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Sep252019

The Commentariat -- September 26, 2019

"Treason, Bribery, or Other High Crimes," Ctd.

A Portrait of Perps. These are some of the known high-profile perps. New York artwork.

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Basically, that person never saw the report, never saw the call, he never saw the call -- heard something and decided that he or she, or whoever the hell they saw -- they're almost a spy. I want to know who's the person, who's the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that's close to a spy. You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now. -- Donald Trump, to staffers at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. (link is to a Guardian liveblog @13:40) ~~~

~~~ Trump Tells Diplomats Whistleblowers Should Be Shot. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump on Thursday morning told a crowd of staff from the United States Mission to the United Nations that he wants to know who provided information to a whistle-blower about his phone call with the president of Ukraine, saying that whoever did so was 'close to a spy' and that 'in the old days,' spies were dealt with differently. The remark stunned people in the audience, according to a person briefed on what took place, who had notes of what the president said. Mr. Trump made the statement ... at the event intended to honor the United States Mission. At the outset, he condemned the former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s role in Ukraine at a time when his son Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. Mr. Trump repeatedly referred to the whistle-blower and condemned the news media reporting on the complaint as 'crooked.'... The event was closed to reporters, and during his remarks, the president called the news media 'scum.'..."

Zachary Cohen of CNN: "The acting US spy chief broke with ... Donald Trump and some Republicans who've criticized and questioned the motives of an intelligence community whistleblower who filed a complaint against the President, when Joseph Maguire said Thursday that he believed the 'whistleblower did the right thing' and 'followed the law every step of the way.' Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, also acknowledged at a public hearing before the House Intelligence Committee that his office consulted with White House counsel after receiving a complaint detailing allegations about Trump's communications with Ukraine, because calls with foreign leaders usually fall under executive privilege. Maguire repeatedly defended his handling of the complaint, telling lawmakers he followed the law in an 'unprecedented' situation despite claims to the contrary by Democrats that he infringed on their right to review the allegations."

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times is liveblogging impeachment updates. Here are portions of a few entries: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday accused the White House of engaging in 'a cover-up' of the Ukraine affair, citing a whistle-blower complaint that said Trump administration officials worked to 'lock down' all records of a call between President Trump and Ukraine's president.... The use of the word cover-up seemed designed to hark back to the era of Richard Nixon, who resigned rather than face impeachment." AND "Joseph Maguire, the intelligence chief at the center of the fight over a whistle-blower complaint about President Trump's dealings with Ukraine, said the whistle-blower 'acted in good faith' and called the case 'unique and unprecedented.'... He told Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois, that he would not have accepted the post of acting director of national intelligence if he knew of the case."

Oh, Great. Dana Bash, et al., of CNN: "Corey Lewandowski ... has had conversations with White House officials in recent days about potentially taking a position inside the administration to help the President confront a looming impeachment fight. The discussions, including a Thursday afternoon meeting at the White House, reflect the growing recognition among Trump's allies and advisers that he is without a clear strategy for managing the crisis, which exploded in stunning fashion this week. Trump's 2016 campaign manager would be in a crisis management type role, and the idea as it currently stands would be for Lewandowski to assemble a team that mirrors the one that existed in Bill Clinton's White House when he was facing his own impeachment."

Here's a Surprise. Michael Warren of CNN: "Rudy Giuliani tells CNN he has 'no knowledge of any of that crap' in the newly released complaint from an American intelligence community whistleblower. Asked Thursday morning about details from the complaint that multiple US officials were 'deeply concerned' about his activities speaking with Ukrainian officials and nationals, Giuliani called the charge 'total nonsense.' Giuliani spoke to CNN multiple times on Thursday morning from what he said was his room at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC."

Susan Glasser of the New Yorker: "On Wednesday morning, [Donald Trump] released the full White House account of his July 25th phone call with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump, his allies, and his advisers ... insisted [the account] would undercut the impeachment inquiry into the Ukraine matter before it eve started.... Instead, the document released by his own staff added new information to the scandal, revealing that Trump had not only requested an investigation of Biden and his son Hunter but had specifically asked Zelensky to coöperate with his private lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, and the Attorney General, William Barr, on it. The President's language was hardly subtle.... 'I would like you to do us a favor though,' the President said, in a line that seems destined to land in the history books.... Trump added later in the conversation, 'it's very important that you do it.' This was not the exculpatory moment that Trump had claimed it would be. Impeachment may have been an uncertain outcome before 10 A.M. on Wednesday. Afterward, it was a near-certainty.... The next season of the Trump show has begun."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Thursday, days before the deadline to prevent a government shutdown. Senators voted 82-15 on the continuing resolution (CR), which will fund the government through Nov. 21. Lawmakers had until Monday night to prevent the second funding lapse of the year. The measure, which passed the House last week, now heads to President Trump's desk, where White House officials have said they expect him to sign it." ~~~

~~~ Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Thursday to keep the government open through Nov. 21, punting tough decisions over President Trump's border wall and other funding disputes until just before Thanksgiving."

Mike Schneider of the AP: "The gap between the haves and have-nots in the United States grew last year to its highest level in more than 50 years of tracking income inequality, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday. Income inequality in the United States expanded from 2017 to 2018, with several heartland states among the leaders of the increase, even though several wealthy coastal states still had the most inequality overall, according to the figures.... Even though household income increased, it was distributed unevenly, with the wealthiest helped possibly by a tax cut passed by Congress in 2017, said Hector Sandoval, an economist at the University of Florida."

~~~~~~~~~~

** Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "President Trump used the power of his office to try to get Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election to investigate a political rival, according to an explosive whistle-blower complaint released on Thursday after days of damning revelations about Mr. Trump's dealings with Ukraine. Attorney General William P. Barr and the president's personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani were central to the effort, the complaint said[.] In addition, the complaint says that whistle-blower, an unidentified intelligence officer learned from multiple American officials that 'senior White House officials had intervened to "lock down" all records of the phone call, especially the official word-for-word transcript of the call that was produced as is customary by the White House Situation Room,' the complaint said. 'This set of actions underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call.'" Politico's story is here. ~~~

~~~ ** The full complaint released by the House (so not firewalled) is here.

Peter Baker of the New York Times has a pretty good summary of yesterday's developments related to the impeachment inquiry, and he covers some issues & reactions not mentioned in the articles linked below.

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The helter-skelter way the administration handled the aftermath of the whistleblower complaint could be a harbinger of the coming impeachment fight, with the White House scrambling to respond to a mercurial and frustrated president, who is increasingly sidelining his aides and making decisions based on gut instinct."

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The whistleblower complaint focuses largely on the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky..., according to a person who has read the complaint.... But the complaint also broadly alleges an effort by Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to pressure Ukrainian officials over time, not just on the July 25 call, this person said. The whistleblower paints a picture, also using public news reports, to suggest that Giuliani pressured Ukrainian officials to further Trump's interest in investigating his political opponents. The complaint also alleges a pattern of obfuscation at the White House, in which officials moved the records of some of Trump's communications with foreign officials [-- including those related to the July 25 phone call --] onto a separate computer network from where they are normally stored, this person said. The whistleblower alleges that is what officials did with Trump's July 25 call with Zelensky...." This is a significant update of a story linked below.

** The whistleblower complaint has been declassified. I encourage you all to read it. -- Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) in a tweet @ 10:37 pm ET Wednesday

As far as I can tell, the complaint has not been released as of 11:30 pm ET. Update: NBC News said it has been declassified "with minimal redactions" and will be released Thursday morning. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

There's obviously lots that's very troubling there. -- Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), after reviewing the complaint (Sasse's full remarks at the link)

Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "The intelligence officer who filed a whistle-blower complaint about President Trump's interactions with the leader of Ukraine raised alarms not only about what the two men said in a phone call, but also about how the White House handled records of the conversation, according to two people briefed on the complaint. The whistle-blower, moreover, identified multiple White House officials as witnesses to potential presidential misconduct who could corroborate the complaint, the people said -- adding that the inspector general for the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson, interviewed witnesses.... Mr. Atkinson also found reason to believe that the whistle-blower may not support the re-election of Mr. Trump and made clear that the complainant was not in a position to directly listen to the call or see the memo that reconstructed it before it was made public.... The officer heard about the call secondhand from unidentified White House officials who expressed concern that Mr. Trump had 'abused his authority or acted unlawfully in connection with foreign diplomacy.'... [The complaint's] allegations were 'deeply disturbing' and 'very credible,' Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said after emerging from reviewing the complaint." ~~~

~~~ Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) said on MSNBC that the whistleblower's complaint was "explosive." "I was stunned by the breadth of the complaint & the details with which the whistleblower detailed his concerns," she said. This is the first time this inspector general ever found a whistleblower complaint "urgent," she said and described the term "urgent" as being term specified in the Whistleblower Protection Act, but that it also "speaks to the impact on national security & the risk to the United States." She also said that it was likely that "a good portion" of the complaint would be made available to other Congressional members and to the public. She said most of the complaint referred to non-classified matters. ~~~

~~~ Justin Wise of the Hill: "Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that the whisteblower complaint concerning President Trump's interactions with the leader of Ukraine is 'deeply disturbing.' The Illinois congressman made the comments shortly after the House Intelligence Committee reviewed documents from a whistleblower at the center of an escalating controversy within the Trump administration. Appearing on CNN, Quigley said that the complaint was the 'political equivalent' of Trump saying during the 2016 campaign that he could 'shoot somebody on the street and his base would stay with him.' 'I guess what I read to me was the political equivalent of that. Defying the constitution. Committing a criminal act, and thinking I can get away with it,' he said. Quigley noted that the documents were still classified and he could not offer any specific details regarding its contents. But he added that the complaint was 'extraordinarily detailed' and 'very well done.'"

Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "The House overwhelming passed a measure Wednesday demanding the Trump administration provide the whistleblower complaint that has sparked scrutiny of President Trump's interactions with a foreign power. The chamber passed the non-binding resolution in a 421-0 vote, with Republicans joining Democrats to demand the administration hand over the document filed by a member of the U.S. intelligence community. Two lawmakers voted present. The House measure had been amended to mirror the resolution that passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Tuesday. The vote Wednesday evening came as lawmakers began to receive information about the complaint.... Democrats said they are looking to ensure the administration provides Congress with both the unredacted whistleblower complaint and an inspector general report surrounding the complaint."

