Sondland Kept Pompeo Informed on Ukraine Pressure Campaign  —  The diplomat at the center of the impeachment inquiry looped in the secretary of state at key moments as American officials pushed for investigations sought by President Trump.  —  WASHINGTON — Gordon D. Sondland …

The Spectacular Failure of the Trump Wranglers  —  Kurt Volker and many others tried to manage the President.  Impeachment is the result.  —  On Tuesday, nearly seven hours into the marathon third day of public impeachment hearings, Kurt Volker tried to explain to the House Intelligence Committee …

POLITICO Playbook: Impeachment's trench warfare  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  LET'S STEP BACK FOR ONE SECOND AND TAKE STOCK OF WHERE WE ARE ...  — IMPEACHMENT HASN'T WON ANY CONVERTS ... Despite hours and hours of testimony, reams of coverage and enough background briefings to make your eyes bleed, nobody is changing any votes here.

As President, Pete Buttigieg Wants to Give 25 Percent of Federal Contracts to Minorities.  As Mayor, He Gave 3 Percent.  —  One of the main tenets of Pete Buttigieg's plan to address racial inequality if he becomes president is a proposal to increase the number of federal contracting dollars …

Obama's aides left notes in White House offices for Donald Trump's staff reading ‘You will fail’ and 'You're not going to make it', says press secretary Stephanie Grisham  — White House press secretary says Obama aides left mean notes behind when they departed the West Wing on January 20, 2017

FBI seeks interview with CIA whistleblower  —  WASHINGTON — The FBI recently sought to question the CIA whistleblower who filed a complaint over President Trump's July 25 Ukraine call — a move that came after a vigorous internal debate within the bureau over how to respond to some of the issues raised …

Navy Wants to Eject From SEALs a Sailor Cleared by Trump, Officials Say  —  Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher is expected to be formally notified of the action on Wednesday.  —  The Navy SEAL at the center of a high-profile war crimes case has been ordered to appear before Navy leaders Wednesday morning …

Nikki Haley Used System for Unclassified Material to Send ‘Confidential’ Information  —  Newly released emails suggest that in 2017 the then-ambassador lost her password for classified communication and so used a different system.  —  North Korea had just tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable …

A White House Now ‘Cannibalizing Itself’  —  “On July 25th, along with several of my colleagues, I listened to a call between President Trump and President Zelensky, the content of which has since been publicly reported.  I found the July 25th phone call unusual because in contrast …

Ukrainian gas executive cooperating in US probe of Giuliani  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are planning to interview an executive with Ukraine's state-owned gas company as part of an ongoing probe into the business dealings of Rudy Giuliani and two of his Soviet-born business associates.

An Interview With the Woman Who Strongly Needed Her Coffee During a Live Impeachment Hearing  —  Tuesday's award for the most amusing diversion from the minutia of the impeachment hearings goes to McClatchy congressional reporter Emma Dumain, who went minorly viral for chugging coffee …

ANALYSIS: What if Trump was right about Ukraine?  —  One of the most important issues in President Trump's impeachment defense is also one of the least explored: To what degree were Trump's concerns about Ukraine valid?  It's well documented that the president fixated on Ukrainian activity …

Senate passes bill in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters  —  The Senate today unanimously passed legislation in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters by empowering the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Hong Kong or Chinese officials who take actions that violate human rights.

Julia Roberts was suggested to play Harriet Tubman by studio exec, says Harriet screenwriter  —  “When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn't be Harriet, the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago.  No one is going to know the difference.’”  —  FB  —  TYPE

Mike Pompeo Is Searching for a Safe Exit from State Ahead of Senate Run, GOP Sources Say  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told three prominent Republicans in recent weeks that he plans to resign from the Trump Administration to run for the U.S. Senate from Kansas in next year's elections.

Nancy Pelosi Is Already Attacking the Legitimacy of the 2020 Election  —  Democrats are unable to accept the fact that a bunch of voters will simply disagree with them.  —  ancy Pelosi just stated that 'it is dangerous to let the voters decide Trump's fate.' @FoxNews In other words …