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:
Talking Points Memo, Politico, Denver Post, Axios, KTLA, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, ABC News, 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, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, CNN, Power Line, The Week, Splinter, HuffPost, The Atlantic, The Lid, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, Mediaite, KTLA, Law & Crime, Bloomberg, Reuters, New York Times and Politico
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 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:
National Review, New York Times and Political Wire
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, Reason, Associated Press, Common Dreams, Washington Monthly, Shareblue Media, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Just Security, HuffPost, The Week, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, The Sun, Mercury News, Bloomberg, The Guardian, CANNONFIRE, Balloon Juice, Denver Post, Occupy Democrats 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:
CNN, Washington Post, Law & Crime, Fox News, Splinter, Occupy Democrats and HuffPost
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
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Only Issue Left Is Trump's ‘Absolute Right’ to Solicit Collusion — We can now make an educated guess that President Trump probably knew the jig was up when he appeared on the White House lawn Thursday morning and announced that he wants Ukraine and China to investigate his leading political rival.
Discussion:
CNN, Raw Story and Progress Pond
Will Englund / Washington Post:
Ukraine's new chief prosecutor to ‘audit’ Biden case — KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine's new chief prosecutor said Friday his office will conduct an “audit” of an investigation into Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company that had recruited Hunter Biden for its board. — A criminal probe of the company …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Hullabaloo, The Week, Splinter, Progress Pond, New York Post, USA Today, POLITICUSUSA and Mediaite
Zack Budryk / The Hill:
GOP senator says he doesn't remember signing 2016 letter urging ‘reform’ of Ukraine prosecutor's office
GOP senator says he doesn't remember signing 2016 letter urging ‘reform’ of Ukraine prosecutor's office
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and HuffPost
Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:
Trump's Allies Are Running Out of Excuses
Trump's Allies Are Running Out of Excuses
Discussion:
Raw Story, FiveThirtyEight and The Atlantic
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, Outside the Beltway and Althouse
Jake Sherman / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: The smoking texts
POLITICO Playbook: The smoking texts
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Associated Press and HuffPost
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Three deeply problematic aspects of newly released text messages centered on the Ukraine scandal
New York Times:
What We Know About Hunter Biden's Business in China
What We Know About Hunter Biden's Business in China
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, New York Post, The Root and Vanity Fair
USA Today:
Ukraine: Text messages show U.S. diplomats believed U.S. aid was linked to Trump's demand for Biden probe
Ukraine: Text messages show U.S. diplomats believed U.S. aid was linked to Trump's demand for Biden probe
Discussion:
Raw Story
U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:
Three Chairs Provide Update on Investigative Work, Volker Testimony & Text Messages
Three Chairs Provide Update on Investigative Work, Volker Testimony & Text Messages
Discussion:
Common Dreams
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
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:
JustOneMinute and 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
CNN:
Elizabeth Warren raises $24.6 million in third quarter, reinforcing status among 2020 front-runners — (CNN)Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised $24.6 million over the past three months, her campaign said Friday morning, falling just short of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' massive haul.
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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.
Alex Thompson / Politico:
Elizabeth Warren raises $24.6 million in third quarter — Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign said Friday that it raised $24.6 million in the third quarter and has $25.7 million cash on hand, further solidifying her rise to the top tier in the Democratic primary.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Political Wire
Evan Halper / Los Angeles Times:
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders blow past Joe Biden in fundraising race — Presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders greatly eclipsed former Vice President Joe Biden in fundraising over the past three months, placing progressive Democrats on strong footing in the crucial final stretch before primary voting begins.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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:
NPR, Associated Press, Politico and The Week
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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, Shareblue Media, IJR, Mediaite, Political Wire and Balloon Juice
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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, Fox News, National Review, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, New York Times and CNN
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Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Schiff's Shifty Timeline
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, CREW, CNN, Breitbart, Washington Post, Raw Story, HuffPost, KTLA, Axios, The Week, Splinter and New York Post
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, The Hill, Fox News, Daily Kos, House Republican Leader, NPR, American Greatness, Breitbart, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, The Daily Caller, RedState and NBC News
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Washington Post:
Poll finds Virginia voters focused on gun policy ahead of pivotal election — RICHMOND — Gun policy is the top issue for Virginia voters just one month before pivotal elections that will determine control of the state legislature, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.
Discussion:
Blue Virginia