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, Washington Post, KTLA, Shareblue Media, NBC News, The Week, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Slate, Vanity Fair, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Splinter, Mediaite, 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:
Washington Post, Raw Story, The Week, CNN, Power Line, Splinter, HuffPost, The Lid, The Atlantic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Talking Points Memo, Axios, KTLA, Daily Kos, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Politico, New York Times and Reuters
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:
Bloomberg, Washington Post, Reason, Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Common Dreams, Raw Story, Just Security, Shareblue Media, The Rush Limbaugh Show, HuffPost, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, The Sun, Mercury News, The Guardian, Occupy Democrats, CANNONFIRE, Balloon Juice, Denver Post and twitchy.com
CNN:
Trump promised Xi US silence on Hong Kong democracy protests as trade talks stalled — (CNN)During a private phone call in June, President Donald Trump promised Chinese President Xi Jinping that the US would remain quiet on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong while trade talks continued, two sources familiar with the call tell CNN.
Discussion:
Political Wire
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:
Talking Points Memo, New York Times, CNN, Breitbart, Washington Post, KTLA, Axios, Raw Story, HuffPost, The Week, One America News Network, Splinter and New York Post
Jake Sherman / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: The smoking texts
POLITICO Playbook: The smoking texts
Discussion:
Associated Press, HuffPost and Raw Story
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Three deeply problematic aspects of newly released text messages centered on the Ukraine scandal
Scott Neuman / NPR:
Texts Detail Top U.S. Diplomat's Concerns About Possible Trump-Ukraine Quid Pro Quo
Texts Detail Top U.S. Diplomat's Concerns About Possible Trump-Ukraine Quid Pro Quo
Discussion:
Vox, National Review, New York Times and Roll Call
Katherine Faulders / ABC News:
‘Crazy to withhold security assistance’ to Ukraine for political purposes: Top US diplomat
‘Crazy to withhold security assistance’ to Ukraine for political purposes: Top US diplomat
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, The Week, Breitbart, Hot Air, Axios, Hullabaloo, One America News Network, Raw Story, Law & Crime and The American Conservative
Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel / CREW:
Rick Perry Created AI Office Within Energy Dept. Despite Wife's Investments
Rick Perry Created AI Office Within Energy Dept. Despite Wife's Investments
Discussion:
The Week
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:
CNN, Washington Post, Law & Crime, Fox News, Splinter, Occupy Democrats, HuffPost and New York Magazine
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Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Ukraine to Review Criminal Case on Owner 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 the owner of a natural gas company …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Lawfare and Slate
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
New York Times:
Pence Makes Clear There Is No Daylight Between Him and Trump
Pence Makes Clear There Is No Daylight Between Him and Trump
Discussion:
The Mahablog, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway and Althouse
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Only Issue Left Is Trump's ‘Absolute Right’ to Solicit Collusion
The Only Issue Left Is Trump's ‘Absolute Right’ to Solicit Collusion
Discussion:
CNN, Raw Story and Progress Pond
Will Englund / Washington Post:
Ukraine's new chief prosecutor to ‘audit’ Biden case
Ukraine's new chief prosecutor to ‘audit’ Biden case
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Post, Splinter, The Week, Progress Pond, USA Today and Mediaite
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
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USA Today:
How Democrats should impeach Trump: A searing constitutional duty, a plan from 2 realists — We're different but we agree: No president has placed America in more peril for less reason than Trump. Refusing to confront him only emboldens him. — CONNECT
Discussion:
New Republic and Raw Story
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.”
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Supreme Court to review ruling on Louisiana abortion law — The Supreme Court will review a restrictive Louisiana law that gives the justices the chance to reconsider a recent ruling protecting abortion rights. — The court said Friday it would consider whether the 2014 law requiring doctors …
Discussion:
Associated Press and Politico
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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:
National Review, Bloomberg, IJR, Mediaite, Political Wire and Balloon Juice
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Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Sasse breaks with Trump's call for probe: 'Americans don't look to Chinese commies for the truth'
Quint Forgey / Politico:
Trump claims he has an ‘obligation’ to seek foreign help
Trump claims he has an ‘obligation’ to seek foreign help
Discussion:
ABC News, Vox and Talking Points Memo
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Schiff's false claim his committee had not spoken to the whistleblower — “We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower, we would like to.” — We recently took Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to task for misleading reporters about the fact that he was a participant …
Discussion:
Townhall, National Review, Fox News, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, CNN, New York Times, FOX News Radio and Trending Politics
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Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Schiff's Shifty Timeline
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:
National Review, Fox News, The Hill, House Republican Leader, NPR, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Breitbart, RedState, The Daily Caller and NBC News
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Jeff Cox / CNBC:
September unemployment rate falls to 3.5%, a 50-year low, as payrolls rise by 136,000 — By Jeff Cox@JEFFCOXCNBCCOM@JEFF.COX.7528 — The jobless rate in September dropped 0.2 percentage points to 3.5%, the lowest since December 1969. — Nonfarm payrolls rose by 136,000 in September …
Discussion:
Townhall
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Patricia Cohen / New York Times:
U.S. Added 136,000 Jobs in September; Unemployment Rate at 3.5%
U.S. Added 136,000 Jobs in September; Unemployment Rate at 3.5%
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and The Daily Caller
New York Times:
Hong Kong Leader Invokes Emergency Powers to Ban Masks During Protests — The chief executive exercised a rarely used colonial-era law, a step long feared by opposition lawmakers. — HONG KONG — As the Hong Kong government tries to quell increasingly violent protests …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Bloomberg, Foreign Policy and NPR
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David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Maybe not Trump? Never Trumpers insist they won't back Warren — Prominent “Never Trump” Republicans insist they would never back rising Democratic contender Elizabeth Warren, describing an election that pits the liberal Massachusetts senator against a president they despise as a choice between two unacceptable options.
Axios:
Trump's Senate red wall — Every time President Trump seems to tempt fate — like inviting China on camera yesterday to investigate the Bidens — just remember that he's counting on his red wall in the Senate will save him even if he's impeached. — The big picture: Here's a visual look …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Raw Story
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 …