House Hits the Magic Number. J.M. Reiger, et al., of the Washington Post: "Now, 217 House Democrats and one Independent member say they support at least opening an impeachment inquiry into whether the president committed 'high crimes and misdemeanors.' Of those, 25 have gone a step further and said they support impeaching the president. The ranks of Democrats calling for an impeachment inquiry into President Trump swelled in the past week, culminating on Sept. 24 when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced a formal impeachment inquiry. All impeachment efforts begin in the House, which the Democrats control. If articles of impeachment are reported to the full House, a simple majority (218 of them) must vote to adopt any articles, which would then be sent to the Senate. A two-thirds majority of the Senate would have to vote to convict and remove the president from office." Emphasis added. "The report lists representatives & what measure each supports. ~~~

~~~ Update: NBC News has the number at 220 as of Wednesday at 11:00 pm ET.

Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: "The acting Director of National Intelligence [Joseph Maguire] threatened to resign over concerns that the White House might attempt to force him to stonewall Congress when he testifies Thursday about an explosive whistleblower complaint about the president, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The revelation reflects the extraordinary tensions between the White House and the nation's highest-ranking intelligence official over a matter that has triggered impeachment proceedings against President Trump.... Maguire denied that he had done so.... The White House also disputed the account.... But other officials said that Maguire had pushed the White House to make an explicit legal decision on whether it was going to assert executive privilege over the whistleblower complaint...." TPM has a related story here.

Mrs. McCrabbie: If I looked for it, I could find a regular news report on Trump's bizarre low-energy press availability. But Charles Pierce's observations seem more accurate than any dry account might be: ~~~

~~~ Charles Pierce: "The president* closed his busy news day with a press availability at the United Nations.... He was just as dishonest and calumnizing as he usually is, but he did it with an affect, and in a voice, that made him look as though he were a basset hound on Quaaludes. Almost without looking up, he lugubriously tossed Mike Pence under the bus by telling congressional Democrats (and the press) to 'look at Mike Pence's phone calls.' Which, I assume, will now happen.... But, to me, the moment of all moments came when we had what the indefatigable Daniel Dale of CNN calls a 'Sir Story,' one of those fables in which a man — and it's almost always a 'big, tough man' -- comes up to him with tears in his eyes and thanks him just for being president*.... 'So many leaders came up to me today and they said, "Sir, what you go through, no president has ever gone through. And it's so bad for your country."' Nothing remotely like this, of course, ever happened. Think about that long enough, and it stops being funny."

When Trump Met Zelensky

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump on Wednesday adamantly denied that he pressured Ukraine to investigate one of his leading Democratic rivals despite the newly released record of a call in which he asked the country's president to look into Democrats as 'a favor' to him. Mr. Trump received some backing from the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who by chance met with Mr. Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at the same time the House was gearing up for impeachment proceedings stemming from the interaction between the two leaders. Sitting side by side with Mr. Trump in their first face-to-face meeting, Mr. Zelensky told reporters that he wanted to stay out of United States politics but provided a benign interpretation of the July 25 call in which Mr. Trump asked him to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and any Ukrainian ties to Democrats during the 2016 campaign." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Donald Trump -- Russia's Ambassador to Ukraine. Scott Bixby of the Daily Beast: "... in his first in-person appearance with the leader he allegedly pressured to investigate his political rivals, Trump appeared ... interested in matching Zelensky up with another unlikely ally: Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'I really hope that Russia -- because I really believe that President Putin would like to do something -- I really hope that you and President Putin can get together and solve your problem'" Trump said at the United Nations on Wednesday, as Zelensky sat stone-faced. 'That would be a tremendous achievement, and I know that you're trying to do that.'... The prospect of such a friendship is, in a word, unlikely. Ukraine and the Russian Federation have been engaged in a slow-motion war since Putin's invasion and subsequent occupation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014, which has resulted in the displacement of 1.5 million Ukrainians and thousands of deaths. Speaking at the United Nations, Trump said that while he thought that Ukraine should possess Crimea, he blamed the loss of the region on President Barack Obama. 'It's just one of those things,' Trump said of the annexation." ~~~

~~~ Lawrence O'Donnell had a very good discussion with Wendy Sherman & Ben Rhodes on Trump's U.N. meeting with Zelensky & their phone call. Sherman & Rhodes get to the heart of Trump's ludicrous, dangerous Ukraine "policy": ~~~

~~~ ** Patrick Reevell & Lucien Bruggerman of ABC News: "... after weeks of discussions with American officials, Ukrainian officials [in the new Zelensky administration] came to recognize a precondition to any executive correspondence, [an] adviser [to Zelensky] said. 'It was clear that [President] Trump will only have communications if they will discuss the Biden case,' said Serhiy Leshchenko, an anti-corruption advocate and former member of Ukraine's Parliament, who now acts as an adviser to Zelenskiy. 'This issue was raised many times. I know that Ukrainian officials understood.'" ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Leshchenko's assertion is backed up by the memo summarizing the Trump-Zelensky phone call (pdf linked below). When Trump brings up the fake Biden scandal, he never mentions who Biden is or who is son is. One would not expect a non-politician, suddenly thrust into politics in an eastern European country, would know who "Biden" -- a former vice president -- was. While Zelensky responds vaguely, there's no indication in the memo that he asks who Biden is & what the issue is regarding Biden. It's possible the summary memo omits parts of the conversation where Trump IDs Biden or Zelensky asks who he is, but I doubt that.

** "I Would Like You to Do Us a Favor, Though." Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart to work with the U.S. attorney general to investigate the conduct of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and offered to meet with the foreign leader at the White House after he promised to conduct such an inquiry, according to a newly-released transcript of the call.... In late August, intelligence officials referred the matter to the Justice Department as a possible crime, but prosecutors concluded last week that the conduct was not criminal, according to senior Justice Department officials." Mrs. McC: Yeah, I'll bet they did. Bill Barr's dirty fingerprints are all over this. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ ** Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump urged the president of Ukraine to contact Attorney General William P. Barr about opening a potential corruption investigation connected to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., according to a transcript of a July phone call at the center of accusations that Mr. Trump pressured a foreign leader to find dirt on a political rival. 'I would like you to do us a favor,' Mr. Trump said in response to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine raising the prospect of acquiring military equipment from the United States. The president then also asked for another inquiry: that the Ukrainians examine an unsubstantiated theory about stolen Democratic emails." Update: digby republishes some of this report. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Trump pressed the newly elected leader to work with Rudy Giuliani ... and Attorney General William Barr, on an investigation into the former vice president and his son Hunter. 'There is a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution, and a lot of people want to find out about that,' Trump told Zelensky, according to the White House transcript. 'So whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great.'... Trump added later that he would have Barr get in touch with Zelenksy and that 'we will get to the bottom of it.' In a statement Wednesday, the Justice Department said that it was unaware of Trump saying he would involve Barr in the matter until 'several weeks after the call took place,' when it learned of the whistleblower complaint.... Trump does mention numerous times how the U.S. spends "a lot of effort and a lot of time" assisting Ukraine." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The DOJ's claim that Barr had no idea Trump had given him the task to contact Zelensky is not credible. Either the DOJ statement is a lie -- or the Trump White House is unbelievably incompetent. Everyone knows you have to copy principals mentioned in a letter or other communication, unless the boss specifies not to do so. You certainly have to copy someone who has to follow up in some way on the communication.

If this 'transcript' is supposed exoneration of Trump, can't imagine what the inculpatory evidence looks like[.] Bottom of p2 -- Ukraine Pres says Ukraine ready to buy more Javelins (weapons). Very next line: 'I would like you to do a favor THOUGH' & then goes into his Biden request -- Neil Katyal, in a tweet

"Though," in this context, puts conditions on Zelensky's request to acquire more weapons. The conditions: get together with Bill Barr & Rudy Giuliani to "investigate" the DNC break-in (and maybe Hillary Clinton's fake "missing" emails) and Joe & Hunter Biden. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

~~~ Poppy Harlow of CNN: Every American should read this five-page transcript. (This is the White House copy of what is actually a memo, not a verbatim transcript. And there are, um, mysterious elipses, even then.) Mrs. McC: Trump's part of the conversation sounds just like the movie version of mob-speak. He makes an unmistakable ask, and he tells Zelensky why Ukraine has to deliver: "... we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time." Quid Pro Quo. ~~~

~~~ Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: A "Justice Department memo, which was signed by Steven A. Engel, the head of its Office of Legal Counsel..., dated Sept. 24, said in a footnote that [the memcon released Wednesday] was a revision of an original from Sept. 3, and that the department had 'changed the prior version to avoid references to certain details that remain classified.'" (This is a detail from the same report linked above.) ~~~

~~~ Adam Schiff gives a good synopsis of the transcript notes (and he agrees that the notes reflect a "classic mafia-like shakedown of a foreign leader":

~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Schiff [also] noted a glaringly absurd aspect of acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire's decision to withhold the whistleblower complaint from the congressional intelligence committees.... As Schiff pointed out, you would think that securing our elections against outside interference would relate to activity that falls under the supervision of the DNI.... Remember that Trump fired the previous DNI -- Daniel Coats -- who actually did see defending our elections against outside interference as an extraordinarily serious aspect of his mission.... To recap: Trump fired his last DNI, who took defending our political system against outside attack seriously, and replaced him with another 'acting' official -- one who received a whistleblower complaint about exactly this topic, and (at the urging of Trump's Justice Department) worked hard to keep Congress in the dark about it, in potential violation of the law."

Ken Vogel, et al., of the New York Times: "... for President Trump, Ukraine has been an obsession since the 2016 campaign.... Mr. Trump ... [was] angry over what he sees as Ukraine's role in the origins of the investigations into Russian influence on his 2016 campaign.... And Mr. Trump has put the powers of his office behind his agenda: He has dispatched Vice President Mike Pence and top administration officials with thinly veiled messages about heeding his demands about confronting corruption, which Ukrainian and former American officials say is understood as code for the Bidens and Ukrainians who released damaging information about the Trump campaign in 2016.... Within hours of [Volodymyr] Zelensky's victory [on April 21, 2019], Mr. Trump placed a congratulatory call as he was en route from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to Washington. He urged Mr. Zelensky to coordinate with Mr. Giuliani and to pursue investigations of 'corruption,' according to people familiar with the call, the details of which have not previously been reported. Four days after this first call, Mr. Trump said on Sean Hannity's Fox News program that he 'would imagine' that Attorney General William P. Barr would like to review information about Ukraine's actions in the 2016 election. On Wednesday, the Justice Department said that the official named to review the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Trump's campaign, John H. Durham, is looking into the role of Ukraine, among other countries."

Matt Zapotosky & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Justice Department officials took less than a month to abandon an inquiry into President Trump's communications with his Ukrainian counterpart about investigating former vice president Joe Biden -- reigniting concerns among Democrats and legal observers that the law enforcement agency is serving as a shield for the commander in chief.... Department officials and career public integrity prosecutors reviewed a rough transcript of the call and verified its authenticity, but -- because a case was not opened -- took no other steps, such as conducting interviews.... They looked only at whether Trump might have violated campaign finance laws, not federal corruption statutes, even though some legal analysts said there seemed to be evidence of both.... The officials said [Attorney General William] Barr was 'generally knowledgeable' of discussions about the Office of Legal Counsel decision, but was not involved in making the call not to move forward with an investigation. Legal analysts and Democrats said Wednesday that Barr should step aside from the matter entirely.... Richard L. Hasen, a ... professor specializing in election law..., said he thought the Justice Department's determination that Trump's request could not be quantified was 'laughable.' 'You're talking about information on a potential rival that could be used in a presidential campaign ... which likely would run into the billions of dollars,' Hasen said. 'I don't think there's any question that a prosecutor could go forward with the theory.'"~~~

