memeorandum: Everything Bad About the Trump-Zelensky Call That Had Nothing to Do with Biden (Shay Khatiri/The Bulwark)

2:10 PM ET, September 26, 2019

Top Items:

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Trump Attacks Whistle-Blower's Sources and Alludes to Punishment for Spies — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday morning told a crowd of staff from the United States Mission to the United Nations that he wants to know who provided information to a whistle-blower about his phone call …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Axios

Eli Stokols / Los Angeles Times:

Trump at private breakfast: 'Who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that's close to a spy' — President Trump expressed disgust Thursday morning with the explosive whistleblower complaint, slamming the intelligence officer and the White House aides who helped him or her as “almost a spy” and suggested it was treason.

Discussion: Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Mother Jones, Political Wire, Mediaite, Raw Story, KTLA and Balloon Juice

New York Times:

Whistle-Blower Is a C.I.A. Officer Who Was Detailed to the White House — His complaint suggested he was an analyst by training with an understanding of Ukrainian politics. — WASHINGTON — The whistle-blower who revealed that President Trump sought foreign help for his re-election …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Whistle-Blower Is Said to Allege Concerns About White House Handling of Ukraine Call — New details have emerged about the intelligence officer who raised alarms about the president's pressure on Ukraine to open inquiries that could benefit him politically.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, CNN, FactCheck.org, Slate, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Week, Foreign Policy, Raw Story, Vox and Mother Jones

Michael Warren / CNN:

Giuliani denies charges in whistleblower complaint, says details are ‘total nonsense’ — Dana Bash: The allegation is that this is a coverup — Washington (CNN)Rudy Giuliani tells CNN he has “no knowledge of any of that crap” in the newly released complaint from an American intelligence community whistleblower.

Discussion: Political Wire, Raw Story, Palmer Report, WHOTV, News Agency UNIAN, New York Post, Washington Post, The Independent, HuffPost, Occupy Democrats and NBC News

New York Times:

Full Document: The Whistle-Blower Complaint — The President also praised Ukraine's Prosecutor General, Mr. Yuriy Lutsenko, and suggested that Mr. Zelenskyy might want to keep him in his position. (Note: Starting in March 2019, Mr. Lutsenko made a series of public allegations …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Reason, CBS News, IJR and Outside the Beltway

CNN:

Lewandowski may lead White House impeachment team — (CNN)Corey Lewandowski, the political operative who helped elect Donald Trump, has had conversations with White House officials in recent days about potentially taking a position inside the administration to help the President confront a looming impeachment fight.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Splinter, The Week and Mediaite

New York Times:

Phone Call Showed Only a Slice of Trump's Obsession With Ukraine — Since the 2016 campaign, the president has had an intense fixation on the country, which he believes is tied up in the origins of the special counsel's investigation. — WASHINGTON — It was not a country that would naturally …

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg, The New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, Progress Pond, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, The Nation, Raw Story, Issues & Insights, CNN, CBS News, CANNONFIRE and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Trump's other Ukraine problem: New concern about his business — Zelensky recounted his stay at the president's N.Y. hotel in call with Trump. — Buried in the controversy over President Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was an effort by the Ukrainian leader …

Discussion: Political Wire and Just Security

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Ron Johnson troubled by whistleblower allegation of records ‘lock down’ — Sen. Ron Johnson has no issues with President Trump's call with Volodymyr Zelensky. But he does have a problem with the allegation that records of the call were restricted. — In an interview, the Wisconsin Republican …

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story and Politico

Shay Khatiri / The Bulwark:

Everything Bad About the Trump-Zelensky Call That Had Nothing to Do with Biden — A short memo that is long on head-scratching moments. — The Trump-Zelensky phone call memorandum shows during his call with the recently elected president of a country that is struggling with a civil war stemming …

Discussion: Washington Post and Politifact.com Truth …

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Whistleblower says White House tried to ‘lock down’ Ukraine call

Discussion: Breitbart, Axios, Jezebel, The Week, Scripting News and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Seven days: Inside Trump's frenetic response to the whistleblower complaint and the battle over impeachment

Discussion: Politico, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Breitbart, New York Times, Hullabaloo, The Week, Fox News, Wall Street Journal and CNN

Sean Davis / The Federalist: Complaint From So-Called ‘Whistleblower’ Is Riddled With Gossip, Blatant Falsehoods

Jacob Knutson / Axios:
Acting DNI Joseph Maguire: Whistleblower “did the right thing”

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

NBC News:
Whistleblower complaint says White House officials acted to ‘lock down’ record of Trump-Ukraine call

Discussion: The Stranger, CNN and Townhall

Tristan Justice / The Federalist:
Adam Schiff Makes Up His Own Transcript Of Call Between Trump And Ukraine President

Discussion: twitchy.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and IJR

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Read: the whistleblower complaint about Trump and Ukraine

Discussion: The Federalist, Talking Points Memo and emptywheel

Talking Points Memo:
READ: WH Moved To ‘Lock Down’ Records Of Ukraine Call, Whistleblower Said

Discussion: USA Today and Hullabaloo

CNN:
Trump without strategy in fast-moving impeachment inquiry

Discussion: Political Wire, Washington Post, KTLA and The Atlantic

Ryan Teague Beckwith / Bloomberg:
Republicans Say Impeachment Will Backfire. History Says It Won't

