memeorandum: Federal court blocks Alabama law that criminalized most abortions (Ronn Blitzer/Fox News)

12:50 PM ET, October 29, 2019

Top Items:

Army Officer Who Heard Trump's Ukraine Call Reported Concerns — The top Ukraine expert at the White House will tell impeachment investigators he twice reported concerns about President Trump's pressure tactics on Ukraine, acting out of a “sense of duty.” — WASHINGTON — A White House …

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Who Is Alexander Vindman? A Ukrainian Refugee Who Will Testify in Impeachment Inquiry — He fled Ukraine at age 3 and became a soldier, scholar and official at the White House. That's where, he plans to tell impeachment investigators, he witnessed alarming behavior by President Trump.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, CNN, Breitbart, Political Wire, The Week, Washington Post, Raw Story, Alternet.org, NBC News, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones and Axios

NBC News:

Internal White House debate stifles release of Pence-Zelenskiy call — Nearly three weeks after the vice president said he had “no objection” to releasing a transcript, administration is divided on whether it could help or hurt Trump's cause. — WASHINGTON — It's been almost three weeks …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Breitbart and Raw Story

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Republicans Smear Army Vet Testifying Against Trump as a Ukrainian Spy — Last night, the New York Times reported that Alexander S. Vindman, the top Ukraine expert in the National Security Council, will testify to the House that he expressed grave concerns about President Trump's politicized extortion of Ukraine's president.

Discussion: CNN, Alternet.org, Shareblue Media, Raw Story and Contemptor

Quint Forgey / Politico:

Trump goes on Twitter tear after White House official condemns his Ukraine call — President Donald Trump launched a sustained online offensive Tuesday morning after details emerged of damaging congressional testimony by a senior White House official — retweeting numerous messages …

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill and Washington Post

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
A new witness is about to damage Trump. Fox News is already smearing him.

Discussion: Alternet.org and The Week

Melanie Zanona / Politico:
'He's a patriot': Republicans defend key impeachment witness from attacks

Discussion: The Hill and Associated Press

Cristina Cabrera / Talking Points Memo:
Cheney Rips ‘Shameful’ Attacks On ‘Patriotism’ Of Impeachment Probe Witnesses

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite and Political Wire

Aaron Blake / Washington Post: The 5 public confirmations of a quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The fundamentally un-American attacks on Alexander Vindman

Discussion: Political Wire, Roll Call, New York Post and The Guardian

Amita Kelly / NPR:
READ: Ukraine Expert Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's Opening Statement

Discussion: Reuters, Patterico's Pontifications, The Resurgent and Daily Kos

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
First on CNN: House committees have asked Mulvaney aide Rob Blair for testimony

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Hill

Jake Sherman / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Democrats think they've found an impeachment hero

Discussion: The Week, Wall Street Journal and ABC News, more at Mediagazer »

Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:
Sean Duffy Goes After Decorated War Vet Alexander Vindman: ‘He Speaks Ukrainian’

Discussion: The Week and Raw Story

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Fox News Panel Speculates That Latest Trump Impeachment Witness Committed Espionage

Discussion: The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Post, CNN, The Week, Contemptor, Mediaite, The Guardian, Axios, New York Post and Eschaton

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
NSC official testifies Trump undermined national security with Ukraine pressure

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, One America News Network, Breitbart, Raw Story, NBC News and Axios

The Daily Beast:

Trump Officials Had No Clue Where He Got ‘Whimpering’ Detail in His Baghdadi Raid Account — Five officials told The Daily Beast that they were perplexed watching Trump's Sunday morning victory lap. And Pentagon officials are confused too. — The killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi marked …

Discussion: New York Times, Breaking News USA, VICE, Just Security and HuffPost

NBC News:

Officials cringe as Trump spills sensitive details of al-Baghdadi raid — Some details the president has revealed are inaccurate, others are classified. Officials say they worry what to put in briefings for a man with no filter. — IRBIL, Iraq — President Donald Trump painted a vivid picture …

Discussion: Townhall, Newsweek, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Sara A. Carter, WORLD and Sputnik International

New York Times:
As Kurds Tracked ISIS Leader, U.S. Withdrawal Threw Raid Into Turmoil

Discussion: The Daily Caller

CNN:

CNN Poll: Sanders and Warren fight for home field in New Hampshire — Washington (CNN)Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (21%) and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (18%) are in a close race among likely voters in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation Democratic presidential primary …

Discussion: Bern Notice

Tyler Pager / Bloomberg:
Joe Biden in Danger of Humiliating Loss in Iowa, Top Democrats Warn

Discussion: The Week and Political Wire

Aaron Thomas / Associated Press: Joe Biden holds campaign rally in Durham

Ben Terris / Washington Post:

Can the Bennet brothers save the Establishment? — Michael is running for president. James is a top editor at the New York Times. Both are struggling to figure out their place in an altered landscape. — For all the scandals, screw-ups and controversial hires, James Bennet's colleagues …

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:

‘OK Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations — Now it's war: Gen Z has finally snapped over climate change and financial inequality. — In a viral audio clip on TikTok, a white-haired man in a baseball cap and polo shirt declares, “The millennials and Generation Z …

The Daily Beast:

Nunes Aide Is Leaking the Ukraine Whistleblower's Name, Sources Say — Derek Harvey, a former intelligence analyst, has also been spreading disinformation about an aide to Adam Schiff. — A top aide to Rep. Devin Nunes has been providing conservative politicians and journalists with information …

Discussion: Daily Kos, emptywheel, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Contemptor and Hullabaloo

Burgess Everett / Politico:

The new Democratic senator irritating the left and delighting the GOP — She rarely goes to party lunches and skipped Senate votes to run the Ironman. She endorsed a primary challenger against one of her own colleagues and hobnobs with Republicans at least as much as she does with her own caucus.