~~~ Katie Benner of the New York Times: reports on the same DOJ cover-up, but her report is less clear. ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "... the revelation that Trump pressed Ukraine's president to work with [Attorney General William] Barr to probe [Joe] Biden is putting a harsh new glare on the attorney general and the Justice Department, as critics questioned whether both have been irreparably tarnished under Trump. With the White House deciding to release notes showing Trump invoked Barr's name at least twice during the pitch to get the Ukrainian leader involved in digging up dirt on Trump's political rival, the Justice Department quickly offered assurances that Barr hadn't been drawn into the effort.... Despite the denial, suspicion of Barr continues to run deep, particularly among Democrats who have accused the attorney general of acting more as an advocate for Trump than for the institutional interests of the Justice Department. 'The President dragged the Attorney General into this mess. At a minimum, AG Barr must recuse himself until we get to the bottom of this matter,' House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said on Twitter." ~~~

~~~ As Rachel Maddow pointed out, two Trump regime officials -- DNI Joseph MaGuire & Inspector General Michael Atkinson -- sent the whistleblower's complaint to Bill Barr's "Justice" Department for review, knowing as they did that Barr himself was "up to his neck" in the scandal itself. Uh, and it somehow got to the White House, too, which -- in collusion with the DOJ -- put the kibosh on sending the complaint to Congress, as required by law. ~~~

~~ AND Ben Wittes said on the teevee that Barr not only should have recused himself; he should have resigned when he found out Trump had implicated him in gross abuse of power with a foreign government. Mrs. McC: Sorry, Ben, the Trump regime is a treasonous mob, & Barr is its consigliere. (P.S. That's pronounced "cone-sill-yair-ay," not "cone-sig-lee-air-ay." ~~~

~~~ All the President*'s Co-conspirators. Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "... an investigation into allegations that Trump pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Joe Biden is hardly the kind of thing to be embraced by the wider world around Trump, a growing list that includes Vice President Mike Pence; some of his most important Cabinet officials such as secretary of state Mike Pompeo, attorney general Bill Barr and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; and his own personal attorney at the center of it all, Rudy Giuliani. They all face a long road ahead with the prospect of hefty legal bills, reputational scars and damaged political prospects hanging over them for years."

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "... at a deeply divisive moment in American politics, [Nancy Pelosi] is confronting the president yet again, by drawing on something Mr. Trump does not have: an intimate knowledge of the intelligence community, gleaned from 10 years on the panel and 15 more as an ex officio member, by dint of her position in leadership.... Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, joined the intelligence panel in 1993, just six years after she won a special election to fill a vacancy.... In 1998, she helped write a law protecting intelligence community whistle-blowers -- the same law that Democrats argue that Mr. Trump is flouting.... Ms. Pelosi's tenure on the panel unfolded in a very different era, when the Intelligence Committee was known for working in a bipartisan way. She was ranking Democrat in 2001, at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks, and was instrumental in creating a joint House-Senate committee to investigate the intelligence failures that led to them. In 2003, when Mr. Bush sought authorization to go to war with Iraq, Ms. Pelosi voted against it, saying repeatedly that she did not believe the intelligence supported Mr. Bush's contention that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: One thing that makes a good negotiator is understanding one's opponent. So ~~~

~~~ Kaitlin Collins & Jim Acosta of CNN: "... Donald Trump was incredulous Tuesday as he sat in Trump Tower and watched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announce she was launching a formal impeachment inquiry against him, sources familiar with the moment say.... Trump said he couldn't believe it, he later told people. He had felt confident after phoning Pelosi earlier that morning.... He figured he could de-escalate tensions by speaking with her directly. It was after that call that Trump made the decision to release an 'unredacted' version of the transcript of his July call -- against the advice of aides such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned him it would set a risky precedent. Trump wanted to undercut the argument from Democrats that he acted inappropriately, he said, and felt he had nothing to hide. But when the announcement he would release the transcript did little to quell the growing calls for his impeachment, Trump was in disbelief." (Also linked yesterday.)

Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Several Senate Republicans were stunned Wednesday and questioned the White House's judgment after it released a rough transcript of President Trump's call with the Ukraine president that showed Trump offering the help of the U.S. attorney general to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. One Senate Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, said the transcript's release was a 'huge mistake' that the GOP now has to confront, even as they argue that House Democrats are overreaching with their impeachment effort.... 'It remains troubling in the extreme. It's deeply troubling,' Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters Wednesday, when asked about the transcript.... But other Senate Republicans, allied with Trump, were dismissive. 'Wow. Impeachment over this?' Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted. 'What a nothing (non-quid pro quo) burger.' While many Republicans continue to dismiss Democrats' impeachment efforts, cracks have begun to emerge privately as GOP lawmakers have discussed Trump's conduct and their party's political standing -- and those fault lines could foreshadow how Senate Republicans ultimately handle a trial, should the House impeach the president, according to several lawmakers and aides." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's not unreasonable to think that Trump has a unique view of transactional discussions. That is, he thinks a quid pro quo is only demonstrated if you say, "I will give you $400 million of American taxpayers' money if your government brings a corruption charge against my chief political rival. If you don't finger him, you get nothing." But since he "coded" the transaction in mafia-speak, Trump thinks the notes of his conversation with Zelensky are "nothing" and their little chat was "perfect."

Jonathan Chait: "The scandal is much more than [a single phone call]. The call is a snapshot, a moment in time in a months-long campaign that put American policy toward Ukraine at the disposal of Trump's personal interests and reelection campaign.... A series of reports have revealed how many other government officials were involved in the scheme. When Trump ordered military aid to Ukraine to be frozen, he went through his chief of staff and budget director Mick Mulvaney.... Lawmakers and State Department staffers were asking why the money hadn't gone through. They were given [a series of] cover stories.... Lots of officials were involved in disseminating these cover stories to hide the fact that Trump held back the aid to leverage Ukraine to investigate Biden. One of them was Mike Pence, [whose comments made clear he knew what was going on].... Ukraine got the message. Its officials 'expressed concern to U.S. senators that the aid had been held up as a penalty for resisting that pressure' to investigate Biden, reports the Wall Street Journal."

In Trump's Defense. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "In the hours after the release Wednesday of the rough transcript of President Trump's July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the White House circulated an email with proposed talking points for Trump's defenders. Unfortunately for the White House, the email was mistakenly sent to not only Republicans but also Democratic lawmakers and their staff.... Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (N.J.), shared the full talking points in a tweet, calling them 'complete Orwellian lies and toxic trash.' 'But maybe you'd like to read them to appreciate their corruption! Hazmat suit possibly required,' he said.... Several Democratic Hill staffers said they had received the talking points as well as a follow-up email recalling the message."The Hill's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: MSNBC ran a mash-up of Republican legislators repeating the talking points nearly word-for-word.

Steve M.: "We live in an era when quite a few people get their news mostly from headlines.... The headlines from the major news outlets [on the Trump-Zelensky call] are unambiguously bad for the president. I can't blame Trump and his team for expecting better press -- at key moments, they've gotten it. They're not getting it now. This time is different."

Conservative Philip Klein in the conservative Washington Examiner: "The release of the transcript of President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not the dud that Trump and his allies have been presenting it to be. It's very bad news for Trump. The defense of Trump is that yes, he may have asked a foreign leader to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, but that there was 'no quid pro quo.' While at no point did Trump explicitly say, 'investigate Biden or else,' Trump does state quite clearly all of the great things that the United States does for Ukraine before transitioning into his asks, among which are that Zelensky investigate Biden. Reading the full transcript, and understanding the broader context, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that Trump was using the power and influence of the U.S. to advance his own political interests rather than the national security interests of the nation." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Conservative David French of the conservative National Review lays out the quid pro quo evident in the Trump-Zelensky phone conversation. "... right near the beginning of the call, President Trump signals his displeasure with Ukraine. He notes that while the United States has been 'very good' to Ukraine, he 'wouldn't say' that Ukraine has been 'reciprocal' to the United States.... It's plain that Trump wants something from Ukraine.... Zelensky responds with the key ask. He wants more Javelin missiles, an indispensable weapon system in Ukraine's conflict with Russia.... The next words out of [Trump's] mouth are, 'I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it.' He raises Crowdstrike, the firm the DNC used to investigate the Russian election hacks. From context, it seems as if Trump is asking for additional assistance in investigating the 2016 election-interference scandals." Trump continues his ask, urging Zelensky to investigate Biden's son & coordinate the "investigation" with U.S. AG Bill Barr. "Zelensky pledges that the new Ukrainian prosecutor will be '100 percent' his person and that 'he or she will look into the situation.'"(Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Note that Trump is still trying to exonerate Russia for its interference in the 2016 presidential election. (Even today at his press conference, Trump mentioned his big Electoral College win.)

Mrs. McCrabbie: Now, I don't recommend this & it's only funny if nobody got hurt. ... BUT ... "A hacker broke into an electronic road sign in Seattle on Wednesday, changing the message to read 'Impeach the Bastard.'"

Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Trump officials will notify California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday that the state is 'failing to meet its obligations' to protect the environment, just days after the president mocked its biggest cities for their 'tremendous pollution.' The unusual move by the Environmental Protection Agency ratchets up the Trump administration's ongoing battle against the nation's largest state, a multi-pronged assault that Newsom has described as 'weaponizing' the federal government. The fight extends from immigration to environmental policy and involves agencies ranging from the Justice Department to the Department of Homeland Security and EPA. In an oversight letter, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler cites multiple instances of California failing to meet federal water-quality standards, attributing this in part to the state's homelessness problem.... In recent weeks, Newsom and other top California officials have denounced Trump for targeting the state on several fronts. In the past month alone, the administration has moved to revoke the state's long-standing right to limit air pollution from cars, began investigating an agreement with four automakers for possible antitrust violations and threatened to withhold federal highway funds if California does not do more to clean up its air." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. See also his comment below. ~~~

~~~ The Hill's story is here.

Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "Under questioning from lawmakers Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration's second-in-command strongly disputed the conclusions of an internal government watchdog that safety inspectors who worked on training requirements for Boeing's 737 Max were underqualified. Deputy FAA Administrator Daniel K. Elwell also rejected the watchdog's finding that his agency had misled Congress over the issue.... Elwell acknowledged there was ambiguity in certain agency training rules that could have been a problem for a different aircraft. But he told members of a House Appropriations subcommittee that making any connection between that problem and the 737 Max was 'simply not accurate.' 'Absolutely no pilots working on the 737 Max certification were unqualified,' Elwell said. 'They were all fully qualified for their activities.'"

