memeorandum: Senators launch bipartisan climate change initiative (Julie Tsirkin/NBC News)

10:15 AM ET, October 23, 2019

Top Items:

Opening statement of Ambassador William B. Taylor — William B. Taylor, the senior U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testified before impeachment investigators Tuesday. Read the story here. — Don't see the document? Click here to download the pdf.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Esquire, Hullabaloo, CBS News, NPR, Crooked Media, The Week, twitchy.com, Slate, The Atlantic, POLITICUSUSA, Florida Politics, Occupy Democrats, Mediaite and Roll Call

Peter Baker / New York Times:

An Envoy's Damning Account of Trump's Ukraine Pressure and Its Consequences — William B. Taylor Jr. laid out in visceral terms the potentially life-or-death stakes of what he saw as an illegitimate scheme to pressure Kiev for political help by suspending American security aid.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Washington Post

John Podhoretz / Commentary:

Trump Will Be Impeached — Remember when I said last week that October 17 was the worst day of the Trump presidency? Well, October 22 and has now come along to break the record. This is the day that, I think, has ensured Donald Trump's impeachment. Not his removal. But impeachment will be bad enough.

ABC News:

The Note: GOP weariness grows as Trump defenses give way — The deeper things get and the more likely impeachment is, the more President Donald Trump needs his Republican Party to stay loyal. — That's not lost on the president. But what he may be losing over time is the ability …

Discussion: Politico

Ken Meyer / Mediaite:

Sean Duffy Gets Repeatedly Owned In Bonkers CNN Segment: 'My Nose Isn't a Heat-Seeking Missile for the President's Backside' — CNN's New Day hosted a duel between Republicans on Wednesday morning as former congressmen Sean Duffy and Charlie Dent squared off on whether Bill Taylor …

Washington Post:
Here's the quid pro quo proof, Lindsey Graham

Discussion: Raw Story and The Guardian

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
How much more of Donald Trump can Republicans possibly take?

Discussion: Political Wire, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and twitchy.com

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
New testimony undercuts Trump's claim of no quid pro quo on Ukraine. How will Washington respond?

Discussion: New York Times

Michael Warren / CNN:
5 explosive lines from Bill Taylor's statement

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Power Line, RedState and Law & Crime

Washington Post:
‘Alarming circumstances’: A distressed diplomat tells a tale of venal intrigue

Discussion: Reason and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Trump made Ukraine aid contingent on public pledge to investigate Bidens and 2016 election, U.S. envoy says he was told

New York Times:
Ukraine Envoy Testifies Trump Linked Military Aid to Investigations

Discussion: Politico, The Week, Axios, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Vox, The American Conservative, Raw Story, The Mahablog, Breitbart, Mediaite, Law & Crime and Mother Jones

The Daily Beast:

Trump Whines That Senate Republicans Are Failing Him on Impeachment and Not Owning Nearly Enough Libs — The president and his advisers want Republicans in the Senate to stage their own hearings to counteract what's happening in the House. — President Trump, his advisers …

Discussion: The Hill, UPI, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite and Contemptor

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner: GOP senators warn Trump he risks political harm from impeachment with chaotic approach

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Will Trump shut down the government to fight impeachment?

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, MSNBC and FiveThirtyEight

Maggie Miller / The Hill:
Senate Republicans block two election security bills

Discussion: Politico

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Steve Bannon launches radio show and podcast on impeachment

Discussion: Washington Post

CNN:

CNN Poll: Biden's lead in Democratic primary hits widest margin since April — WASHINGTON (CNN)Former Vice President Joe Biden's lead in the race for the Democratic nomination for president has rebounded, and now stands at its widest margin since April, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Breitbart, New York Post, The Hill, Washington Times, The Week, Political Wire and Mediaite

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
How Centrist Democrats Botched the 2020 Primary

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Fox News, Washington Post, CNN, The Hill, The Week, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

QU Poll:

Release Detail — October 23, 2019 - Approval Of Impeachment Inquiry Reaches 55 Percent, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Disapprove Of Trump's Decision On Syria 2-1 — Approval among American voters of the U.S. House impeachment inquiry, an inquiry to determine whether …

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg, Daily Kos, The Hill, Washington Times, The Week and Political Wire

The Harvard Crimson:

A Note To Readers — To our readers: — Last month, The Crimson covered a rally organized by campus group Act on a Dream that called for the abolition of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During the course of our reporting, Crimson reporters requested comment from ICE …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill and Washington Times

Ruoqi Zhang / The Harvard Crimson:
Harvard Student Groups Condemn The Crimson's Coverage of Abolish ICE Rally

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Reason and Althouse

BuzzFeed News:

Federal Investigators Are Probing Suspicious Financial Transactions By Two Giuliani Associates Who Ran A Back-Channel Campaign — A federal grand jury investigating activities surrounding Rudy Giuliani's back-channel campaign in Ukraine has demanded legal documents that include records …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Prosecutors flagged possible ties between Ukrainian gas tycoon and Giuliani associates

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Week and Raw Story

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair: “MICHAEL COHEN IS NOW EVEN MORE VALUABLE THAN BEFORE”: THE PRESIDENT'S FORMER ATTORNEY OFFERS DIRT …

Heather Caygle / Politico:

