pelosi has enough evidence - Trump is unimpressed

First report from January 12, 2020: 

Washington - The election year 2020 starts extremely bumpy for US President Donald Trump . While the conflict with Iran escalates after he ordered the killing of Iran's top general Soleimani , Trump expects impeachment in his home country, i.e. impeachment proceedings. The House of Representatives controlled by the Democrats decided in mid-December against Trump. The opposition accuses Trump abuse before, because he Ukraine had urged to proceedings against his Democratic rival Joe Biden, who him in the presidential election in November could challenge. The Democrats also accuse Trump of obstructing Congress. 

Trump's impeachment: New emails in the wake of the Ukraine affair give Pelosi hope

However, after the impeachment against Trump * was decided, there were delays. Because the actual procedure is held in the Senate. The charges have not yet been forwarded to him. The reason: a dispute over the design of the process . Among other things, the Democrats demand that witnesses be heard in the Senate. Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell refuses. But the delay also had advantages, opposition leader Nancy Pelosi told ABC on Sunday. Among other things, she referred to e-mails regarding the Ukraine affair that had become known in the meantime and the willingness of the former national security adviser John Bolton to testify in the case of a mandatory subpoena in the impeachment process .

Now the trial against Trump is apparently picking up speed again. After weeks of controversy, the Democrats want to pass the impeachment charges against Trump to the Senate this week. Pelosi plans to meet with her faction on Tuesday to prepare for the adoption of a resolution officially submitting the charges to the Senate.

Trump's impeachment: Pelosi has "enough evidence" for the impeachment of the US president

Pelosi estimates that "enough evidence" for impeachment has been gathered at the hearings for impeachment against US President Donald Trump. The evidence was enough to "remove Trump from office," the House Democratic chairwoman said on Sunday. The trial of the president in the Senate is getting closer - but there doesn't seem to be any cause for concern for Trump. He made it clear on Sunday in the online service Twitter that he expects a quick relief. "Why should my name have the stigma of impeachment if I haven't done anything wrong?" Trump wrote. Indeed, the presidential impeachment of the majority of Republicans in the Senate is considered out of the question. 

Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Read the Transcripts! A totally partisan hoax, never happened before. House Republicans voted 195-0, with three Dems voting with the Republicans. Very unfair to tens of millions of voters!

The impeachment against Trump is only one of many extraordinary developments in his presidency. You can read everything about Trump's curious first term and how the New Yorker earned billions of dollars before his term, as well as the bittersweet moment of his tenure at Merkur.de *.

With his "Space Force" Trump has started a project that many find questionable. Now the uniforms of the armed forces are making people laugh on the Internet. The Democrats talk about Donald Trump's abuse of power. Citizens are convinced that it will widen the gap between rich and poor. Nevertheless: According to a current survey, Trump's popularity is growing.

A US journalist alleges rape against Donald Trump. A DNA test is meant to provide clarity.

* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen Digital editors network.

List of rubric lists: © AFP / SAUL LOEB