Presidential Race 2020

Tulsi Gabbard Should Change Parties. Tess Bonn of the Hill: "Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said Wednesday that the partial transcript of President Trump's call with Ukraine's president released by the Trump administration doesn't show a 'compelling' case for impeachment." Mrs. McC: I'd suggest she primary Trump, but she might beat both him & the eventual Democratic nominee.

Marianne Levine of Politico: "The Senate voted Wednesday for a second time to block ... Donald Trump's emergency declaration, rebuking the president over his attempt to fund a border wall without congressional approval. In a 54-41 vote, the Senate approved a resolution to disapprove of Trump's emergency declaration, including 11 Republicans. The vote comes after the Trump administration announced it would divert $3.6 billion in military construction funding from several states to build his border wall. The president will surely veto the resolution, as he did in March. Under federal law, Democrats may bring up the emergency vote every six months." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Say What? Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been chosen to try to form Israel's next government, the Israeli president's office announced Wednesday, offering the longtime leader a potential political lifeline even as he faces a looming indictment for corruption. President Reuven Rivlin chose Mr. Netanyahu of the conservative Likud party over his chief opponent, Benny Gantz, a former military chief and the leader of the centrist Blue and White party. The Sept. 17 election left the sides essentially tied but Mr. Rivlin said that Mr. Netanyahu's chances of forming a government were greater than Mr. Gantz's 'at the moment.' But Mr. Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge: He has 28 days to assemble a majority of at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Parliament and no clear path to that number. The parties that have endorsed his bid for another term won 55 seats." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Josef Federman of the AP: "President Reuven Rivlin announced his decision late Wednesday after a second meeting aimed at brokering a unity deal between Netanyahu and Gantz ended without an agreement.... Rivlin said his decision was not a solution and that both candidates were responsible for resolving the political impasse." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Jacques Chirac, who molded the legacy of Charles de Gaulle into a personal power base that made him one of the dominant leaders of France across three decades and a vocal advocate of European unity, has died. He was 86.... At his death, he was most remembered for his defiant stand against the United States-led war in Iraq, his ability to preside over a state in which power was divided between the left and the right -- comity that is hardly imaginable today -- and his championing the European Union."

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Tuesday

Sep242019

The Commentariat -- September 25, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Marianne Levine of Politico: "The Senate voted Wednesday for a second time to block ... Donald Trump's emergency declaration, rebuking the president over his attempt to fund a border wall without congressional approval. In a 54-41 vote, the Senate approved a resolution to disapprove of Trump's emergency declaration, including 11 Republicans. The vote come after the Trump administration announced it would divert $3.6 billion in military construction funding from several states to build his border wall. The president will surely veto the resolution, as he did in March. Under federal law, Democrats may bring up the emergency vote every six months."

~~~ Washington Post Liveblog (3:25 pm ET entry): "Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who until now had blocked Congress from seeing the whistleblower complaint that first brought the phone call between Trump and Zelensky to light, will provide that complaint to Congress today by 4 p.m., according to Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.... Nunes made the announcement while speaking on the House floor in defense of Trump."

~~~ Conservative David French of the conservative National Review lays out the quid pro quo evident in the Trump-Zelensky phone conversation. "... right near the beginning of the call, President Trump signals his displeasure with Ukraine. He notes that while the United States has been 'very good' to Ukraine, he 'wouldn’t say' that Ukraine has been 'reciprocal' to the United States.... It's plain that Trump wants something from Ukraine.... Zelensky responds with the key ask. He wants more Javelin missiles, an indispensable weapon system in Ukraine's conflict with Russia.... The next words out of [Trump's] mouth are, 'I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it.' He raises Crowdstrike, the firm the DNC used to investigate the Russian election hacks. From context, it seems as if Trump is asking for additional assistance in investigating the 2016 election-interference scandals." Trump continues his ask, urging Zelensky to investigate Biden's son & coordinate the "investigation" with U.S. AG Bill Barr. "Zelensky pledges that the new Ukrainian prosecutor will be '100 percent' his person and that 'he or she will look into the situation.'"

Say What? Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been chosen to try to form Israel's next government, the Israeli president's office announced Wednesday, offering the longtime leader a potential political lifeline even as he faces a looming indictment for corruption. President Reuven Rivlin chose Mr. Netanyahu of the conservative Likud party over his chief opponent, Benny Gantz, a former military chief and the leader of the centrist Blue and White party. The Sept. 17 election left the sides essentially tied but Mr. Rivlin said that Mr. Netanyahu's chances of forming a government were greater than Mr. Gantz's 'at the moment.' But Mr. Netanyahu faces a stiff challenge: He has 28 days to assemble a majority of at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Parliament and no clear path to that number. The parties that have endorsed his bid for another term won 55 seats." ~~~

** "I Would Like You to Do Us a Favor." Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart to work with the U.S. attorney general to investigate the conduct of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and offered to meet with the foreign leader at the White House after he promised to conduct such an inquiry, according to a newly-released transcript of the call.... In late August, intelligence officials referred the matter to the Justice Department as a possible crime, but prosecutors concluded last week that the conduct was not criminal, according to senior Justice Department officials." Mrs. McC: Yeah, I'll bet they did. Bill Barr's dirty fingerprints are all over this. ~~~

~~~ ** Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: President Trump urged the president of Ukraine to contact Attorney General William P. Barr about opening a potential corruption investigation connected to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., according to a transcript of a July phone call at the center of accusations that Mr. Trump pressured a foreign leader to find dirt on a political rival. 'I would like you to do us a favor,' Mr. Trump said in response to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine raising the prospect of acquiring military equipment from the United States. The president then also asked for another inquiry: that the Ukrainians examine an unsubstantiated theory about stolen Democratic emails." Update: digby republishes some of this report. ~~~

~~~ Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Trump pressed the newly elected leader to work with Rudy Giuliani ... and Attorney General William Barr, on an investigation into the former vice president and his son Hunter. 'There is a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution, and a lot of people want to find out about that,' Trump told Zelensky, according to the White House transcript. 'So whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great.'... Trump added later that he would have Barr get in touch with Zelenksy and that 'we will get to the bottom of it.' In a statement Wednesday, the Justice Department said that it was unaware of Trump saying he would involve Barr in the matter until 'several weeks after the call took place,' when it learned of the whistleblower complaint.... Trump does mention numerous times how the U.S. spends "a lot of effort and a lot of time" assisting Ukraine." ~~~

If this 'transcript' is supposed exoneration of Trump, can't imagine what the inculpatory evidence looks like[.] Bottom of p2 -- Ukraine Pres says Ukraine ready to buy more Javelinsa(weapons). Very next line: 'I would like you to do a favor THOUGH' & then goes into his Biden request -- Neil Katyal, in a tweet

~~~ Adam Schiff gives a good synopsis of the transcript notes (and he agrees that the notes reflect a "classic mafia-like shakedown of a foreign leader":

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: One thing that makes a good negotiator is understanding one's opponent. So ~~~

~~~ Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "Several Senate Republicans were stunned Wednesday and questioned the White House's judgment after it released a rough transcript of President Trump's call with the Ukraine president that showed Trump offering the help of the U.S. attorney general to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. One Senate Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, said the transcript's release was a 'huge mistake' that the GOP now has to confront, even as they argue that House Democrats are overreaching with their impeachment effort.... 'It remains troubling in the extreme. It's deeply troubling,' Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters Wednesday, when asked about the transcript.... But other Senate Republicans, allied with Trump, were dismissive. 'Wow. Impeachment over this?' Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted. 'What a nothing (non-quid pro quo) burger.' While many Republicans continue to dismiss Democrats' impeachment efforts, cracks have begun to emerge privately as GOP lawmakers have discussed Trump's conduct and their party's political standing -- and those fault lines could foreshadow how Senate Republicans ultimately handle a trial, should the House impeach the president, according to several lawmakers and aides." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's not unreasonable to think that Trump has a unique view of transactional discussions. That is, he thinks a quid pro quo is only demonstrated if you say, "I will give you $400 million if your government brings a corruption charge against my chief political rival. If you don't finger him, you get nothing." But since he "coded" the transaction in mafia-speak, Trump thinks the notes of his conversation with Zelensky are "nothing" and their little chat was "perfect."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Treason, Bribery, or Other High Crimes," Ctd.

Fun & Games at the U.N. Today. John Hudson of the Washington Post: "President Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.... The meeting is a high-wire act for both leaders as Zelensky tries to avoid angering the U.S. president or his Democratic opponents while Trump tries to disarm allegations that have generated a formal impeachment inquiry...." The Axios story is here.

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement of an official impeachment inquiry into his conduct.... 'There has been no President in the history of our Country who has been treated so badly as I have. The Democrats are frozen with hatred and fear. They get nothing done,' Trump wrote online. 'This should never be allowed to happen to another President. Witch Hunt!' The morning message followed a string of posts Tuesday night sharing clips of segments by his conservative cable news allies...."

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Tuesday that the House would begin a formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump, opening a fresh chapter of confrontation in response to startling allegations that the president sought to enlist a foreign power for his own political gain. 'The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,' she said after emerging from a meeting of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol. Mr. Trump, she said, 'must be held accountable. No one is above the law.' The announcement was a stunning development that unfolded after months of caution by House Democrats...." (This is an update of a story linked earlier.) The Washington Post story is here. The Guardian story is here." ~~~

~~~ Heidi Przybyla & Adam Edelman of NBC News have a report Pelosi's speech here. The report at the linked page also includes Trump's tweeted responses, which center around "Witch Hunt garbage" and "PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!" At least he reflects how seriously he takes the importance of this Constitutional moment. BTW, Przybyla said on MSNBC that Trump & Pelosi had a phone conversation earlier today, and Trump tried to get Pelosi to "make a deal" with him re: impeachment. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Caves. Nancy Cook of Politico: "The White House is preparing to release to Congress by the end of the week both the whistleblower complaint and the Inspector General report that are at the center of House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, according to a senior administration official, reversing its position after withholding the documents from lawmakers. The move shows the level of seriousness with which the administration is now approaching the House's new impeachment proceedings, even as ... Donald Trump publicly tries to minimize the inquiry as a 'witch hunt' or 'presidential harassment,' or a move that will help him win his 2020 reelection campaign. The administration official stressed the decision and timing could change over the next few days, but as of Tuesday evening the White House was planning to hand over the documents to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The president has agreed to this move, the official added." ~~~