Pelosi and McConnell are on an impeachment collision course — Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell are attacking each other in increasingly pointed terms as House Democrats burrow deeper into their impeachment inquiry. — But if the top two congressional leaders can't find a way to come together soon …

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Trump's worst week ever — DRIVING THE DAY — THIS IS QUICKLY SHAPING UP to be the worst week of President DONALD TRUMP'S presidency: — 1) BILL TAYLOR, the acting ambassador to Ukraine, provided close to unassailable evidence that TRUMP was directly seeking …

Discussion: Associated Press and New York Times

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Former Acting Attorney General: ‘Abuse of Power Is Not a Crime’ — Matthew Whitaker also blasted the “global elitists and careerists” who are upset with Trump for “upsetting the apple cart” of the “world establishment.” — Following Tuesday's devastating House testimony by acting U.S. Ambassador …

Discussion: The Week

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Dick's Sporting Goods CEO quietly tests presidential bid — Ed Stack, the CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods and a longtime Republican donor, is testing the waters for a possible third-party presidential bid that could scramble the dynamics of the 2020 general election.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Political Wire, Forbes, Breitbart and Press & Sun-Bulletin

Tim Skubick / WLNS-TV:

Poll shows U.S. Senate race a toss-up — 6 News is releasing some exclusive statewide polling data tonight confirming that the race for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats is a dead heat. — That's bad news for the Democrats and good news for the Republicans.

Erica Werner / Washington Post:

Trump administration sought billions of dollars in cuts to programs aimed at fighting corruption in Ukraine and abroad — Democrats have slammed White House insistence that Trump was focused on corruption - not Bidens - when he blocked Ukraine aid funds — The Trump administration …

CNN:

Joe Biden said in 1998 that Clinton impeachment could be seen as ‘partisan lynching’ — McCarthy breaks with Trump over ‘lynching’ comment — (CNN)Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday denounced President Donald Trump's comparison of the ongoing impeachment inquiry to a …

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, IJR, twitchy.com, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, The Hill, Axios, Mediaite, Breitbart, Politico, Townhall, Roll Call, KTLA, Talking Points Memo and CNBC

Bonchie / RedState:
Apparently Every Democrat In Existence Used the Term “Lynching” To Defend The Clintons

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post, Vox, USA Today, PJ Media Home and Instapundit

Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump's ‘Lynching’ — The President keeps asking friends to defend the indefensible. — By The Editorial Board — Donald Trump made himself a political celebrity in 2016 by persuading news media to talk about—Donald Trump. He did it mainly by the expedient of saying outrageous things …

Washington Post:

How a Beltway power couple and a political newcomer learned to thrive in the Trump era — When Brad Parscale was looking for advice about how to navigate Washington after running the digital strategy for Donald Trump's upstart presidential campaign in 2016, the brash political newcomer turned to a Beltway power couple.

Rachel Holliday Smith / The City:

How Manhattan's City Bakery Crumbled, Under Weight of Debts — Walking into City Bakery on West 18th Street in Manhattan, it was hard to imagine the popular eatery with the best hot chocolate in New York and a famous pretzel croissant could ever crumble. — The roomy, bustling cafe brimmed …

Matt Donnelly / Variety:

Katie Couric Steamrolls Sheryl Sandberg in Roving Vanity Fair Summit Interview — Sending a jolt through a luxurious and excessively polite afternoon in Beverly Hills, veteran journalist Katie Couric delivered a relentless series of hardball questions to Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on Tuesday.

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:

As a Centrist Path Opens, Pete Buttigieg Moves Toward It — Mr. Buttigieg began his campaign in obscurity, staking out progressive positions. As his standing rises, he has moved toward the center, hoping to draw support away from Joe Biden. — PHILADELPHIA — In February, Pete Buttigieg …

Ben White / Politico:

Corporate America fears Warren is unstoppable — Democratic-leaning executives on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley and across the corporate world are watching Elizabeth Warren's rise to frontrunner status in the Democratic primary with an increasing sense of existential panic.

Discussion: CleanTechnica

Joshua Partlow / Washington Post:

Trump's D.C. hotel abruptly cancels Christian aid group's Kurdish solidarity event — A Christian aid group that planned a gathering to honor and pray for the Kurdish people at President Trump's hotel in Washington were told by hotel staff this week that the event was canceled, according to two members of the aid group.

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

Molly Jong-Fast / The Bulwark:

Jacob and Jack and Milo and Me — An afternoon with the doctors of chaos and their latest bombshell revelations. — I don't think I met Nancy Pelosi's drug dealer on Tuesday when I was hanging out with Jacob Wohl. But I'm not entirely sure. — *Record scratch* — *Freeze frame*

Matt Pearce / Los Angeles Times:

As Trump seeks reelection, a growing army of immigrant voters stands in his path — This is where a nation changes: a public school auditorium that moonlights as a veritable citizenship factory. — At the M.O. Campbell Educational Center, where murals honoring the arts and sciences adorn the walls …

Conrad Black / American Greatness:

Impeachment Will Fail — Two elements of the turbulent current American political scene became clearer over the past week. One is the determination, attested to by almost all Washington insiders whatever side they are on, of the Democratic leadership to force an impeachment trial of the president.