memeorandum: Donald Trump encourages China to investigate Bidens (Financial Times)

9:15 PM ET, October 3, 2019

Top Items:

Trump Ordered Ukraine Ambassador Removed After Complaints From Giuliani, Others — Marie Yovanovitch dismissed after Trump allies said she was blocking Biden probe and bad-mouthing president, people familiar with the matter say — WASHINGTON—President Trump ordered the removal of the ambassador …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Axios, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, KTLA, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Mediaite, Political Wire and ABC News

New York Times:

Trump Envoys Pushed Ukraine to Commit to Investigations — WASHINGTON — Two of President Trump's top envoys to Ukraine drafted a statement for the country's new president in August that would have committed Ukraine to pursuing investigations sought by Mr. Trump into his political rivals, three people briefed on the effort said.

Discussion: CNN, Political Wire, Slate, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Mediaite

Katherine Faulders / ABC News:

‘Crazy to withhold security assistance’ to Ukraine for political purposes: Top US diplomat — In newly disclosed text messages shared with Congress, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine at the time writes to a group of other American diplomats that “I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”

Discussion: Hot Air, The Week, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, The American Conservative, One America News Network, Politico and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Giuliani was warned that Ukrainian claims of Bidens' misconduct were not credible, Trump's ex-envoy tells lawmakers — The former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine told House investigators on Thursday that he warned President Trump's personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos and Mediaite

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

In May, Ukrainian oligarch said Giuliani was orchestrating a ‘clear conspiracy against Biden’ — Months before an intelligence community whistleblower accused President Trump's lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani of digging for dirt on former vice president Joe Biden in Ukraine …

Discussion: Politico, KTLA, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, The Ringer and The Week

CNN:

Trump raised Biden with Xi in June call housed in highly secure server — Washington (CNN)When President Donald Trump suggested — without prompting — that China should investigate Joe Biden and his son, he thrust another political grudge into what was already the world's most complicated and consequential relationship.

Discussion: Associated Press, HuffPost, The Sun, Occupy Democrats, Raw Story, CANNONFIRE, Political Wire and The Guardian

Financial Times:

Donald Trump encourages China to investigate Bidens — Donald Trump has urged China to investigate Joe Biden, the former vice-president, blatantly encouraging a foreign nation to interfere in the 2020 presidential election even as Democrats pursue an impeachment inquiry into similar requests to Ukraine.

Discussion: Political Wire

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Did Donald Trump Just Self-Impeach? — In the ten days since the House of Representatives launched its impeachment inquiry, President Trump has spoken and tweeted thousands of words in public. He has called the investigation a “coup” and the press “deranged.”

Michael Calderone / Politico:
Trump wins the chyron war with Biden

Discussion: New York Times, PolitiFact, The Atlantic and Breitbart

New York Times:
Trump Publicly Urges China to Investigate the Bidens

Discussion: Law & Crime, Wall Street Journal, The Root, The Moderate Voice, Politico, Al Jazeera, Vanity Fair, The Mahablog, Slate, Althouse, Outside the Beltway, The Week and Inquirer.com

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Trump keeps making it harder for supporters to defend him

Discussion: Raw Story

Aaron Rupar / Vox:
Irony is dead: The Trump sons are doing everything possible to make corruption a major 2020 issue

Discussion: Politico and Forbes

Washington Post: Trump is now publicly abusing his oath of office

Aaron Blake / Washington Post: Trump's request that China investigate the Bidens is his most brazen yet. It might also be the most problematic.

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump now says both China and Ukraine should investigate Bidens

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News, Vox, KTLA and twitchy.com

Washington Post:

IRS whistleblower said to report Treasury political appointee might have tried to interfere in audit of Trump or Pence — An Internal Revenue Service official has filed a whistleblower complaint reporting that he was told at least one Treasury Department political appointee attempted …

Discussion: CNN, National Review, New York Times, Slate, Spectator USA, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Law & Crime, The Week, Political Wire and Raw Story

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:

CNN Refuses to Air Trump Ad Pushing Biden-Ukraine Claims and Bashing Network Anchors — The 30-second spot paints the president as a victim of Democrats and alleged “media lapdogs” like CNN. — In a move that is sure to ratchet up tension with the White House, cable news channel CNN …

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, POLITICUSUSA, The National Interest, Deadline, Townhall, Politico, Mediaite and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Republican senators echoed Biden in urging Ukrainian president to reform prosecutor general's office — (CNN)A newly unearthed letter from 2016 shows that Republican senators pushed for reforms to Ukraine's prosecutor general's office and judiciary, echoing calls then-Vice President Joe Biden made at the time.

Discussion: HuffPost, Axios, Vox, Occupy Democrats, Splinter, Law & Crime, Slate, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg and Washington Post

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump campaign to drop bomb on Biden in early voting states — President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is preparing an avalanche of TV ads targeting Joe Biden in early primary states — its most aggressive step yet to meddle in the Democratic nomination contest.

