memeorandum: Highlights of Taylor-Kent Hearing and Connections to Other Witnesses (Just Security)

6:25 AM ET, November 14, 2019

Top Items:

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

Ambassador's cellphone call to Trump from Kyiv restaurant was a stunning breach of security, former officials say — A U.S. ambassador's cellphone call to President Trump from a restaurant in the capital of Ukraine last summer was a stunning breach of security, exposing the conversation …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, The Week and POLITICUSUSA

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Crazy for Trump: On the G.O.P. Plan to Keep Impeachment Partisan — The hearings open with diplomatic gravitas—and nutty conspiracy theories. — It didn't take long for the crazy to start. Even before the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings of Donald Trump had been sworn …

Just Security:

Highlights of Taylor-Kent Hearing and Connections to Other Witnesses — House Democrats kicked off public impeachment hearings on Wednesday with the testimony of Bill Taylor, the current top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, the current deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department.

Discussion: Washington Post and CNN

Andrew McCarthy / New York Post:

Dems trot out new charge as initial focus of impeachment hearings falls flat — Wednesday's first impeachment hearings showed Democrats have shifted the focus to bribery. There is a strategy here. — Most of the debate over President Trump's dealings with the Ukrainian government …

Discussion: Geller Report News

Vanessa Friedman / New York Times:

George Kent and the Bow Tie of History — As the impeachment hearings began, the first witness made an unexpected fashion statement — and everyone noticed. — Amid all the debate and various through-the-mirror interpretations of Day 1 of the public impeachment inquiry, all the grandstanding …

Discussion: PolitiFact, Vox and The Daily Beast

Reuters:

Consequential, but dull: Trump impeachment hearings begin without a bang — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers tried their hand at reality television with mixed results on Wednesday as they presented arguments to the American public for the impeachment of a former star of the genre, Donald Trump.

Discussion: Mediaite

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Diplomats who look and sound the part provide vivid testimony about Trump and Ukraine

Discussion: Washington Blade

Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Schiff cuts off GOP congresswoman who brings up his ‘parody’ of Trump-Zelensky call

Discussion: Associated Press

Washington Post: George Kent, top State Department Ukraine expert, helps Democrats debunk GOP theories

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
5 things we learned from George Kent and Bill Taylor's impeachment testimony

Discussion: Breitbart, Associated Press, Mother Jones and Taylor Marsh

Associated Press:
Trump impeachment inquiry spurs shadow disinformation war

Discussion: Florida Politics, Associated Press and The Week

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
At hearing, Republicans carry forward Trump's effort to make lies into truths

Discussion: Raw Story and CNN

Lauren Egan / NBC News:
President Trump calls public impeachment testimony a ‘joke’

Discussion: MSNBC, Washington Post, Politico and Talking Points Memo

CBS News:
Official who heard Trump ask about Ukraine “investigations” set to appear before committees

Discussion: Foreign Policy, The Federalist, CBS Chicago, Lawfare and TVNewser

Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump denies discussing Ukraine investigations with Sondland in July phone call

Discussion: Political Wire

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The GOP Ukraine defense asks us to believe Trump cared deeply about things he rarely discussed

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, New York Post and Raw Story

Ann Marimow / Washington Post:

Congress can seek eight years of Trump's tax records, appeals court rules — Congress can seek eight years of President Trump's tax records, according to a federal appeals court order Wednesday that moves the separation-of-powers conflict one step closer to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: HuffPost, Axios and Political Wire

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Court Rejects Trump's Appeal in Fight to Keep Financial Records From Congress — The decision almost certainly paves the way for a major Supreme Court case over President Trump's stonewalling of congressional oversight efforts. — WASHINGTON — A full federal appeals court on Wednesday …

Discussion: The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Robin Givhan / Washington Post:

For dignity's sake, Jim Jordan, put on a jacket — Of course Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) took his seat Wednesday morning, at the opening of the public impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill, wearing nothing but his shirtsleeves. No suit jacket. That's how Jordan dresses. It's his power move.

Ben Jacobs / New York Magazine:

The Impeachment Hearings Get Off to a Subdued Start — “It's not as outlandish as it could be.” Ambassador Bill Taylor's description of the Trump administration's backchannels to the Ukraine could have just as easily applied to the first day of the impeachment hearings itself.