Discussion: The Hill

Katie Benner / New York Times:
Justice Dept.'s Dismissal of Ukraine Call Raises New Questions About Barr

Discussion: Salon, Washington Post, The Week and Bookworm Room

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Wall Street Democratic donors warn the party: We'll sit out, or back Trump, if you nominate Elizabeth Warren — In recent interviews of several big-money Democratic donors and fundraisers in the business community, CNBC has found that this opinion is becoming widely shared as Warren surges against Joe Biden.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Post and Vox

New York Times:
Why Impeachment Might Be Trouble for Some Democratic Presidential Candidates

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Hill and National Review, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

Kurt Volker, Trump's part-time Ukraine envoy, played role in Giuliani outreach — The special envoy served as the facilitator for Giuliani's talks with Ukrainian officials. — WASHINGTON — After President Donald Trump asked Ukraine's president to work with his personal attorney …

Washington Post:
Former Ukraine prosecutor says Hunter Biden ‘did not violate anything’

Discussion: Axios, Occupy Democrats and Political Wire

Patrick Reevell / ABC News:
Ukrainians understood Biden probe was condition for Trump-Zelenskiy phone call: Ukrainian official

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
All the president's loyalists: Impeachment net snares Trump's top advisers

Discussion: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez …, Shareblue Media, Washington Post and Raw Story

NBC News:
Trump allies voice concerns about Rudy Giuliani's involvement in Ukraine

Discussion: Palmer Report and POLITICUSUSA

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:

House Intelligence Committee Releases Whistleblower Complaint — f t # e — Washington, DC - Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released the declassified whistleblower complaint. The complaint can be viewed here, and the Intelligence Community Inspector General letter regarding …

Discussion: CNBC, Breitbart, The New Neo, Raw Story, The Independent, Power Line, News Agency UNIAN, Balloon Juice, Splinter and New York Post

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
What did they all know about the whistleblower complaint, and when they know it?

Discussion: The Guardian

Associated Press:

A first: Vermont GOP governor backs Trump impeachment probe — ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. — Vermont's governor has become the first Republican chief executive to support impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump but cautions that he wants to know more before any further actions are taken.

Discussion: Breitbart and Political Wire

The Boston Globe:

The limits of Trump's ‘so what if I did?’ strategy — WASHINGTON — As news that he asked a foreign leader to investigate his political rivals rocked Washington, President Trump turned to a tried-and-true strategy: Embrace it.Trump took the unusual step of releasing a rough transcript Wednesday …

Discussion: Political Wire

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

Immigrant Population Growth in the U.S. Slows to a Trickle — The U.S. population gained immigrants last year at the slowest pace since 2008. President Trump's approach to immigration is seen as the likely cause. — The United States population gained immigrants at the slowest pace …

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Biden's brother touted Biden Cancer Initiative ties in investment pitch — James Biden suggested the former vice president's anti-cancer efforts could benefit potential investors, a litigant says. His spokesman denies it. — James Biden is accused of telling executives at a healthcare firm …

Discussion: Fox News, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and National Review

YouTube:

Rep. Gabbard: 'Haven't seen much' evidence that Sen. Warren qualified to be Commander in Chief … About Rising: — Rising is a weekday morning show with bipartisan hosts that breaks the mold of morning TV by taking viewers inside the halls of Washington power like never before.

Ashley Feinberg / Slate:

The Pee Tape Is Real, but It's Fake — There's a video going around that no one's really talking about. What makes it most unreal is how believable it is. — There exists a video online that, considering the subject matter, astoundingly few people have seen.

Discussion: Jezebel

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

The Impeachment Fervor Isn't Going Anywhere — Making the click-through worthwhile: Why a Democratic attempt to impeach President Trump was destined from the beginning; why Democrats suddenly get awkward and tongue-tied when asked to bar children of high-ranking officials from serving …

Discussion: Fox News and Instapundit

Mike Schneider / Associated Press:

Census: Inequality grew, including in heartland states — ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The gap between the haves and have-nots in the United States grew last year to its highest level in more than 50 years of tracking income inequality, according to Census Bureau figures.

570 NEWS:

Voters are anxious and wary as Democrats pursue impeachment — EXTON, Pa. — Many voters, including Democrats, are expressing wariness about the decision by House Democrats decision to move toward impeaching President Donald Trump. — Associated Press interviews with more than 50 voters …

Sara Sidner / CNN:

‘OK’ is now a hate symbol, the ADL says — Los Angeles (CNN)The “OK” hand gesture is now a hate symbol, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League. — The ADL added that symbol along with several others on Thursday to its long-standing database of slogans and symbols used by extremists.

Discussion: NB Blog and Louder With Crowder

Washington Post:

EPA tells California it is ‘failing to meet its obligations’ to protect the environment — Trump officials will notify California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday that the state is “failing to meet its obligations” to protect the environment, just days after the president mocked its biggest cities for their “tremendous pollution.”

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller and The Root

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Trump Admin Bans Iranian Regime Figures, Families From Entering U.S. — The Trump administration on Thursday banned all members of the Iranian regime and their family members from entering the United States, a move aimed at stopping regime figures from sending their children to America for schooling and other opportunities.