09/25/19 09/25/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! club i'm announcing the house of representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. proceeding with investigations under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry. the president must be held accountable. no one is above the law. amy: house speaker nancy pelosi announces the housee of representatives will launch a formal impeachment inquiry

against president donald trump over allegations from an intelligence whistleblower that trump sought help from the ukrainian president to investigate his presidential rival joe biden and his son. we will get response from democratic congas member al green, who was the first to call for trump's impeachment, and -- president trump addressed the united nations general assembly . pres. trump: all nations have a duty to act. no responsible government should subsidize iran's bloodlust. menacings iran's behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted. they will be tightened. amy: we will get response from political analyst vijay prashad. his latest article " u.n. world leaders gather at the u.n. in the face of war, climate catastrophe, and global worker exploitation. then to the united kingdom were

parliament has reconvened following the high court standing ruling that prime minister boris johnson unlawfwfully suspended parliamet in order to push through brexit. this thato conclude thedecision to advise magistrate was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional function without reasonable justification. calls are growing for the prime minister's resignation. we will speak with a legendary british singer/songwriter -- activist billy bragg. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the house of representatives is launching a formal impeachment inquiry against t president dond

trump who becomes just the fourth u.s. president to face impeachment. on tuesday, house speaker nancy pelosi accused trump of betraying his oath of office, the country's national security and the integrity of the country's election system. >> i'm announcing the house of representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. i am directing are six committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry. the president must be held accountable. no one is above the law. amy: for monthths, speaker peloi had resisteded calls progressive democrats to back impeachment, but that changed after president trump publicly admitted he urged the president of ukraine to open a probe into the dealings of his potential 2020 presidential rival joe e biden and his son hunter, who served on the board

of one of ukraine's largest natural gas companies. trump has also admitted to withholding $391 million in aid to ukraine. on tuesday, president trump dismissed the impeachment inquiry. pres. trump: look, it is just a continuation of ththe witchhunt. this is the e which -- worst witchhunt in political history. amy: the ukraine scandal came to light after a whistleblower in the intelligence community wrote an internal complaint about trump's actions. on tuesday, the republican-controlled senate unanimously passed a non-binding resolution calling on the trump administration to release the whistleblower's complaint. meanwhile, the actions of trump's personal attorney rudy giuliani in ukraine are facing new scrutiny. "the washington post" reports he pursued a shadow agenda pushing on ukraine, pushing aside key foreign policy officials. he was doing this at the behest of the state department. we will have more on the impeachment inquiry after headlines.

the united nations-backed intetergovernmental l panel on climate change is warning the world must quickly cut greenhouse gas emissions or face catastrophic sea level rise that could threaten hundreds of millions of people. earlier today, the ipcc released a landmark study on how the climate crisis is impacting the world's oceans, from rising sea levels to collapsing marine life. ko barrett is the vice chair of the ipcc and head of research at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. >> the consequences for nature and humanity are e sweeping and severe. this report highlights also the , ambitious,imely coordinated, and enduring action. what is at stake is the health of ecosystems, wildlife, and importantly, the world we leave

for our children. amy: in news from the united nations general assembly, brazilian president jair bolsonaro is facing widespread condemnation after using u.n. address to defenend the defoforestation ofof the amazon rain forest, attack indigenous leaders, and accccuse the international l media of lying about the recent devastating fires in the amazon. >> it is a fallacy to say the amazon is the heheritage of humankind and a misconception confirmed by scientists to say our amazonian forests are the lungs of the world. the amazon is not being devastated, nor is it being consumed by fire as the media misleadingly says. criedmazon watch bolsonaro's address, stating -- "today the amazon continues to burn and may soon reach an unrecoverable tipping point due

to bolsonaro's complicity with environmental crime." the prpresident of brazil l also used his address at the united nations to personally attack the brazilian indigenous leader. you can go to democracynow.org to see the chiefs conversation yesterday. meanwhile, president trump used his u.n. general assembly address to do denounce iran and colin nations to reject globalism and embrace nationalism. pres. trump: wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first. the future does not belong to globalists. it belongs to patriots. amy: in other news from the united nations, pakistani prime minister imran khan called on world leaders tuesday to address the crisis in kashmir, warning