Discussion: RedState, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and The Bulwark

Zack Budryk / The Hill:

GOP senator says he doesn't remember signing 2016 letter urging ‘reform’ of Ukraine prosecutor's office — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters Thursday he did not recall signing a letter urging reforms in the office of the Ukrainian prosecutor President Trump has alleged former Vice …

Discussion: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
CNN Rejects 2 Trump Campaign Ads, Citing Inaccuracies

Michael Calderone / Politico: Biden warns Fox News against running Trump ad

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Just Committed More High Crimes on the White House Lawn

Discussion: emptywheel, Washington Post, HuffPost, Daily Kos, Vox and Progress Pond

Oma Seddiq / Politico: Trump floats idea of his own news network to counter CNN

Axios:

Scoop: Trump letter dares Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment inquiry — The White House is planning to send Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter as soon as Friday arguing that President Trump and his team can ignore lawmakers' demands until she holds a full House vote formally approving an impeachment inquiry …

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Pelosi Sends Letter to Leader McCarthy Reiterating the Critical Importance of the Ongoing Impeachment Inquiry

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Republicans prep formal rebuke of Schiff to defend Trump

Discussion: Knoxville News-Sentinel, HuffPost and Breitbart

Alex Moe / NBC News:
McCarthy calls for Pelosi to suspend impeachment inquiry

Discussion: HuffPost and Daily Kos

Theodoric Meyer / Politico:

Energy Secretary Rick Perry eyeing White House exit in November — Energy Secretary Rick Perry is expected to announce his resignation from the administration by the end of November, according to three people familiar with his plans. — Perry, who had been Texas' longest serving governor …

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel / CREW: Rick Perry Created AI Office Within Energy Dept. Despite Wife's Investments

NBC News:

Another GOP senator breaks from Trump to defend Ukraine whistleblower — “I stand with Chuck Grassley on this,” Ernst said, referring to Iowa's other Republican senator who defended the unnamed whistleblower. — Another Republican senator is speaking out in defense of the intelligence …

Discussion: Politico, Axios and The Daily Beast

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
The Mad King's Enablers

Discussion: CNN, Trending Politics, CBS News and Raw Story

David Byler / Washington Post:

Why Elizabeth Warren is getting such good press — It seems like every day a new story breaks about how Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) is climbing in the polls, releasing a new policy proposal, “winning” a primary debate or taking some other step toward becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.

Byron York / Washington Examiner: Joe Biden is no longer a front-runner

Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau: As Warren rises, debate over her ability to beat Trump intensifies

Andrew Napolitano / Fox News:

Judge Andrew Napolitano: Trump's call with Ukraine president manifests criminal and impeachable behavior — The House of Representatives has begun to gather evidence in an effort to determine if President Trump has committed impeachable offenses. The Constitution defines an impeachable offense as …

Discussion: Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Law & Crime and HuffPost

Susan Page / USA Today:

Perilous times for President Trump: By 45%-38%, Americans support impeaching him over allegations related to Ukraine, poll finds — From the moment Donald Trump became a national political figure, he has been cloaked in controversy and shadowed by investigations.

Gabby Orr / Politico:
Trump's impeachment defiance spooks key voting blocs

Discussion: Washington Post, Hullabaloo, One America News Network, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Bob Woodward interviewed the ‘She Said’ authors at a book event. Things got tense. Then there was heckling. — It seemed like the perfect combination of three Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalists: The Washington Post's Bob Woodward interviewing the New York Times's Jodi Kantor …

Discussion: HuffPost, Vox, Los Angeles Magazine, Mediaite, The Wrap, The Daily Beast and Splinter

Ben Collins / NBC News:

Trump seized on a conspiracy theory called the ‘insurance policy.’ Now, it's at the center of an impeachment investigation. — Just months after Trump's inauguration, conspiracy theorists pushed a fanciful and unsubstantiated narrative in which the DNC framed Russia for election interference.

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

White House Floats Potential DOJ Investigation Into ‘Joe Biden and His Family’ — A tiny, largely unnoticed edit to a daily White House newsletter this week suggests the Trump administration is leaving open the possibility of siccing the Justice Department on Joe Biden.

Discussion: CNN and The White House

BuzzFeed News:

The New Way To Hack Democracy: The Political Operatives Who Fake Voter Outrage With Millions Of Made-Up Comments — Sarah Reeves sat on her couch in Eugene, Oregon, staring at her laptop screen in furious disbelief. She was reading the website of a government agency, where her mother appeared …

Discussion: The Register, Slate and Politico

David Brooks / New York Times:

Why Trump Voters Stick With Him — An imagined conversation with Flyover Man. — Urban Guy: I hope you read the rough transcript of that Trump phone call with the Ukrainian president. Trump clearly used public power to ask a foreign leader to dig up dirt on his political opponent.

Andrew C. McCarthy / The Hill:

Ignore the hype — this is not an impeachment inquiry — There is no impeachment inquiry. There are no subpoenas. — You are not to be faulted if you think a formal inquest is under way and that legal process has been issued. The misimpression is completely understandable …

Discussion: New York Times, Fortune, The Week and Vanity Fair