~~~ AND This. Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: "The White House has determined that it will most likely have to allow the whistle-blower who filed an explosive complaint about President Trump to meet with congressional investigators, two people briefed on the matter said Tuesday.... Intelligence community lawyers sent a letter to the whistle-blower on Monday, indicating that the office was trying to work out the issues that would allow the whistle-blower to speak with Congress, according to a person briefed on the matter.... Intelligence community lawyers have had discussions with the White House and the Justice Department officials about how the whistle-blower can share his complaint without infringing on issues like executive privilege." Here's why: ~~~

~~~ McConnell & Senate Republicans Bow to Schumer. Zachary Basu of Axios: "The Senate voted via unanimous consent on Tuesday on a resolution calling for the Trump administration to release to the Senate Intelligence Committee a whistleblower complaint that allegedly involves President Trump and Ukraine.... The resolution is non-binding, but it's a rare show of bipartisanship on an issue that threatens to spark an official impeachment proceeding in the House. The House will vote on a similar resolution on Wednesday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The whistleblower's legal reps are not messing around. They've put up a Website on the matter. Via Cheryl Rofer of Balloon Juice. Mrs. McC BTW: One of the WashPo stories I linked referred to the whistleblower as a male. Don't know if this was a generic use of the pronoun "his" or a slip-up.

Michael Isikoff of Yahoo! News: "Even as the House is ramping up its investigation into the Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine, the Senate Intelligence Committee is conducting its own inquiry and is seeking an interview with the whistleblower who filed the initial complaint with the intelligence community's inspector general, according to a letter obtained by Yahoo News. A letter seeking to question the still-anonymous whistleblower was sent Tuesday to Andrew Bakaj, the lawyer who represents the official. It was signed by committee chair Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. -- signifying that the panel is pursuing the politically explosive issue on a bipartisan basis.... It was not immediately clear whether the White House will agree to let the official be questioned." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Axios: "The intelligence community whistleblower behind the complaint reportedly linked to President Trump and Ukraine has requested to speak to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, according to the chairs of both panels.* Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) 'told reporters that the whistleblower's counsel has also reached out' to his committee, per the New York Times' Catie Edmondson." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~* Mrs. McC: The chair of the Senate Intel Committee is Republican Richard Burr (NC), & the report does not name Burr or really specify that he confirmed receipt of the whistleblower's request. (Photos accompanying the post are of Warner & Schiff.)

We have been informed by the whistleblower's counsel that their client would like to speak to our committee and has requested guidance from the Acting DNI as to how to do so. We're in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower's testimony as soon as this week. -- Rep. Adam Schiff, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, in a tweet this afternoon

CNN has a handy timeline of events related to the Ukraine scandal, beginning in May & ending tomorrow.

Kate Sullivan & Sarah Mucha of CNN: "Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday if ... Donald Trump does not cooperate with Congress, he would leave lawmakers with 'no choice but to start impeachment proceedings. 'It is time for this administration stop stonewalling and provide the Congress with all the facts it needs, including a copy of the formal complaint made by the whistleblower. And it's time for the Congress to fully investigate the conduct of this President,' Biden said. The Democratic presidential candidate said if Trump 'does not comply with such a request from the Congress, if he continues to obstruct Congress, and flaunt the law, Donald Trump will leave Congress, in my view, no choice but to initiate impeachment. That would be a tragedy, but a tragedy of his own making,' he said, speaking from Wilmington, Delaware." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said President Trump is making 'lawlessness a virtue' on Tuesday ahead of an expected statement on where she stands on an impeachment inquiry." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brian Beutler of Crooked: "It took the utter corruption of American foreign policy and a brazen assault on the public's right to a free and fair election for Democratic leaders and other reluctant factions of the party to reconsider their opposition to impeaching President Trump.... One of the few Democrats who recognized that taking impeachment off the table would create an unacceptable level of moral hazard was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). She warned, 'If Donald Trump can do all that he tried to do to impede an investigation into his own wrongdoing and an attack by a foreign government,' and Congress takes no action, 'then it gives license to the next president, and the next president, and the next president to do the same thing.' The only thing her analysis missed is that Congress's inaction also gave Donald Trump license to commit the same crimes all over again.... And that is exactly what happened.... We should encourage and applaud the Democrats now joining the fight, but we should also reflect on what it means that they are poised to impeach Trump for engaging in the same kind of wrongdoing they were once content to let slide. Trump won't be the last president to commit impeachable offenses, but he should be the last one given carte blanche to do so until the foundations of the republic begin to tremble." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

I am currently at the United Nations representing our Country, but have authorized the release tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine. You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time! -- Donald Trump, in two tweets this afternoon ~~~

~~~ That Is Most Likely a Lie. Reuters: The transcript the "administration"'s releases "isn't likely to come from a recording or be verbatim, former White House and national security officials say. Instead, because of standard White House protocol for handling phone calls between the president and other world leaders, a transcript is likely to be put together from written notes by U.S. officials who listen in.... Standard practice when a president is talking to a foreign leader is not to make a recording but to have at least two and sometimes more note-takers from the National Security Council (NSC) on the call, a former senior NSC official told Reuters.... Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense during the Obama presidency, said not only would any so-called transcript be based on notes, but it would also likely be incomplete because the note-takers usually do not include issues that could be controversial if they became public. 'Typically a note-taker will write notes about what the principal says in a fashion that does not embarrass their principal,' said Farkas." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: So, as I suggested a couple of days ago, the "transcript" will be "Yo, Volo.... Nice talking to you. So long."

Nancy Cook of Politico: "In public, Trumpworld is casting the Democratic impeachment inquiry as more white noise. In private, White House aides and allies say the impeachment momentum now presents a serious threat to the rest of ... Donald Trump's legislative agenda, to his negotiating strength with world leaders and to his concentration.... Few in the White House or the wider Trump orbit have privately defended Trump's call with the Ukraine leader.... But current and former administration aides believe Trump will view the latest impeachment inquiry as a major blow to his ego -- and the proceedings will likely distract him, cloud all his meetings and halt any agenda for this fall, including the passage of a major trade bill heading into an election year."

"Shut Up, Moron." Josh Feldman of Mediaite: "After his wild interview with Laura Ingraham on Ukraine tonight, [Rudy] Giuliani returned to the broadcast later in the hour to respond to a comment by one of the Fox host's guests. Democrat Chris Hahn told Ingraham, 'I just heard the president's personal, political attorney say that he was directed by the State Department to go meet with the Ukraine to get evidence on the president's political opponent.'... When Hahn interjected at one point, Giuliani shouted, 'Shut up, moron! Shut up! Shut Up! You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know what you're talking about, idiot!'" It went on from there. Includes video. ~~~

If you have the law, hammer the law. If you have the facts, hammer the facts. If you have neither the law nor the facts, hammer the table.

~~~ "Allyson Chiu of the Washington Post: "For most of the roughly 13-minute interview, Giuliani sought to shift the focus from himself back to Democrats and Biden. At one point, he even suggested that Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who went to Ukraine this month, should be impeached instead of Trump. Giuliani argued that Democrats have been 'covering up for what will turn out to be massive corruption in the Obama administration,' highlighting allegations that then-Vice President Biden had pressed the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor who had been investigating a natural gas firm that employed Hunter Biden. According to The Post's Fact Checker, that investigation was shelved before Biden's attempts to oust the prosecutor. Additionally, Hunter Biden, who sat on the company's board for five years, was never accused of wrongdoing during the investigation.... As he pointed fingers at Democrats and a 'crooked press corps,' Giuliani also spouted claims, without evidence, that the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and an FBI agent assigned to investigate the Hunter Biden corruption allegations were both part of a conspiracy organized by liberal billionaire George Soros -- talking so much that his voice became hoarse." ~~~

~~~ "This Is Rudy's Shitshow." Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump's attempt to pressure the leader of Ukraine followed a months-long fight inside the administration that sidelined national security officials and empowered political loyalists -- including ... Rudolph W. Giuliani -- to exploit the U.S. relationship with Kiev, current and former U.S. officials said. The sequence, which began early this year, involved the abrupt removal of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine ... Giuliani targeted [her] with wild accusations ..., the circumvention of senior officials on the National Security Council, and the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars of aid administered by the Defense and State departments -- all as key officials from these agencies struggled to piece together Giuliani's activities from news reports. Several officials described tense meetings on Ukraine among national security officials at the White House leading up to the president's phone call on July 25.... As those worries intensified, some senior officials worked behind the scenes to hold off a Trump meeting or call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky out of concern that Trump would use the conversation to press Kiev for damaging information on ... Joe Biden, and Biden's son, Hunter.... Though the whistleblower report focuses on the Trump-Zelensky call, officials familiar with its contents said that it includes references to other developments tied to the president, including efforts by Giuliani to insert himself into U.S.-Ukrainian relations.

~~~ Giuliani Fingers State Department. Steve Benen of MSNBC: Monday "night, [Rudy Giuliani] told Fox News' Sean Hannity that State Department asked him to ... dig up dirt on Joe Biden in order to help his client in the Oval Office -- something Giuliani considers entirely proper.... 'The State Department called me and said, would I take a call from Mr. Yermak, who's number two or three to the president-elect, now the president. I was put together with Mr. [Yermak]. I talked to him he gave me enormously important facts. I conveyed them all to the State Department -- unlike the media lies, fake news, I wasn't operating on my own. I was operating at the request of the State Department.' This roughly dovetails with a Wall Street Journal report from the weekend, which said that Giuliani, according to his own account, met with Andriy Yermak, a top aide to the Ukrainian president, as part of a meeting that had been 'set up by the State Department.'... If the U.S. State Department was directly involved in dispatching the president's private lawyer to Ukraine, as part of a political scheme intended to help Trump's re-election campaign, it will make the already damaging story quite a bit worse." ~~~