india's illegal annexation o of the ococcupied terriritory could lead to a war between the two nuclear-armed states. >> this is unprecedented. jaillion people in an open is unprecedented in this day and age. and then this nonsense that it is a part of india so the world should stay o out, just to remid the world there are 11 security councils, u.n. council resolutions, that recognize kashmir as a disputed territory. amy: meanwhile, magnitude 5.88 -arthquake hit pakistan administered kashmir. at least 25 people have died and more than 300 have been injured. the british parliament reconvened today after the supreme court ruled tuesday that prime minister boris johnson had

illegally suspended parliament in order to push through brexit with or without a deal. johnson made t the unprecedented move late last month, asking the queen to prorogue parliament in order to limit debate on leaving the european union, which the u.k. is scheduled to do by october 31. on tuesday, opposition leader jeremy corbyn called on johnson to resign. foundis johnson has been to have misled the country. this unelected prime minister should now resign. amy: later in their broadcast, we will speak with their british singer/songwriter and political activist billy bragg. egyptian authorities have arrested as many as 900 people -- including journalists and human rights lawyers -- in a widening crackdown following anti-government protests. the arrests come as egyptian

ruler abdel fattah el-sisi is in new w york for the u.n. general assembly. on monday, president trump met with el-sisi and praised him as a "great l leader." trump p recently describibed eli as hisis "favoririte dictator." the spanish supreme court has ruled in favor of exhuming the remains of former dictator francisco franco, who was buried in a state m mausoleum in 1975. the ruling was a victory for victims of franco's regime who hahave long argued he e should t be recognized in any public site. pablo mayoral, who was imprisoned for two years during franco's regime, welcomed the court's decision. >> the fascist nazi dictator franco could not recognized.d. the remains should be given to the family to be kept in the family site.

amy: in news from africa, a nigerian court granted bail on tuesday to the journalist and acactivist omoyeyele sowore bube reremains in statate custody.. he has been jailed since augus 3, shortly after hcacalled f peaceful nationwide protests against the governntnt. sowore h has been chararged with treason and other offenses. he is a former presidential candidate and the founder of the new york-based news outlet sahara reporters. he is also a past guest on democracy now! in business news, german prosecutors have indicted three totop executiveses at volkswage, inclcluding the company's ceo, r market manipulation.n. the executives a are accused of not informing investors soon enough about the company's diesel emissioions scandal. the indictments come four years after the automaker admitted to installing devices on millions of cars to circumvent emissions tests. in presidential campaign news, senator bernie sanders has proposed a new wealth tax on billionaires saying it is needed to tackle what he called the

"outrageous and grotesque and immoral" levels of inequality in the united states. on tuesday, sanders tweeted "there should be no billionaires. tax theirng to extreme wealth." sanders estimates the tatax woud raise ovover $4 trillionon in revenue over 10 yeyears. workers at general motors have entered their 10th day on strike. it is now the longest national strike the united auto workers has had at gm in nearly 50 years. a u.s. judge has sided with the trump administraration and threw out a lawsuit filed by an american journalist who believes he was placed on the u.s. kill list. the journalist, bilal abdul kareem, filed the lawsuit after claiming he was nearly killed in five u.s. drone and missile strikes in syria. the judge allowed the trump administration to invoke its state secrets privilege to block the release of information about its kill list.

abdul kareem's attorney tara plochocki said -- "for the first time ever, a united states federal court ruled that the government may kill one of its citizens without providing him the information necessary to prove that he is being wrongly targeted and does not deserve to die." and health news, charlie baker has declared a public health emergency and ordered a four-month ban on vaping products. meanwhile, the ceo of the embattled e-cigarette company juul, kevin burnsns, has just announced he is stepping down. and the winners of this year's right livelihood awards have just been announced. the prize is widely known as the "alternative nobel prize." the head of the right livelihood foundation ole vonon uexkull announced the laureates earlier today in stockholmlm. >> greta thunberg receives the award for inspiring and

amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts. dar receives the award for his steadfast, nonviolent action despite tortured imprisonment in pursuit of justice and self-determination for the people of western sahara. pioneering andr persistent work in sececuring womemen's rights in china. and the right livelihood award for the courageous determination to protect the forest and biodiversity of the amazon and the lands and cululture of its indigenous people. amy: visit democracynow.org to see our interviews with greta thunberg and aminatou haidar. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: and i'm juan gonzalez. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world.

