memeorandum: The Ukraine Depositions Have Destroyed Trump's “Corruption” Defense (William Saletan/Slate)

12:40 PM ET, November 9, 2019

Top Items:

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Nunes demands Schiff testify in private as part of House impeachment inquiry — EXCLUSIVE: The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee has formally requested that the panel's chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., testify in a closed-door setting as part of the impeachment inquiry against President Trump.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Week, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, War Room, Townhall and Politico

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Republicans want Hunter Biden, Ukraine whistleblower as impeachment inquiry witnesses — EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans plan to call Hunter Biden, the Ukraine whistleblower and a range of other witnesses to testify in the upcoming public Trump impeachment hearings, according to a witness list obtained exclusively by Fox News.

Discussion: Associated Press, Breitbart, Law & Crime, NBC News, The Hill, Politico and National Review

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Democrats engineer multiple chances to make the case for Trump's impeachment — It's rare in politics to get a second chance, let alone a third, at making a first impression. But that is the opportunity presented to House Democrats in the week ahead, as they take their impeachment inquiry public …

Discussion: Raw Story

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:
House GOP asks for Hunter Biden and whistleblower to testify in impeachment probe

Discussion: Political Wire

Matthew Daly / Associated Press:
Whistleblower disputes boil over in impeachment interview

Discussion: Sara A. Carter and The Hill

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Ukraine expert who listened to Trump's call says ‘there was no doubt’ …

Discussion: The Week, Raw Story, HuffPost, Political Flare, CNN and ABC News

CNN:

We read all 2,677 pages of impeachment inquiry testimony released to date. Here's what's clear. — (CNN)To President Donald Trump, the whole flap with Ukraine is over a “perfect” phone call. — “It's based on a single phone call of congratulations to the President of Ukraine …

Discussion: Washington Post, Occupy Democrats, New York Times and Politico

William Saletan / Slate:

The Ukraine Depositions Have Destroyed Trump's “Corruption” Defense — Republicans say the president wanted to clean up Ukraine. Witness testimony shows he didn't. — According to Republican senators, President Donald Trump had a very good reason to press Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats.

Discussion: Reason

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Mulvaney moves for ruling on House impeachment probe subpoena — Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is asking to join a pending lawsuit aimed at clarifying whether the House of Representatives can require senior advisers to President Donald Trump to testify in the ongoing impeachment probe related to Ukraine.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

New York Times:

Why Pete Buttigieg Annoys His Democratic Rivals — His success, especially in Iowa, has grated on rival campaigns that say his record in government is not commensurate with the attention he's receiving. — WAVERLY, Iowa — Joseph R. Biden Jr. was mingling with a handful of mayors backstage …

Discussion: Althouse

Tamara Keith / NPR:

The Whistleblower Complaint Has Largely Been Corroborated. Here's How. — When the House impeachment inquiry began more than a month ago, much of the focus was on a complaint from a whistleblower that drew attention to a July 25 phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President …

Joanna Weiss / Politico:

Trump Pokes Fun at Himself. Why Do Only Some People See It? — There's a common conception, among foes of Donald Trump, that the 45th president tweets every day in a kind of fevered state: alone by his bedroom TV set, wrapped in a smoking jacket or maybe a satin Snuggie, typing in fits of narcissism …

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

‘A Warning’ by ‘Anonymous’: 5 Takeaways — The book seems to be the product of a Republican with access to the White House who grew increasingly upset by President Trump. — For President Trump, leaks are maddening and anonymity infuriating. So the release of “A Warning,” the new book by …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and HuffPost

Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine:

This Is No Ordinary Impeachment — This is not just an impeachment. It's the endgame for Trump's relentless assault on the institutions, norms, and practices of America's liberal democracy for the past three years. It's also a deeper reckoning. It's about whether the legitimacy …

South China Morning Post:

Former Chinese trade envoy wants four more years of Trump. Here's why — The US president's daily tweets to 67 million global followers make him ‘easy to read’, said the former trade envoy and point man for China's WTO negotiations Trump is a transparent and realistic negotiator who is concerned …

Steve Calabresi / The Daily Caller:

House Democrats Violate The 6th Amendment By Denying Trump A Public Trial — The nation is transfixed by the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump for purportedly using U.S. military aid to Ukraine to prompt that country to reopen a corruption into former Vice President Joe Biden's son.