Discussion: The Week

Yahoo News:

‘The Wild West’: Questions surround Trump legal team payments — In 1994, as a slew of scandals were popping up around President Bill Clinton, an attorney who worked with his defense team visited the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in Washington to ask a simple question in person …

Bloomberg:

Biggest Private Coal Miner Goes Bust After Trump Rescue Fails — Coal baron Murray pressed Trump to help save dying industry — Collapse underscores rise of cheap natural gas, renewals — Robert E. Murray, the U.S. coal baron who pressed the Trump administration …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:
Murray Energy Files for Bankruptcy, Casualty of Coal's Decline

Discussion: Shareblue Media and The Week

MSNBC:

‘Quid pro quo’ bombshell: Trump ally admits explosive bribe allegation — Trump's “no quid pro quo” defense is undercut by new impeachment evidence. The Wall Street journal reporting Trump loyalist, Gordon Sondland, who denied quid pro quo, is now admitting it to Congress.

Andrew C. McCarthy / The Hill:

House finally will vote on an impeachment inquiry, but who will that help? — Well, it's about time. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reluctantly alerted House Democrats on Monday that a resolution authorizing the impeachment inquiry they have been conducting for weeks will be introduced this week.

Discussion: National Review, NBC News and The Daily Caller

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
What Pelosi is up to with Thursday's impeachment vote

Discussion: Politico, Occupy Democrats and The Resurgent

Mike Allen / Axios:

Republicans are worried about their worst nightmare: An across-the-board wipeout in 2020 — A growing number of Republicans are privately warning of increasing fears of a total wipeout in 2020: House, Senate, and White House. — Why it matters: All of this is unfolding …

Discussion: NPR, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Political Wire, Associated Press and Politico

Charles Sykes / Politico:

Dear GOP, Some Scary Advice on How to Survive Your Impeachment Nightmare — By now it should have dawned on you that there is no escape. You are going to have to render a verdict not just on Donald's Trump's policies, but on his personal conduct. For just the third time in U.S. history …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Axios and Progress Pond

Renae Merle / Washington Post:

Payday lenders discussed raising money for Trump's campaign to fend off regulation, audio reveals — To ensure Democrats don't block weaker industry rules, payday lenders said they needed access to Trump. He's the ‘ultimate backstop,’ one said. — Billing himself as one of President …

Discussion: Raw Story and Alternet.org

James Hohmann / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: New poll shows why Trump's defenders are more focused on impeachment process than substance — THE BIG IDEA: Most polls have asked Americans in specific terms what they think of President Trump requesting that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky order an investigation into Joe Biden's son.

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

I'm Canceling the 2020 Resurgent Gathering and You Should Know Why — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee speaks with Erick Erickson at the 2019 Resurgent Gathering — Yesterday was the deadline for us to sign our contract with the hotel to proceed with next year's Resurgent Gathering in Atlanta.

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Attorneys Assert Immunity From Broad Sweep of Law — Legal filings and lawyers' statements show attempt to put president beyond legal reach while in office — WASHINGTON—Over his nearly three years in office, lawyers representing President Trump have made numerous legal arguments that …

Discussion: Political Wire

John Harwood / CNBC:

Bernie Sanders: 'Let's not make people overly nervous' about socialism — Bernie Sanders, in a wide-ranging chat with CNBC's John Harwood, discusses personal issues, his economic agenda and his hope to become a 21st century version of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Times

USA Today:

Poll: Who's sticking with President Trump, through trouble and tweets? His seemingly unshakable base. — Impeaching a U.S. president might not be the be-all-end-all for their career. We explain why this is the case. — CONNECT — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — WASHINGTON - Even as support …

Discussion: Breitbart and Political Wire

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:

Federal court blocks Alabama law that criminalized most abortions — A federal judge issued a ruling Tuesday blocking an Alabama law that would make abortion a felony in nearly all situations, regardless of the stage of the pregnancy. — U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson granted a motion …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and The Week

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:

Centrist Democrats Have a New Idea to Win Reelection: Ignore Labor and Give Trump a Major Trade Deal — Rep. Cheri Bustos, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is advocating internally for Democrats to wave through the House President Donald Trump's renegotiated NAFTA …

Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:

Judge reopens Covington Catholic teen's $250 million lawsuit against Washington Post — A federal judge in Kentucky has reopened the $250 million defamation case filed by a Covington Catholic student against the Washington Post after dismissing it in July, allowing the lawsuit to proceed but narrowing its focus.