the house of representatives is launching a formal impeachment inquiry against president donald trump who becomes just the fourth u.s. president to face a possible impeachment. on tuesday, house speakeker nany pelosi accused trump of betraying his oval office c come the country's national security, and the integrity of our election system. >> the actions of the trump presidency reveals dishonorable facts of the president's betrayal of his over his office, our national sececurity, and betrayal of the integrity of our election. therefefore today, i am announcg the house of representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. juan: for months, speaker pelosi had resisted calls progressive democrats to back impeachment, but that changed after president trump publicly admitted he urged the president of ukraine to open appropriate into the dealings of his potential 2020 rival joe biden and his son hunter, who

served on the board of one of ukraine's largest natural gas companies. trump has also admitted to withholding $391 million in aid to ukraine. trump fired back on twitter calling the inquiry "witchhunt garbage." he spoke to reporters earlier tuesday and set efforts to impeach him would hurt the democrats. pres. trump: they're going to lose the election and they think -- it was a perfect call. there was no quid pro quo. there was no nothing. it was a very nice call. in fact, i thought this was very nice. ukraine just came out anand mada very good statement. there was no pressure put on them whatsoever. amy: the ukraine scandal came to light after whistleblower in the intelligence community wrote an internal complaint about trump's actions. on tuesday, the republican-controlled senate unanimously passed a non-binding resolution calling for the trump

administration to release the whistleblowers complaint. meanwhile, the actions of trump's personal attorney rudy giuliani in ukraine are facing new scrutiny. "the washington post" reports he pursued a shadow agenda on ukraine, pushing aside key foreign policy officials. rudy giuliani said he did it at the behest of the state department. impeachment is the formal charging of wrongdoing against our president. trump would be just the third president to face impeachment. andrew johnson and bill clinton were both impeached, while richard nixon faced an impeachment vote amidst the watergate scandal but resigned before the impeachment articles against him were filed. for more, we turn to two guests. joining us from the cannon rotunda on capitol hill is congressmember al green, democrat from texas. in 2017, he became the first congressmember to call for president trump's impeachment from the floor of the house of representatives.

and in madison, wisconsin, john nichols is political writer for the nation. his recent article is headlined "pelosi announces impeachment inquiry. now congress has to get it right." he is the author of a number of books, including "horsemen of the trumpocalypse: a field guide to the most dangerous people in america" and "the genius of impeachment: the founders cure for royalism." he's working on a book on the future of the democratic party. we welcome you both back to democracy now! congressmember green, let's begin with you. you were the first -- the first to call for impeachment from the floor of the house. explain your response to house speaker nancy pelosi's announcement yesterday. you have been pushing for this for light sometime. >> thank you for having me on. just as a sidebar, thank you for the news you deliver. i find your news to be so thorough and fact-based. i must say i complement you.

with reference to the impeachment efforts, i believe yesterday was a vindication for a good many people. this movement did not start with me per se. i did go to the floor, but the people have made this a moment that has to be recognized. there is a similar moment in time that can impact the rest of our time. i'm just grateful that we have nearly 200 persons who are on board. we need 218 people to impeach. and i think we have reached critical mass. yesterday was evident of what happened prior to yesterday. we had been building on this. we initially brought articles before the congress and received 58 votes. they are after 66. on the third attempt, 95. this is something that has been building, but it wouldld not wepen before the people that

meet in train stations and airports and food markets who are constatantly asking, what te we going to do? i think yesterday was a response to all the many people who have continued to press the issue. juan: congressman greene, can you lay out for our viewers and listeners what you believe are the main impeachable offenses the president has committed? >> there are many. obviously, what has just ,appened recently with ukraine the president calling the president of ukraine in an effort to get him to take a , viceon on mr. biden president biden if you will, in terms of what his son may have ,one, in an effort to use this apparently -- i say apparently andn the upcoming election, withholding tax dollars in an effort to get this done,