~~~ Josh Kovensky of TPM: "The State Departmen's apparent involvement in the scandal focuses on Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO who was appointed special representative for Ukraine by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in July 2017. Giuliani met with top Zelensky foreign policy aide Andriy Yermak on Aug. 3 in a meeting that was facilitated by Volker. Giuliani reportedly debriefed State Department officials afterwards. The question is, how deep did State get in Giuliani's game?... The answer to that question is, in part, the focus of an inquiry by the House Intelligence, Oversight, and Foreign Affairs Committee's into Giuliani's pressure campaign to extract dirt on Biden. It goes to the heart of what makes these allegations against President Trump different and what, in the words of one former Defense Department official, has broken new ground in U.S. political history: the use of the power of U.S. foreign policy to beat down a political opponent.... The State Department issued a statement on the matter Sept. 9, saying that Giuliani 'does not speak on behalf of the U.S. Government.'" Yermak said Monday that he reached out to Volker, whom he knew. ~~~

~~~ Erin Banco, et al., of the Daily Beast: "Rudy Giuliani's contacts with officials at the State Department as part of his controversial efforts to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine are more extensive than have been publicly reported. And they raise additional questions about the degree to which senior officials throughout the Trump administration were involved in -- or privy to -- attempts by the president to muddy a top potential political opponent." Besides Kurt Volker, Giuliani has said he also briefed U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. "According to two sources inside the department, U.S. diplomats including Sondland and Volker were aware of the details of Giuliani's work in Ukraine on Biden as early as this spring. Those sources said senior officials at the department were read in on Giuliani's calls with Volker and Sondland." Sondland also was in on the July 25 phone call between Trump & Zelensky.

Charles Pierce of Esquire: "This has to be the beginning of the end. The House Democrats, slower than molasses up until this point, suddenly have been transformed into quick drying cement around the president*'s ankles.... The Ukraine business has shifted something in the political tectonics. The slippage has begun in earnest, on one side of the aisle, anyway. On the other side, there are clues within the [Washington] Post stories that folks are feeling the ground shift under their feet as well.... Despite Republican enabling and Democratic timidity, the hour of the Founders has come around again. There is no place left for anyone to hide, no clever dodge left to employ, nothing left to kick down the road. History accepts no alibis." Thanks to MAG for links to several of Pierce's posts. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President Trump said Tuesday that he held up American aid to Ukraine ... because European countries have not paid their fair share to support the country, and pointed to the fact that the money was eventually released as evidence that he had done nothing wrong.... He also said that a groundswell for his impeachment among Democratic lawmakers amounted to a new 'witch hunt.' 'I'm leading in the polls and they have no idea how to stop me,' Mr. Trump said, though the president trails the leading Democratic candidates in most polls. 'The only way they can try is through impeachment.'... Mr. Trump also noted that the funds allocated for Ukraine 'were fully paid,' although he did not mention the fact that his administration acted only after the delay became public through news media leaks, and under bipartisan pressure from Congress. And he suggested that a transcript of his July 25 phone call with Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose release many Democrats have insisted on, would become public. Mr. Trump repeated his assertion that the transcript would exonerate him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Note that it's-Europe's-fault is a different "explanation" from the "corruption" excuse Trump gave yesterday. ~~~

~~~ Update: Aaron Rupar of Vox: "... Donald Trump's rationale for why he withheld congressionally approved aid to Ukraine changed overnight. On Monday, Trump told reporters that his decision to withhold aid to Ukraine -- a decision seemingly at the heart of a whistleblower complaint roiling Washington -- was over his concerns to ensure that the country's new government was doing everything possible to root out corruption. But asked a similar question on Tuesday, Trump's talking point suddenly changed to his frustrations about European countries not spending enough on foreign aid. 'My complaint has always been, and I'd withhold again, and I'll continue to withhold until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine, because they're not doing it,' Trump told reporters, ahead of his speech to the United Nations General Assembly." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ "Trump: I'd Like to Withdraw My Guilty Plea and Change to 'Not Guilty.'" Jonathan Chait: "In Trump's defense, he and his allies were easily lured into admitting all their guilt because, for several months on end, nobody cared about it. Now that Democrats care enough to potentially impeach him, they are hastily constructing post hoc defenses." Chait covers some of the other defenses Trump's backers are testing. "The [Steve] Doocy defense is that it’s not extortion unless you explicitly told the shopkeeper you'd break his legs unless he paid protection money.... Byron York[, t]he Washington Examiner columnist and self-appointed amateur Trump defense attorney argues... [Chait paraphrase], How can you impeach the guy if he might have committed other crimes we don't know about? And by the way, we don't know about them because he's hiding the evidence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Betsy Klein of CNN: "... Donald Trump admitted Monday that he delayed aid to Ukraine ahead of a call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, when he pushed the leader to look into potential rival Joe Biden and his son's work, giving the excuse that he was waiting for European nations to contribute their fair share of aid and claiming there was 'never any quid pro quo.' 'As far as withholding funds, those funds were paid. They were fully paid. But my complaint has always been, and I'd withhold again and I'll continue to withhold until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine because they're not doing it,' Trump said Tuesday as he arrived at the United Nations ahead of his speech to the General Assembly.... There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Watergate Redux. Former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D-N.Y.) in a New York Times op-ed: "For those of us who were there during Watergate, the Ukraine scandal is beginning to sound like an echo chamber.... Mr. Trump's reported actions would amount to a Nixonian misuse of presidential power that threatens our democracy and constitutes high crime and misdemeanor.... [The] nearly $400 million in congressionally appropriated military aid for Ukraine [Trump put] on hold ... was not released until Sept. 11, after news broke of a whistle-blower complaint about the Zelensky call.... This strongly suggests there was no legitimate reason for the hold.... Among the grounds for the 1974 committee vote to approve three articles of impeachment against Mr. Nixon was that he authorized I.R.S. audits of political opponents on his 'enemies list' as well as an illegal wiretap on a White House staff member who worked for his chief presidential rival.... If Mr. Trump had a shred of evidence against Mr. Biden or any legitimate governmental objective in view, he would have directed the Justice Department or State Department to work directly with Ukraine.... Pressuring Ukraine to investigate Mr. Biden and his son for political purposes violates their civil liberties.... Mr. Nixon violated the civil liberties of Daniel Ellsberg.... Among the grounds for Nixon's impeachment was his involvement in breaking into Mr. Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office, seeking information to smear him." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Articles I've read about the timing of Trump's removal of the hold on the Ukraine funding have cited formation of the House investigations, but Holtzman puts her finger on what I'd bet is the real reason: public news of the whistleblower complaint. Though the first news reports didn't reveal the nature of the complaint, Trump knew what was in it as the White House had already "reviewed" it.

Quin Hillyer, a conservative columnist for the conservative Washington Examiner: "Based simply on what President Trump has admitted to, combined with one piece of as-yet-uncontradicted reporting, Trump has committed impeachable offenses in his dealings with Ukraine." Hillyer goes on to explain why. Mrs. McC: He makes more-or-less the same arguments you & I might make. Funny Congressional Republicans don't do the same.

Peter Nicholas of the Atlantic: "Knowing he was new to all this, White House aides took pains early in ... Donald Trump's term to chaperone him when he got on the phone with world leaders.... Nearly three years in..., Trump seems to be in the midst of a kind of awakening: discovering new ways that he can use the machinery of government to advance a partisan, personal agenda uncoupled from the larger public interest.... Instances of Trump using the office to serve himself are coming with more frequency. In recent weeks, he's brazenly promoted his commercial interests and targeted California, a stronghold of anti-Trump sentiment. 'What frightened me in his first couple of years was his ignorance,' John Dean, who was White House counsel under former President Richard Nixon..., told me.' What frightens me now is, he is learning how things work and how they can be abused.'... He's organized his presidency, and both his campaigns, around the needs of his political base. But as his first term wears on, he seems more focused on marshaling presidential powers to serve a constituency of one: himself."

Conservative David Frum of the Atlantic: "Back in the early days of the Trump presidency, Trump's enablers wistfully suggested that he might grow into the job as he learned not to do corrupt things.... The breathtaking thing about Trump's latest abuse is how many people knew about some, or all, of it as it happened. Vice President Mike Pence personally spoke to the Ukrainian president about the importance of 'corruption' -- which in Trump-speak means the importance of doing more of it, not less. Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney relayed the order to block the distribution of congressionally voted-on funds to Ukraine. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo extracted statements from Ukrainian officials, in what seems like an effort to shield Trump from the scandal. And all of this happened in plain sight."

Eric Levitz of New York: Wherein Jim "Comey explains that Congress should keep a criminal in the Oval Office to teach the American people a valuable lesson about owning their mistakes. James Comey has suggested that Donald Trump is a pathologically narcissistic criminal -- and described his presidency as a 'forest fire' that threatens to consume the foundations of our republic. Still, the former FBI director hopes that Congress will allow that fire to continue burning for another 16 months -- so as not to let the 'American people off the hook' for the mistake they made in 2016.... Which seems insane." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A lot of people have bad judgment, and that's certainly true of top government officials. But Jim Comey -- upon whom both Republicans & Democrats bestowed top jobs where discernment and, well, common sense, are required -- has remarkably bad judgment. I mean, weird bad judgment. Not to mention that, although he is a lawyer & has sworn to uphold the Constitution, he doesn't seem to put much stock in that particular document; WTF does he think its impeachment provisions are for?

All Roads Lead to ... Ukraine. Theodoric Meyer of Politico: "Tony Podesta and Vin Weber said on Tuesday the Justice Department has told them they're no longer under investigation for potentially violating foreign lobbying laws for work they did years ago on behalf of Ukrainian interests. The development brings to a close a case that helped to bring down one of K Street's most prominent lobbying firms, and that led Weber, a former Republican congressman, to resign from his lobbying firm last month, even though neither Weber nor Podesta was ever charged with wrongdoing.... Weber and Podesta's lobbying for an obscure think tank called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine first attracted scrutiny after the 2016 election, as prosecutors started looking into Paul Manafort's work in Ukraine.... The decision to close the investigation comes weeks after a jury acquitted Greg Craig, a former Obama White House counsel who was charged with lying to the Justice Department about his own work with Manafort on behalf of the Ukrainian government in 2012."

Bill Barr to the Rescue. Benjamin Weiser & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors in Manhattan told a judge Tuesday night that they are considering inserting themselves into a lawsuit filed last week by President Trump that argued he cannot be criminally investigated while in office. The unusual court filing suggested that the president's own Justice Department could take a position on a sweeping constitutional argument by Mr. Trump and his lawyers that has not been tested in a court. It could also put the department in the middle of a larger dispute between Mr. Trump and the Manhattan district attorney's office, which has issued a subpoena demanding eight years of the president's personal and corporate returns.... In trying to block the district attorney's subpoena, Mr. Trump's lawyers had argued that a sitting president cannot be 'investigated, indicted or otherwise subjected to criminal process.'... The filing came the night before the judge, Victor Marrero of Federal District Court in Manhattan, was scheduled to hear arguments in the case from Mr. Trump's lawyers and the Manhattan district attorney's office. It was unclear why the government chose to weigh in so late on a case in which it has had no formal role. But any potential involvement by the United States government would normally be approved, if not initiated by, the Justice Department in Washington."