Wall Street Journal:

Giuliani Associates Urged Ukraine's Prior President to Open Biden, Election Probes — Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman pushed then-president Poroshenko to announce probes in return for U.S. state visit — Months before President Trump pressed Ukraine's newly installed president to investigate Joe Biden's son …

Discussion: Washington Press, Washington Post, The Guardian, Slate, CANNONFIRE, Law & Crime, CNN, The Hill, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:
Giuliani associates pressed past president of Ukraine to announce Biden investigation in exchange for state visit

Discussion: Raw Story

Sarah Kliff / New York Times:

With Medical Bills Skyrocketing, More Hospitals Are Suing for Payment — WISE, Va. — When a judge hears civil cases at the courthouse in this southwest Virginia town two days a month, many of the lawsuits have a common plaintiff: the local hospital, Ballad Health, suing patients over unpaid medical bills.

New York Times:

How Voters Turned Virginia from Deep Red to Solid Blue — Where Democrats Took Control — Democrats have gained about 20 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2015, especially in Northern Virginia and the Richmond area. — Republican win or lead Democratic win or lead — Northern Virginia

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
What Democrats Should Do Now That They Have Turned Virginia Blue

Discussion: Slate

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Manafort's former son-in-law gets 9 years for array of scams — Paul Manafort's former son-in-law was sentenced to more than nine years in prison Friday for a wide-ranging series of fraud schemes the court said bilked victims out of more than $6 million. — As U.S. District Judge Andre …

Discussion: Political Wire

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

Facebook Takes Down Breitbart Posts That Claimed to Name Whistle-Blower — Facebook has taken down articles posted by the far-right site Breitbart that purported to identify the whistle-blower who triggered the impeachment inquiry of President Trump, just two weeks after including the site …

more at Mediagazer »

Jeffery Martin / Newsweek:

Parents of teenager killed by U.S. diplomat's wife say Donald Trump offered to have the Treasury write them a check — While meeting with President Donald Trump, the parents of a British teenager who was killed in a traffic collision with the wife of a U.S. diplomat were offered money …

Discussion: HuffPost

Orion Rummler / Axios:

Trump intends to take tax return fight to Supreme Court — President Trump's lawyers intend to petition the U.S. Supreme Court by Nov. 14 to review a lower court ruling requiring the president to turn over eight years of his tax returns to a state grand jury, according to a letter written Friday.

Discussion: Bloomberg and One America News Network

Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
Trump to Appeal Ruling on Vance Subpoena to Supreme Court

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Roman Polanski Accused of 1975 Rape — A French photographer said the director hit her and assaulted her when she was 18. She is the sixth woman to publicly accuse him of sexual abuse. — PARIS — A French photographer has accused the director Roman Polanski of violently raping her in 1975 …

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

The United States is being run by a toddler — Most Americans don't care what Lutsenko said to Giuliani about Yovanovitch. And we rarely take interest in Kiev if it isn't preceded by “chicken.” — But if you take away the names and the Ukraine intrigue, what you're left with from the thousands …

Discussion: National Review

Washington Post:

Democrats debate presidential field on news of Michael Bloomberg's potential candidacy — Even for a party accustomed to an anxious donor and political class — a group of second-guessers that Obama adviser David Plouffe famously called the “bed wetters” — billionaire Michael Bloomberg's likely entry …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times and The Boston Globe

New York Times:

As Campaign Season Heats Up, Trump Has Turned the Official Into the Political — Previous presidents made an effort to make a distinction between the two and had their campaigns, not taxpayers, foot the bill for political events. — WASHINGTON — President Trump traveled on Air Force …

Anders Hagstrom / The Daily Caller:

Whistleblower Lawyer Claimed To Have Gotten Security Clearance For ‘Guys Who Had Child Porn Issues’ — Lawyer Mark Zaid, who is representing the whistleblower who submitted a complaint against President Donald Trump, claimed in 2018 to have gotten security clearances for men who “had child porn issues.”

Discussion: Big League Politics and The Gateway Pundit