apparently. this is impeachable. i would also mention the emoluments clause. articles have been filed with reference to the president benefiting from persons who are staying in his hotels. that is much to be said about that. i would also -- never forget the xenophobia,bigotry, the homophobia, the fact the president has infused his bigotry into policy. so we have the obstruction cases , and i did call for obstruction as an article of impeachment. i have indicated we need to deal with the racism in the bigotry as well. so there are many articleses tht can be brought. amy: congress member al green, i want to turn to a video that president trump tweeted tuesday after pelosi's announcement. the video shows a number of democratic congress members and

senators calling for his impeachment. it features your remarks followed by trump's response. >> if we donon't impeach this president, he will get reelected. pres. trump: it is time to stop this nonsense. they think they're going to win. did you see the one man? he said, "it is the only way we're going to beat him in 2020." well, that is a compliment, i guess. i think of what he said. it is actually working the other way. amy: that video was retweeted by only a small was part of the video. .ut let meme get your response and also, what about those who are saying right now the american people want you to focus on the issues -- health care, education, jobs -- rather than impeachment? first the democrats waited for the mullah report, and it turns

out that what president trump was being accused of come obstruction of justice, what he was being accused of in regards to colluding with russians was not true, and now they will pursue this to the election, what trump is saying and a number of others are saying is this will surely mean your demise. your response? >> multiple responses. the first is the president took my words out of context. i never said this is the only way we would defeat him, but i indicated that if we did not honor our duty and responsibility to the constitution and impeach the president, that he could claim vindication by our inaction. and as a result, he would use could beampaign and reelected because he would use the fact that we did not impeach him. the next point, to those who this is not athat

kitchen table issue, i would differ. especially as it relates to the bigotry infused into policy. african-americans at the kitchen table talk about how they did not get a promotion because of discrimination, how they were not hired because of discrimination. discrimination is a kitchen table issue for people who are being discriminated against. lgbtq persons who go to work knowing that if they announce they have married the love of their life and that person happens to be of the same sex, knowing they can be fired. for them, that is a kititchen table isissue. so we should not assume all kitchen table issues are the same. there are additional kitchen table issues that people who are discriminated against our having to deal with. and finally, i would make this point. we have a responsibility to the country and to the future. the future is going to be one

that will allow the president to assume there are no guardrails act now. we have to demonstrate that congress will honor the constitution and that we have principle that we will place about politics, that we will place the people above our political party. and i think that if we do this, we will consider democracy and not democrats. we will consider the republic and not republicans. i just have to add this as well. this journey is not one that we choose to embark upon. it is one that we have to. and when those members came out, and what i would call high-risk districts come and put rentable party, they were a part ofrt what is being called the straw. i called it a point of no return because we have reached a point now where we must go forward

with impeachment. if we do not, we will have shredded the constitution and betrayed our trust as members of congress. juan: i want to bring in john nichols, political writer for the nation. with this latest situation the president's discussion, phone conversation with the president of ukraine apparently has become a turning point for nancy pelosi and other democrats on whether to begin the impeachment inquiry. what is your assessment of this? there are those ththat are sayig the american president is in constant conversation with leaders of other countries, threatening them if they do not do it the u.s. wants. and trump rebuttal about the whole issue of hunter biden having been so heavily involved in ukraine at the time that joe biden was vice president and also attempted to influence the ukrainian government? >> very good question, juan. i am honored to be on with congressman greenen.

at the heart of your question is the answer. presidents are often on the phone yelling at other leaders, trying to get what america wants, what the u.s. wants. that is not what is at stake here. what is at stake here is the question of whether donald trump got on the phone trying to get what " "" wanted. the gegenius of ththe americican constitution, which i think even the founders would tell you isn't perfect, but one of the geniuses of it is the systems checks and balances. and also the clear definition of the role o of people in these positions. and d one of ththe things we understand and congressman green referenced the emoluments clause, you do not take the presidency an order to advance your own personal interest -- be they economic, or once you are in officice, political. you could not use the office e o undermine or harm your political

rival. and so in this case, if the president of the united states, as he suggests, was on the phone call with the newly elected leader of a country that is really kindd of the epicenter of global conflict and struggle, and he said, hey, i would really like you to do this investigation of ththe son of a political rival -- ackcknowledgg whatever hunter biden may have dodone and all thehe concerns at the past. if the president of the united states did that and if and be reasonably understood that he ,id that for politicacal purposs as hes clearly y confirming, i believe, in his statements about this sayaying -- continuaually g after biden, who stitill the frt runner i in most polls to become his democratic oppononent 20202, then h he has abused hisis offin ththe most classic sense.