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. -- President John F. Kennedy, inaugural address, 1963 (thanks to Nancy Pelosi for the reminder) ~~~

~~~ Anne Gearan & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "President Trump leveled one of his harshest critiques of globalism on Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, promoting the 'America First' approach that has defined his presidency on issues of defense, trade and immigration before a body built on multilateral cooperation. Trump read the address in a somber monotone, rarely punctuating words or pausing for emphasis.... He also took a hard line against Iran ... and vowed to 'stop Iran's path toward nuclear weapons.' 'All nations have a duty to act. No responsible government should subsidize Iran's blood lust,' Trump said." NPR's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ BOR-ing! Dan Mangan of CNBC: "... Donald Trump's United Nations speech was a snooze -- at least for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The 81-year-old Ross took a nap -- a very long nap -- as his boss addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Television footage of Ross showed the wealthy businessman sleeping soundly as Trump talked about a possible trade deal with China -- which is part of the Commerce chief's portfolio -- and the U.S. stance on Iran. Ross had his eyes firmly closed for as long as 15 minutes, video suggested, as Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave the impression of listening intently to Trump." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Isn't That Special. AP: "Fox News has apologized for a guest who called environmental activist Greta Thunberg mentally ill, and said he would never appear on the network again. Michael Knowles of "'he Daily Wire'" made the comment Monday during a segment on a Fox evening newscast, also saying Thunberg was being exploited by her parents and the left wing. Fox had no comment Tuesday about its own prime-time host, Laura Ingraham, who likened Thunberg to a murderous child cult leader from a Stephen King short story." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Juliet Eilperin & Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "Trump administration officials threatened this week to withhold federal highway funding from California, arguing that the state has not shown what steps it is taking to improve its air quality. The move by the Environmental Protection Agency escalates the fierce battle between President Trump and the left-leaning state, and could put billions in federal funding in jeopardy. In a predated letter sent late Monday to the California Air Resources Board, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler suggested that the state 'has failed to carry out its most basic tasks under the Clean Air Act' and needs to either update its plans to tackle air pollution or risk losing federal money.... The decision to invoke a rarely used federal punishment represents the latest salvo in the Trump administration's feud with California over environmental and other policy issues. At stake, the EPA said, are billions of dollars in federal highway funding every year." The NPR story is here.

David Gilbert of Vice: "The New York Times says that the White House was aware of a threat to the safety of one of its journalists working in Egypt, but did nothing to stop it, forcing the newspaper to ask Ireland for help getting him to safety. 'Two years ago, we got a call from a U.S. government official warning us of the imminent arrest of a New York Times reporter based in Egypt named Declan Walsh,' Times' publisher AG Sulzberger said ... on Monday.... 'We learned the official was passing along this warning without the knowledge or permission of the Trump administration. Rather than trying to stop the Egyptian government or assist the reporter, the official believed, the Trump administration intended to sit on the information and let the arrest be carried out.... Unable to count on our own government to prevent the arrest or help free Declan if he were imprisoned, we turned to his native country, Ireland, for help,' Sulzberger wrote. Within an hour, Irish diplomats had taken Walsh from his house and escorted him to the airport before Egyptian forces could detain him.... The revelations from the Times came within hours of Trump meeting with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the UN General Assembly. Trump, who last month reportedly called Sisi 'my favorite dictator' once again praised the Egyptian leader, and said he was 'not concerned' about protests that broke out in Egypt over the weekend." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) (Sulzberger's NYT op-ed also was linked here yesterday morning.) ~~~

~~~ Matt Yglesias of Vox: “The conceptual link between the misconduct Sulzberger alleges and the president is very clear -- Trump has denounced the free press as 'fake news' and 'enemies of the people' and somehow managed to look at America's decades-long pattern of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses by our Middle Eastern allies and made policy even blinder. But the specific facts Sulzberger describes don't directly implicate the president or any other top officials beyond the embassy in Cairo. It's the classic case of a situation for which a rigorous oversight investigation is necessary. Congress should find out if this is a case of rogue officials misreading signals from the top, or if it's genuinely the case that the secretary of state, the president, or other top officials have instructed embassies to stop going to bat for the rights of American journalists abroad.” (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I'd like to know why the Times held back this startling story for two years. Was it to make the world safer for its journalists? That would be a very good reason, but why is it okay to tell the story now? The newspaper still has reporters in dangerous countries around the world. ~~~

~~~ Update. Declan Walsh of the New York Times tells his own story, & that of other journalists in Egypt. Mrs. McC: BTW, see also Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread. There will be heroes.

Hahahahaha. Bienvenido a los Estados Unidos, Amigos. Thanks to Akhilleus (see his commentary in yesterday's thread) & digby for this:

Trump visited the US border this week & said rock climbers tested his wall & agreed it cannot be climbed. But Mexicans have turned Trump's wall into a tourist attraction & are playing a game to see who can climb it the fastest, no ladders or ropes needed. The record is 45 seconds pic.twitter.com/2Xr4rolKk2
— Stone 🥶 (@stonecold2050) September 22, 2019

Presidential Race 2020

Quint Forgey of Politico: "A new national survey shows Elizabeth Warren now sitting atop the 2020 Democratic field, further cementing her ascendancy in the party's presidential primary after a pair of polls showed her leading in the first two primary states. Twenty-seven percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents polled by Quinnipiac University said they favor Warren, according to a new poll released Wednesday morning. Twenty-five percent said they prefer former Vice President Joe Biden. Although Warren's edge falls within the survey's margin of error, Biden's formidable lead over the rest of the field has crumbled since the last Quinnipiac national poll in August, which showed him with 32 percent support and Warren with 19 percent support."

Matt Stevens of the New York Times: "Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii became the 12th Democratic presidential candidate to qualify for the October debate after a poll released on Tuesday showed her with 2 percent support in New Hampshire.... It is not yet clear whether the debate will take place over two nights, but Ms. Gabbard's inclusion adds to that possibility." The Politico story is here.

Michael Cooper of the New York Times: "In an 11th-hour reversal, the superstar singer Plácido Domingo withdrew on Tuesday from the Metropolitan Opera's production of Verdi's 'Macbeth' and indicated he would not return to the Met, amid rising tensions over the company's response to allegations that he had sexually harassed multiple women. Mr. Domingo's withdrawal on the eve of the performance -- opening night is Wednesday -- came as a growing number of people who work at the Met expressed concern about his upcoming performances. Other American cultural institutions, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Opera, had already canceled Mr. Domingo's upcoming appearances, citing the need to provide a safe workplace." NPR's story is here.

Way Beyond the Beltway

U.K. Welcome Back, Parliament! The Guardian is liveblogging developments. The liveblog includes a live feed. The New York Times also has a liveblog here; it's less detailed than the Guardian's.

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Monday

Sep232019

The Commentariat -- September 24, 2019

Afternoon Update:

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Tuesday that the House would begin a formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump, opening a fresh chapter of confrontation in response to startling allegations that the president sought to enlist a foreign power for his own political gain. 'The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,' she said after emerging from a meeting of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol. Mr. Trump, she said, 'must be held accountable. No one is above the law.' The announcement was a stunning development that unfolded after months of caution by House Democrats...." (This is an update of a story linked earlier this afternoon.) The Washington Post story is here. The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Heidi Przybyla & Adam Edelman of NBC News have a report Pelosi's speech here. The report at the linked page also includes Trump's tweeted responses, which center around "Witch Hunt garbage." At least he reflects how seriously he takes the importance of this Constitutional moment. BTW, Przybyla said on MSNBC that Trump & Pelosi had a phone conversation earlier today, and Trump tried to get Pelosi to "make a deal" with him re: impeachment.

Wow! Zachary Basu of Axios: "The Senate voted via unanimous consent on Tuesday on a resolution calling for the Trump administration to release to the Senate Intelligence Committee a whistleblower complaint that allegedly involves President Trump and Ukraine.... The resolution is non-binding, but it's a rare show of bipartisanship on an issue that threatens to spark an official impeachment proceeding in the House. The House will vote on a similar resolution on Wednesday."

Kate Sullivan & Sarah Mucha of CNN: "Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday if ... Donald Trump does not cooperate with Congress, he would leave lawmakers with 'no choice' but to start impeachment proceedings. 'It is time for this administration stop stonewalling and provide the Congress with all the facts it needs, including a copy of the formal complaint made by the whistleblower. And it's time for the Congress to fully investigate the conduct of this President,' Biden said. The Democratic presidential candidate said if Trump 'does not comply with such a request from the Congress, if he continues to obstruct Congress, and flaunt the law, Donald Trump will leave Congress, in my view, no choice but to initiate impeachment. That would be a tragedy, but a tragedy of his own making,' he said, speaking from Wilmington, Delaware."

* Mrs. McC: The chair of the Senate Intel Committee is Republican Richard Burr (NC), & the report does not name Burr or really specify that he confirmed receipt of the whistleblower's request. (Photos accompanying the post are of Warner & Schiff.)

We have been informed by the whistleblower's counsel that their client would like to speak to our committee and has requested guidance from the Acting DNI as to how to do so. We're in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower's testimony as soon as this week. -- Rep. Adam Schiff, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, in a tweet this afternoon

@2:23 pm ET Nancy Pelosi just said she'd be making an announcement at 5 pm ET today regarding impeachment. ~~~

~~~ Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said President Trump is making 'lawlessness a virtue' on Tuesday ahead of an expected statement on where she stands on an impeachment inquiry."

~~~ Update. Adam Edelman of NBC News: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who for months resisted efforts to launch impeach proceedings against ... Donald Trump, will announce later Tuesday that she now backs a formal inquiry, according to two Democratic sources close to her. Pelosi's change of heart comes as dozens of House Democrats -- now totaling more than two-thirds of the caucus -- have come out in support of an impeachment inquiry in the wake of reports that Trump may have withheld aid to Ukraine to pressure officials there to investigate the son of political rival Joe Biden."

I am currently at the United Nations representing our Country, but have authorized the release tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine. You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time! -- Donald Trump, in two tweets this afternoon

~~~ The Guardian is liveblogging impeachment developments. The liveblog includes this:

Very solid #Dem House leadership source just confirmed to me that @SpeakerPelosi will announce a formal impeachment inquiry this afternoon and imply that she herself favors impeachment of @realDonaldTrump. -- Howard Fineman, in a tweet

~~~ Charles Pierce of Esquire: "This has to be the beginning of the end. The House Democrats, slower than molasses up until this point, suddenly have been transformed into quick drying cement around the president*'s ankles.... The Ukraine business has shifted something in the political tectonics. The slippage has begun in earnest, on one side of the aisle, anyway. On the other side, there are clues within the [Washington] Post stories that folks are feeling the ground shift under their feet as well.... Despite Republican enabling and Democratic timidity, the hour of the Founders has come around again. There is no place left for anyone to hide, no clever dodge left to employ, nothing left to kick down the road. History accepts no alibis." Thanks to MAG for links to several of Pierce's posts.

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Note that it's-Europe's-fault is a different "explanation" from the "corruption" excuse Trump gave yesterday. ~~~

~~~ "Trump: I'd Like to Withdraw My Guilty Plea and Change to 'Not Guilty.'" Jonathan Chait: "In Trump's defense, he and his allies were easily lured into admitting all their guilt because, for several months on end, nobody cared about it. Now that Democrats care enough to potentially impeach him, they are hastily constructing post hoc defenses." Chait covers some of the other defenses Trump's backers are testing. "The [Steve] Doocy defense is that it's not extortion unless you explicitly told the shopkeeper you'd break his legs unless he paid protection money.... Byron York[, t]he Washington Examiner columnist and self-appointed amateur Trump defense attorney argues... [Chait paraphrase], How can you impeach the guy if he might have committed other crimes we don't know about? And by the way, we don't know about them because he's hiding the evidence."

~~~ Betsy Klein of CNN: "... Donald Trump admitted Monday that he delayed aid to Ukraine ahead of a call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, when he pushed the leader to look into potential rival Joe Biden and his son's work, giving the excuse that he was waiting for European nations to contribute their fair share of aid and claiming there was 'never any quid pro quo.' 'As far as withholding funds, those funds were paid. They were fully paid. But my complaint has always been, and I'd withhold again and I'll continue to withhold until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine because they're not doing it,' Trump said Tuesday as he arrived at the United Nations ahead of his speech to the General Assembly.... There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden."

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. -- President John F. Kennedy, inaugural address, 1963 (thanks to Nancy Pelosi for the reminder) ~~~

~~~ BOR-ing! Dan Mangan of CNBC: "... Donald Trump's United Nations speech was a snooze -- at least for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The 81-year-old Ross took a nap -- a very long nap -- as his boss addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Television footage of Ross showed the wealthy businessman sleeping soundly as Trump talked about a possible trade deal with China -- which is part of the Commerce chief's portfolio -- and the U.S. stance on Iran. Ross had his eyes firmly closed for as long as 15 minutes, video suggested, as Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave the impression of listening intently to Trump."