Renato Mariotti / Politico:
Impeachment Is Not a Fair Fight, and on Day One It Showed

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Hill and ABC News

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Plenty of substance but little drama on first day of impeachment hearings

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Slate

ABC News:
Testimony at 1st impeachment hearing: Trump asked about Ukraine ‘investigations’

Discussion: The Hill, The Week, Politico, Washington Post, Political Flare, The Daily Beast, Redstate, CBS News, Breitbart, Mother Jones and The Permanent Select Committee …

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Elizabeth Warren buys CNBC commercial time to blast billionaires in a fiery new campaign ad — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is firing back against a group of billionaires who have criticized her plans with a new TV ad set to air on CNBC later this week. — The ad takes aim at longtime investor …

Discussion: New York Times, HuffPost, The Hill, TheStreet, The Week, Twitchy, Raw Story and Mediaite

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

A New Candidate for Obama's Rightful Heir — Joe Biden rarely goes anywhere without mentioning “my friend Barack.” Pete Buttigieg has a line in his stump speech about how he first went to Iowa to campaign for another “young man with a funny name.” Even though Barack Obama will not endorse …

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Deval Patrick Will Enter 2020 Presidential Race on Thursday

Discussion: National Review, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, Axios and HuffPost

CBS News:
Deval Patrick expected to announce he is running for president

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight

Washington Post:

Republicans discuss a longer Senate impeachment trial to scramble Democratic primaries — Some Republican senators and their advisers are privately discussing whether to pressure GOP leaders to stage a lengthy impeachment trial beginning in January to scramble the Democratic presidential race …

Discussion: The Week and Breitbart

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
McConnell suggests he will not cut short impeachment trial

Discussion: The Last Refuge, New York Times and The Hill

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senator: Republicans don't have votes to dismiss impeachment articles

Discussion: FOX News Radio, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo and National Review

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Plurality in battleground states support Trump's impeachment: poll — A plurality of voters in key battleground states support impeaching and removing President Trump from office, according to new data from Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC. — Priorities USA surveyed 2,500 voters in Florida …

New York Times:
Manafort's 2016 Gambit: A Back Channel From Trump Camp to Labor

Discussion: The Hill

New York Times:

He Invited Donald Trump Jr. to Campus. Now He's Facing Impeachment. — The student body president of the University of Florida is under fire for using student fees to host one of President Trump's sons. — A sitting president is facing impeachment, accused of collusion and abusing his power.

Discussion: NBC News, Fox News, The Independent Florida … and The Gateway Pundit

The Daily Beast:

Probe: State Department Punished Staffer Over Iranian Heritage, Politics — That's the conclusion of the much-delayed Office of the Inspector General's inquiry into claims of political retaliation against State Department officials. — A long-awaited State Department watchdog report …

Discussion: The Cut and Politico

Nahal Toosi / Politico: Trump aides retaliated against State staffer of Iranian descent, probe finds

Ben Collins / NBC News:

Democrats call for Stephen Miller to resign after leak of xenophobic emails — The Southern Poverty Law Center released a cache of hundreds of emails Tuesday leaked by a former Breitbart writer who corresponded with Miller between 2015 and 2016. — Several prominent Democrats have called …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Axios, Vox, The Hill and WCCO | CBS Minnesota

Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Report Details How Stephen Miller Shared Theories Favored by White Nationalists

Discussion: The Week, The Guardian, Daily Kos and Washington Post

utahpolicy.com:

Jon Huntsman will announce his entry into the 2020 Utah governor's race on Thursday — Former Utah GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman is set to formally announce Thursday he's running for governor next year, UtahPolicy.com learned Wednesday night. — Huntsman, 59, will make a swing through Southern Utah …

Discussion: Deseret News and The Hill

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Graham blocks resolution recognizing Armenian genocide after Erdoğan meeting — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blocked a resolution on Wednesday that would have formally recognized the Ottoman Empire's genocide against the Armenian people. — Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) …

Discussion: Fox News, Axios, NBC News and One America News Network

BuzzFeed News:

An Italian Newspaper Has Published An Audio Recording From Someone Claiming To Be Joseph Mifsud — An Italian newspaper has received an audio recording from someone who claims to be Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese professor who allegedly delivered word of Hillary Clinton's stolen emails to Donald Trump's campaign.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Fox News and Politico