sortve something that is of part and parcel of impeachment. this is why yoyou have the impepeachment p power. it exists so that presidents of the united states do not assume the poposition of ththe presesiy and then use i it and use the power of t the uniteted states gogovernment -- when he makes tt call, he speaking for the united states government -- to advance their own political position. if they do that, they can be impeached. in fact, as congressman green says, if you do not impeach and such circumstance, virtually assured this becomes the new normal. and it should not be considered normal for president to try and use foreign powers to undermine his political rivals. amy: i want to turn to john lewis, the civil rights icon addressing the house tuesday. wait.must not

now is the time to act. i have been patient while we and usedry other path every other tool. we will nenever find the truth unless we use the power given to in house of representatives the house alone to begin an asicial investigation dictated by the constitutition. the future of our democracacy is at stake. there will come a time when you have to be moved by the spirit of history to take action to protect and preserve the integrity of our nation. believe the i truly time to begin impeachment procedures against this president has come. to delay or to do otherwise would betray the foundation of our democracy. conga's member

greene, can you lay out what happens next? house speaker nancy pelosi said six house committees will be leading this inquiry. of course, many might say they could be doing other things like leaving the country forward in other ways, but explain exactly how it happens. you will have the intelligence chief coming forward. you president trump saying he is releasing the transcript of his phone call with the new president of ukraine. explain what chronology will be from here on in. >> thank you. let me first complement john on his commentary and add one thing. and that is the president doesn't have to commit a crime to be impeached. i think this is very important because many times people will

want the evidence of what we might have to present in court. and impeachment in the house of representatives does not have the standards you might have in court. there is no need for proof beyond a reasonable doubt, clear and convincing evidence. there will be no appeal of this. an opportunity for members to weigh in with a vote. and they will cast their votes without announcing why. i hope this all will do so becacause the consciousness has led them to do the appropriate thing. with reference to how we will proceed, the various committees can all submit their evidence, if you will, of impeachable offenses. and once this is done, there are no real rules that say the articles have to be drafted by the judiciary committee. the articles can be drafted. that can happen with a select committee, it can happen with

the judiciary committee. it can happen with a single person. we have proven this can occur because we have filed three times and each time they were approved by the presiding officer. so all of the articles presented before were in order. once they are presented to the house, we will then vote. assuming there are 435 members present, it will take 218 to have a majority, such that we will then send the articles to the senate. majority voting to impeach, i might add. once the articles get to the senate, then we have a trial in the senate. here's the question that justice john roberts has to address. will he allow the majority leader of the senate to cause him to preside over a kangaroo court? will the honorable john roberts, chief justice of the united states of america, allow the majority leader of the senate to simply walk in and say, "enough of this.

let's vote to dismiss and move on"? i would want to believe his integrity, his honor, his standing in history, his legacy would lead him to believe that there has to be some evidence of a trial such that people will conclude he did not allow this to become a runaway kangaroo embarrassed not only the senate, but also the supreme court. with reference to what you are asking me about the evidence that may be presented, all of this is to be considered. there is no standard for the evidence that is needed. once the house concludes that the presidenent has committed an impeachable offense because of his misconduct, misdememeanors e misconduct. they may be criminal, but they need not be.

andrew johnson was impeached in 1868 in article 10 of misdemeanors. john has written a aut this quite eloquently and accurately, i might add. and with the ability to impeach for high misdemeanors, no crime necessary, no requirement that you have rules of evidence. the house can draft its articles of impeachment basedn the president's confessions. the president has a way of not only performing what i would call ugly deeds -- some call dastardly deeds -- performing these deeds and then he confesses. he has indicated that he talked to the president. he has indicated the conversation was about biden. and we know that he was withholding funds. he did this right after mr. mueller's gave his testimony on the hill. he is testing us. he continually tests to see how

far we will allow him to go. >> at some point we have to stand up to him and let him know that a line has been drawn and you will go no further. amy: thank you for being with us, he's doing conga's member al green, texas democrat, and john nichols, political writer for the nation. he has written a book about impeachment. this is democracy now! when we come back, president trump calls for intensifying tension with iran. we will speak with vijay prashad . then the british rocker, singer/songwriter billy bragg on brexit and what is happening in the british parliament as we broadcast. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "ripple" by the grateful dead. the bands longtime lyricist robert hunter died on tuesday. this is democracacy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: on tuesday, prpresident trump made his third address to the united nations general assembly amid simmering tensions in the middle east over recent

