Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Envoys Pushed Ukraine to Commit to Investigating Biden — WASHINGTON — Two of President Trump's top envoys to Ukraine worked on 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 …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, CNN, The Week, NBC News, Slate, Vanity Fair, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Mediaite, Splinter, Political Wire and Associated Press
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Wall Street Journal:
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:
CNN, Raw Story, The Week, Power Line, Splinter, HuffPost, The Lid, The Atlantic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Axios, KTLA, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Politico and Washington Post
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 …
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:
Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Common Dreams, Just Security, Raw Story, The Week, Shareblue Media, HuffPost, The Sun, Occupy Democrats, Mercury News, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Balloon Juice, CANNONFIRE, Denver Post and twitchy.com
Molly Beck / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Ron Johnson OK with President Trump asking China to investigate 2020 political rival — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., speaks with members of the media after meeting with the Middleton Chamber of Commerce at Serendipity Labs in Madison on Thursday. Johnson Thursday said that there was nothing wrong …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Law & Crime, Fox News, Splinter, Occupy Democrats, New York Magazine, HuffPost, Axios, Vox, Slate and Raw Story
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Ukraine to Review Criminal Case of Firm Linked to Biden's Son — KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine's top prosecutor said on Friday that he would review several important cases previously handled by his predecessors, including a criminal case involving a natural gas company that employed a son of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Discussion:
Lawfare
Theodoric Meyer / Politico:
Energy Secretary Rick Perry eyeing 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:
Axios, Raw Story, HuffPost, One America News Network, Splinter, Washington Post and New York Post
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:
Talking Points Memo, HuffPost and Law & Crime
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:
Washington Post, Associated Press, The Week, Breitbart, Hot Air, Axios, Hullabaloo, One America News Network, Raw Story and The American Conservative
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Three deeply problematic aspects of newly released text messages centered on the Ukraine scandal
Discussion:
The Daily Beast
Jake Sherman / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: The smoking texts
Discussion:
Associated Press, HuffPost and Raw Story
Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel / CREW:
Rick Perry Created AI Office Within Energy Dept. Despite Wife's Investments
Discussion:
The Week
NBC News:
Giuliani says State Dept vowed to investigate after he gave Ukraine docs to Pompeo
Discussion:
The Bulwark
Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Trump wanted Ukraine's president to launch investigations before face-to-face meeting, State Dept. texts show
Discussion:
CNN, The Week, Talking Points Memo, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos, Mediaite, National Review and Law & Crime
Washington Post:
Rick Perry planning to step down as energy secretary by year end
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, KTLA and The Week
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.”
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New York Times:
Trump, the Self-Impeaching President
Discussion:
CNBC, Politico, Outside the Beltway and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump campaign to drop bomb on Biden in early voting states
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Daily Kos, Associated Press, Washington Free Beacon and RedState, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
Discussion:
House Republican Leader, NPR, NBC News, RedState, Fox News, Breitbart and The Daily Caller
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Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Schiff's Shifty Timeline — What did the House Intel Committee chairman know and when did he know it? — If the latest impeachment push continues to backfire, Democrats can thank their duplicitous House Intelligence chairman, Adam Schiff. — The New York Times reported this week that the …
RELATED:
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Schiff's false claim his committee had not spoken to the whistleblower
Discussion:
National Review, Fox News, HuffPost, The Atlantic and CNN
Joseph Morton / Associated Press:
'Americans don't look to Chinese commies for the truth': Sasse decries Trump's call for probe — “If the Biden kid broke laws by selling his name to Beijing, that's a matter for American courts, not communist tyrants running torture camps,” Sen. Ben Sasse told The World-Herald on Thursday.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Mediaite and Political Wire
RELATED:
U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:
Three Chairs Provide Update on Investigative Work, Volker Testimony & Text Messages — f t # e — Washington—Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs received testimony from Ambassador Kurt Volker …
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:
Axios
RELATED:
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Pelosi: 'I'm very worried' about whistleblower's safety
Discussion:
Washington Times
Harry Enten / CNN:
Trump's impeachment polling is historically unprecedented — Lemon and Cuomo debate if there's enough to impeach Trump — (CNN)The poll numbers are in on impeachment, and it's not good news for President Donald Trump. A clear plurality of Americans approve of the House's impeachment inquiry into Trump …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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.
Discussion:
alicublog and The American Conservative
New York Times:
Pence Makes Clear There Is No Daylight Between Him and Trump — The vice president has risen to his boss's defense at a moment of crisis that some Republicans fear could inflict lasting damage on them both. — WASHINGTON — He held firm when the “Access Hollywood” tape nearly ended President Trump's 2016 campaign.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Althouse and Outside the Beltway
The Daily Caller:
Tucker And Patel: The Truth About Impeachment — Donald Trump should not have been on the phone with a foreign head of state encouraging another country to investigate his political opponent, Joe Biden. Some Republicans are trying, but there's no way to spin this as a good idea.
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