memeorandum: 2 Women Say James Franco's Acting School Sexually Exploited Them (Dave Itzkoff/New York Times)

2:35 AM ET, October 4, 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: Power Line, Splinter, Axios, HuffPost, The Lid, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Atlantic, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, KTLA, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Washington Post

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: Axios, Vanity Fair, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, CNN, Splinter, Mediaite 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, Associated Press, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, Mercury News, Raw Story, CANNONFIRE, Occupy Democrats, The Sun, Denver Post and Balloon Juice

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, New York Magazine, Fox News and HuffPost

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: Associated Press, The Week, Breitbart, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, One America News Network, Raw Story and The American Conservative

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

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 …

Discussion: Political Wire

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

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.

New York Times:

Trump, the Self-Impeaching President — Now he wants China to investigate the Bidens and help his re-election bid. Give him this, he's not subtle. — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.

Discussion: Politico, Slate and Raw Story

CNN:

Volker texts outline how Ukrainian investigation was linked to potential Trump-Zelensky meeting — Washington (CNN)Text messages released on Thursday between US diplomats and a senior Ukrainian aide show how a potential Ukrainian investigation into the 2016 election was linked …

Discussion: Slate

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump campaign to drop bomb on Biden in early voting states

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, RedState, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

NBC News: Giuliani says State Dept vowed to investigate after he gave Ukraine docs to Pompeo

Financial Times: Donald Trump encourages China to investigate Bidens

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
CNN Refuses to Air Trump Ad Pushing Biden-Ukraine Claims and Bashing Network Anchors

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

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

CNN:
Republican senators echoed Biden in urging Ukrainian president to reform prosecutor general's office

Discussion: HuffPost, KTLA, Splinter, Axios, Occupy Democrats, Vox, Law & Crime, Politico, Slate, Raw Story and Bloomberg

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

Discussion: Politico, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, Popular Information, Mother Jones and Shareblue Media, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Top Diplomat Described ‘Crazy’ Plan to Withhold Aid From Ukraine

Discussion: Axios and Washington Post

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

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

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
In May, Ukrainian oligarch said Giuliani was orchestrating a ‘clear conspiracy against Biden’

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

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

Discussion: Raw Story

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: RedState, New York Times, CNN, Slate, Spectator USA, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Law & Crime, National Review, HuffPost, The Week, The Guardian, Raw Story and 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: HuffPost, The Week, One America News Network, Raw Story, Splinter, New York Post and CNN

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

Washington Post:
Rick Perry planning to step down as energy secretary by year end

Discussion: The Week

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: RedState, House Republican Leader, Fox News and Breitbart

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

Discussion: Breitbart

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

Discussion: The Daily Caller, HuffPost and Daily Kos

Eric Trump / The Hill:

Hypocrisy creates unlevel playing field in politics — I am keenly aware of how fortunate I was to be born the son of one of the wealthiest and most well known businessmen in America. I am also the first to admit that things are different when you grow up as a Trump.

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

Discussion: New York Times, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Breitbart

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 and Axios

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.

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

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

Discussion: Hot Air

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

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.”

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

Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:

2 Women Say James Franco's Acting School Sexually Exploited Them — In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the women say the school pressured them into uncomfortable activities and promised acting opportunities that did not materialize. — The women came to the acting school with hopes of developing their skills …

Discussion: NPR, Variety, Vanity Fair, Page Six, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, IndieWire, Fox News and The FADER

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: NBC News, DCist, Vox, Breitbart, HuffPost, Los Angeles Magazine, Mediaite, New York Post, The Wrap, The Daily Beast and Splinter

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: Political Wire

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.

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