setback -- attacks on saudi arabia oil facilities which the u.s. claims on iran. tehran denies the allegagations. this is trump addressing the general assembly. pres. trump: all nations have a duty to act. no responsible government should .ubsbsidize e iran's bloodlust as long as arends menacing behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted. they will be tightened. amy:y: p president trurump alsld out at china and venezuela. for more, we go to santa fe, new mexico, where we're joined by vijay prashad, whose article on salon is headlined "world leaders gather at the u.n. in the face of war, climate catastrophe & global worker exploitation." he is the director of tricontinental institute for social research and chief editor of leftword books. also chief correspondent of globetrotter and author of "the poorer nations: a possible history of the global south",

we thank you for being with us. can you respond to what now seems like ancient history, which was actually just yesterday morning president trump addressing the u.n. general assembly right before, a few hours before it was announced the house would begin formal impeachment proceedings against him? talk about his message. >> you're quite right, amy. it does appear like anancient history. but it was a very chilling speech. that attempted to suggest he was a nationalist, pushing the agendaa so-called patriotism against globalism. that is how trump tried to define his own politics. of course, this is quite incoherent. on the one side, mr. trump and people like him use the term patriotism or sovereignty to defend their right not to

participate in the international treaties such as treaties about climate change, about refugees, and about the iran nuclear you had bolsonaro give a very spirited defense of so-called brazilian sovereignty to o allow the amazon to be exploited. so you had mr. trump, for instance, use this language of sovereignty to remove the united states from its international obligations. on the others, and counter distinction of this, mr. trump put forward what can only be described as an imperialist agenda. in other words, there was no consideration for the sovereignty of iran or venezuela. he used language which i was quite shocked by the term "bloodlust" for instance, to describe iranian foreign policy. it w wasn't quite patriotism on one side or sovereignty on one side and globalism. it was not a principled stink

should. in fact, behind the power of sovereignty, mr. trump was saying countries like the united states and brazil don't have to conform to the climate treaties that have been agreed upon on the international stage. we just had this very powerful climate strike initiated by greta thunberg. i think this kind of attitude about sovereignty was a way of setting that aside. on the other hand come incoherently, he lashed out at iran. you've got to understand the countries of the world are not interested in a war against iran . mr. m macron, the president of france, met with arends president rouhani, and they talked about revisiting the diplomatic table, coming b backn opening didiscussion about diplomacy. this is something the united

states completely abhors. iran't want diplomacy with or venezuela. i thought it was a very dangerous speech. innocentseen overwhelmed by this discussion of impeachment. juan: vijay prashad, he also talked about venezuela, blasting the venezuelan leadership, president maduro. at one point, saying socialism only said, not capitalism, benefits the ruling class. could you talk about his continued fixation on venezuela? >> this is very inteteresting. it also has something to do with the american to medical -- domestic landscape. mr. trump pushed his economic advisers to release earlier this year a document attacking socialism. one hasn't seen this from an american president in a very long time. strategyf his election , to portray the democratic party as a party of socialists,

therefore being out of touch with what he considers to be reality. i think he is trying very much to utilize the venezuela crisis, to link it to people like alexandria ocasio-cortez and in the past come up bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. it is interesting. the attempt to overthrow the government and when his toilet has failed. -- government in venezuela has failed. it mr. trump continues to push against venezuela. he is a little bit like the prince of saudi arabia on yemen. increasing suffering and yemen and venezuela, unable to understand policies has failed and they need to pivot outward. and not doing that. i think this is something the american people need to really consider. there is a a hallucination in te trump administration regarding

the fight against venezuela and iran. if the united states moves to a much more aggressive kind of sanctions regime, moves even to aerial bombardment, i'm afraid at a time when we need to have more international conversations, more diplomacy, more discussions about things like the climate strike, things like the refugee crisis, about things like the hunger epidemic -- when this should be at the table, the united states instead is pushing what i think is very divisive and dangerous policy with iran and venezuela at the center. there is no defense of sovereignty or nationalism when it comes to these countries. here in a sense the united states has withdrawn iranian and venezuelan sovereignty and basically is now sort of going countries who- are not interested in more saying, please join us. it shows the isolation of u.s. policy about iran and venezuela. amy: i want t play the saudi

foreign minister blaming iran for the attacks on oil refineries in saudi arabia earlier this month. >> we believe iran is responsible for the attack because the equipment is iranian equipment. we know it did not come from the south. we know it because of the range of the equipment. we believe it came from the north. it certainly came from the north. and what we're doing now is investigating to locate the actual lunch site. we will await the results of the investigation, which i expect to be very soon, and then we will decide on what steteps to take n dealining with iran. --it has to be made clear to iran that such behavior is not acceptable and there will be consequences for such behavior. amy: vijay prashad, at the beginning of this i said yesterday speech by president trump was ancient history and they had the announcement of the impeachment proceedings by house speaker nancy pelosi. pushin fact, could this for impeachment actually

celebrate some kind of attack in the middle east that the u.s. could be involved with, how often war is used as a kind of distraction from a terrible , and how youme think that could be avoided? to think that is possible? and president trump saying they're waiting for direction from saudi arabia deciding what to do and then announcing the u.s. is sending troops to saudi arabia to protect her oil fields . >> i'm glad you raise this issue. you may remember when there was talk of impeachment of bill clinton, there was a sudden airstrike, missile strike against the pharmaceutical factory in sudan. there was also a strike in afghanistan at that time. it was when the film "wag the dog" came out, suggestion that war is used as a distraction from these kinds of dodomestic

political entanglements. i am very worried about this. i think it is a very plausible thing. it is quite disgraceful the united states government has leadthey want to take the from saudi arabia. i'm glad the saudi foreign minister is that he would like to wait for the results of the investigation. although, , i must say i'm not very confident the saudi investigation is going to be credible. i think there should be a a call at the united nations f for an internationanal investigation.n. we need to have credible people going and looking at the debris, looking at the missiles and so on. at this point, i think it is important to mention that it is not only foreign minister javad zarif that said iran did not do the strike, but the arena military is also said theyey did not dodo the strike. at the same time, the yemeni -- houthis did say they did the

strike. for more than that, think there should be a call for an international investigation of the debrisis. it should not be left to the saudi's. their credibility is extraordinary low. if the saudi's with an incredulous investigation say the u.s.his, that takes that saudi conclusion to go to war against iran as a way to distract from thehe impeachmt inquiry, i m must say this is a veryry dangerousus moment for wd history. i very m much hope people will cacall for international invevestigation rather than alaw the saudis to be leading this. amy: vijay prashad, thank you for being with us director of , tricontinental institute for social research, and chief editor of leftword books. also the chief correspondent of globetrotter. we will link to your latest article in salon titled "world leaders gather at the u.n. in the face of war, climate catastrophe and global worker exploitation." vijay prashad will be speaking tonight in santa fe at 7:00.

when we come back, we speak with legendary british singer/ songwriter and activist billy bragg about the british supreme court's stunning ruling that prime minister johnson had illegally suspended parliament. what does this mean for brexit? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: billy bragg singing woody guthrie's song "i ain't got no home" here in our democracy now! studio in 2011. he joins us again in 2019. juan: we go now to the united kingdom, where parliament has reconvened an up or after the supreme court ruled tuesday that prime minister boris johnson had unlawfully suspended parliament in order to push through brexit with or without a deal. johnson made t the unprecededend move late last month in order to limit debate on leaving the european union, which the u.k. is scheduled to do by october 31. but tuesday, supreme court head lady brenda hale announced the court had unanimously ruled

against johnson anand parliament had not been prorogued. >> the court is bound to conclude therefore the decision unlawful them was because it had the effect ofof frustrating or preventing parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification. parliament has not been prorogued. amy: prorogued, or suspended, she says. calls for johnson's resignation are mounting since the news broke on opposition leader tuesday. jeremy corbyn has called for a general election and demanded johnson apologize to the queen and to the country. the house of commons is currently in the midst of a rocket session as we broadcast. prime minister johnson is expected to address parliament this afternoon. this is johnson responding to the supreme court's decision in new york on tuesday, where he had been attending the unitedd nations general assembly. > let's be absolutely clear. we respect the judiciary in our

country. we respect the court's. i disagree profoundly with what they had to say. we need to get o on with brexit. that is the overwhelming view of the british people. whether they voted to lead or remain, they want to get this done by october 31. that is what we're going to do. amy: for more, we are joined by legendary british singer and songwriter and activist billy bragg. his book "the three dimensions of freedom" has just been published. welcome back to democracy now! we are learning a new word in the united states, prorogued. >> yes, suspended. normally there is suspension this time of year. this week was the labour party, last week that liberal democrats, next week the conservatives. what boris did was introduce the idea of a new queen speech, which when the government put forward a new program -- and

they generally suspend parliament for a couple of weeks to get that ready -- when you add that to the time since been for the party conventions, with a deadline for leaving the european union coming at the end of october, all of a sudden it looked as if -- well, it has been proved -- he unlawfully suspended parliament to avoid accountability of his lack of appeal for the european union. continuingf this is the controversy over brexit and what to do about brexit. you've said bread the dish brexit is an english phenomenon. >> the vote for it is really concentrated in england. scotland voted against. wells voted in favor but in those areas where there predominantly english and commerce. -- income ors.

slowly but surely, they're trying to manifest that sensibility. ist is behind brexit ordinary working people feeling they no longer have agency over their lives. they feel the economy is no longer responding to them, politics does nonot work for th. similar to the people who voted for trump in united states of america. this lack of agency, this feeling they can no longer have control over their lives, is magnified by the european union, they feel, because they -- although we all get to vote in elections, we don't have that close connection. european union has become e a focus for anger that should really be directed to the government boris johnson leads. amy: you have compared a no-deal brexit to trump's border wall. why? >> i think brexit period and the -- it doesn't matter if they happen or not. it is what they offer.

trump and the conservatives in my country, what they offer. as long as a plan to leave the union or build a wall, this will act as s a signal to every bigo, racist, misogynist that their ideas are legegitimized by this notion of keeping people outcome of this notion of closing in on ourselves. i don't think that brexit wiwill happen. i think the cost of it in terms of peace in northern irelaland d her long-term relationship with the other 27 nations in europe is too high a cost for lelegislators to actually pass . we have already seen -- it was an opportunity at the end of march for us to have left the european union, but the hard-line brexiters did not support their own government. on one hand they want to remain in the union and we believe the cost is too high, but the hard-line brexit eers would have to deal with the compromise,

there was still have been some involvement with the european court and some trade agreements, that was too high a price for them so i think for both -- of collect the grandson winston churchill. >> well, not him. he is more of a middle way man. i'm talking about the research group. these are the people who want to leave with absolutely no deal. they are quite extreme. the problem is broadly the debate has become extreme on both sides. some want to leave with no deal or people want to just abandon the whole thing. what is going to keep us in the european union i believe is the nuance of the hours border, the nuance of the good friday peace accord, our trade with european union. no one seems interested in nuance. jeremy corbyn is trying to put forward a policy at the next election where he let's people decide, where he says, look, if you elect me, i will go to brussels and get a better deal and put it to referendum. the opportunity to remain will

be on the referendum, but you ultimately will decide. the democrats are saying, we're going to abandon the whole thing and walk away. the tories are saying we are dating to get no deal -- we are going to get no deal. corban has become the moderate, which has become a pejorative term in my country. juan: i would ask about your book. if you could talk about the title? >> it argues that free speech alone is not enough to guarantee the free society. it is true we all have the right to express our opinion but unless that is matched with commitment to equality, the right to respect other people's opinions, but more importantly, some amount of accountability. i think without equality, free speech is nothing more than privilege. without accountability, free speech is the most dangerous freedom of all. and that is impunity. i think we have seen both in donald trump and boris johnson, leader seeking to act with impunity.

the last leader in my country that acted in the way boris johnson has done was charles i and we chopped his head off. amy: this is part one of our conversation. we will do part two and post it online at democracynow.org and also maybe get a little live singing in. billy bragg, legendary british singer/songwriter. he has a new book out called "the three dimensions of freedom." it has just been published. the brooklyn public library. come one, come all. democracy now!w! is looking for feedback from people w who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]