David Gilbert of Vice: "The New York Times says that the White House was aware of a threat to the safety of one of its journalists working in Egypt, but did nothing to stop it, forcing the newspaper to ask Ireland for help getting him to safety. 'Two years ago, we got a call from a U.S. government official warning us of the imminent arrest of a New York Times reporter based in Egypt named Declan Walsh,' Times' publisher AG Sulzberger said ... on Monday.... 'We learned the official was passing along this warning without the knowledge or permission of the Trump administration. Rather than trying to stop the Egyptian government or assist the reporter, the official believed, the Trump administration intended to sit on the information and let the arrest be carried out.... Unable to count on our own government to prevent the arrest or help free Declan if he were imprisoned, we turned to his native country, Ireland, for help,' Sulzberger wrote. Within an hour, Irish diplomats had taken Walsh from his house and escorted him to the airport before Egyptian forces could detain him.... The revelations from the Times came within hours of Trump meeting with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the UN General Assembly. Trump, who last month reportedly called Sisi 'my favorite dictator' once again praised the Egyptian leader, and said he was 'not concerned' about protests that broke out in Egypt over the weekend." ~~~

~~~ Matt Yglesias of Vox: "The conceptual link between the misconduct Sulzberger alleges and the president is very clear -- Trump has denounced the free press as 'fake news' and 'enemies of the people' and somehow managed to look at America's decades-long pattern of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses by our Middle Eastern allies and made policy even blinder. But the specific facts Sulzberger describes don't directly implicate the president or any other top officials beyond the embassy in Cairo. It's the classic case of a situation for which a rigorous oversight investigation is necessary. Congress should find out if this is a case of rogue officials misreading signals from the top, or if it's genuinely the case that the secretary of state, the president, or other top officials have instructed embassies to stop going to bat for the rights of American journalists abroad." ~~~

Hahahahaha. Bienvenido a los Estados Unidos, Amigos. Thanks to Akhilleus (see his commentary below) & digby for this:

Trump visited the US border this week & said rock climbers tested his wall & agreed it cannot be climbed. But Mexicans have turned Trump's wall into a tourist attraction & are playing a game to see who can climb it the fastest, no ladders or ropes needed. The record is 45 seconds pic.twitter.com/2Xr4rolKk2
— Stone 🥶 (@stonecold2050) September 22, 2019

Isn't That Special. AP: "Fox News has apologized for a guest who called environmental activist Greta Thunberg mentally ill, and said he would never appear on the network again. Michael Knowles of "'he Daily Wir'" made the comment Monday during a segment on a Fox evening newscast, also saying Thunberg was being exploited by her parents and the left wing. Fox had no comment Tuesday about its own prime-time host, Laura Ingraham, who likened Thunberg to a murderous child cult leader from a Stephen King short story." Emphasis added.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Got a very late start this morning, so I added quite a bit below after 9 am ET.

"Treason, Bribery, or Other High Crimes," Ctd.

** Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump told his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to hold back almost $400 million in military aid for Ukraine at least a week before a phone call in which Trump is said to have pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate the son of former vice president Joe Biden, according to three senior administration officials. Officials at the Office of Management and Budget relayed Trump's order to the State Department and the Pentagon during an interagency meeting in mid-July, according to officials.... They explained that the president had 'concerns' and wanted to analyze whether the money needed to be spent. Administration officials were instructed to tell lawmakers that the delays were part of an 'interagency process' but to give them no additional information -- a pattern that continued for nearly two months, until the White House released the funds on the night of Sept. 11.... Republican senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee said Sept. 12 that ... the White House decided to release the aid after Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) threatened to freeze $5 billion in Pentagon funding for next year unless the money for 2019 was distributed." CNN's story is here. ~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "In speaking with reporters while in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Trump was in a combative mood on Monday..., at one point even casually saying that if Republicans had done what Mr. Biden had done, 'they'd be getting the electric chair right now.' Mr. Trump scored his lawyer's rambling and confusing appearance on a CNN show on last week night like a boxing match. 'Rudy Giuliani took Fredo to the cleaners,' he said, using a derogatory nickname for the show's host, Chris Cuomo. And the president excoriated reporters in the room with him. 'You are crooked as hell,' he charged.... Some critics said it did not even matter if Mr. Trump explicitly linked the two issues in the call; simply using the power and prestige of his office to lean on a foreign leader for help in a domestic political contest by itself could justify impeachment, they said. And suspending the aid, they said, appeared to be a corrupt exercise of presidential power to benefit himself, whether he mentioned it to Mr. Zelensky or not."

~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times match the WashPo's reporting that Trump told Mulvaney to hold aid to Ukraine. Plus this: "... Speaker Nancy Pelosi summoned the leaders of six House committees involved in investigations of the president to meet on Tuesday, telling the lawmakers to come without aides. Afterward, she planned to convene a special meeting of the Democratic caucus to discuss impeachment. Their decisions could have grave implications for Mr. Trump's presidency. A growing number of House Democrats said on Monday that the new revelations all but demanded the move. They warned that a decision by the Trump administration not to hand over documents about a matter of urgent national security would leave the House with no choice but to initiate full-bore impeachment proceedings. At the same time, they said, any material that corroborated news reports about Mr. Trump's actions could lead to the same outcome.... Seven freshman House Democrats with military and national security experience -- most of whom have been reluctant to call for impeachment -- spoke out Monday night in a strongly worded opinion article in The Washington Post.... 'It is clear that the sitting president of the United States placed his own personal interests above the national security interests of the United States,' said Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota, who flipped a Republican seat last fall." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Bade & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been quietly sounding out top allies and lawmakers about whether the time has come to impeach President Trump, a major development as several moderate House Democrats resistant to impeachment suddenly endorsed the extraordinary step of trying to oust the president. Pelosi, according to multiple senior House Democrats and congressional aides, has been gauging the mood of her caucus members about whether they believe that allegations that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate a political foe are a tipping point. She was making calls as late as Monday night, and many leadership aides who once thought Trump's impeachment was unlikely now say they think it's almost inevitable." The Raw Story summarizes the Post's reporting here. ~~~

~~~ Heather Caygle, et al., of Politico report on House Democrats' "seismic change" as Pelosi & others in the House leadership contemplate impeachment & the number of members now favoring impeachment grows.

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "Because [some in House leadership] do not seem to realize the cost of the choice to do nothing, less-than-nothing, or worse-than-nothing in response to Donald Trump's acts of corruption and criminality: It's not just that his past bad acts go unpunished, but that future bad acts are expressly encouraged.... To do nothing in the face of repeated lawlessness is to court yet more lawlessness in the future.... This is the argument Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deployed this past weekend.... When Corey Lewandowski puts on a clinic about contempt of Congress and nothing is done by the only body capable of doing something, that sends a powerful signal that all such future contempt will be welcome and effective. And when Robert Mueller says plainly and unequivocally that the next election is already in the process of being stolen, and nobody acts to secure it, that sends a powerful signal that all such interference is welcome and effective.... If the American public is befuddled, it's because a House majority failed to utilize the only power in its arsenal: that of sober and sustained investigation and public education." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D-NY) pointed out on MSNBC yesterday that when the House (where she was then a member) began impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon, no House Republicans were on board. But as the proceedings continued, numerous Republicans joined the Democrats. Seven Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee voted with Democrats to approve three of the five proposed articles of impeachment against Nixon.

I don't think it really matters ... whether the president explicitly told the Ukrainians that they wouldn't get their security aid if they didn't interfere in the 2020 elections. There is an implicit threat in every demand that a United States president makes of a foreign power.... That foreign country knows that if they don't do it, there are likely to be consequences. -- Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Murphy, who spoke with Zelensky during an early September visit to Ukraine, said Monday that the Ukrainian president 'directly' expressed concerns at their meeting that 'the aid that was being cut off to Ukraine by the president was a consequence' of his unwillingness to launch an investigation into the Bidens. -- WashPo story by Karoun Demirjian & others, linked above ~~~

~~~ Burgess Everett of Politico: "Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is requesting that the Republican Senate conduct hearings and issue a subpoena to the Trump administration in response to a whistleblower complaint about ... Donald Trump's alleged request that Ukraine investigate one of his political opponents. In a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday morning, the New York Democrat said the Senate should hold hearings regarding any connection between delayed aid to Ukraine and Trump's reported request that the country probe the son of former Vice President Joe Biden...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Donald's Famous Recipe for Boiling Frog. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Remember when Donald Trump dangled the secretary of state job in front of Mitt Romney? They dined at a restaurant inside Trump Tower, and Romney pretended to be so enchanted with his host that he munched on frogs legs & afterwards described Trump's conversation as "enlightening, and interesting and engaging." But those frogs legs were first boiled a la Donald's Famous Recipe, & soon Mitt found out that while Donald might have had him for dinner, he also had him for lunch, rhetorically speaking. He never intended to give Romney a top job in his "administration"; the purpose of the dinner was to humiliate Romney, who had been a leading never-Trumper. Since that time, Donald has been having us for lunch, too, and oftentimes his Famous Boiling Frog is on the menu. "The premise [of the Boiling Frog fable] is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death." Well, again today we are being treated to the Donald's Famous Recipe:

Trump Keeps Expanding His Admissions re: Ukraine. Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President Trump on Monday defended his efforts to urge the Ukrainian president to investigate a leading political rival for corruption, arguing that the United States should not give money to a government that tolerates it.... Speaking to reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Mr. Trump declined to address questions about whether he temporarily withheld $391 million in military aid to Kiev as part of an effort to push the government to comply with his demands for an investigation into Mr. Biden and his family. But Mr. Trump appeared to argue that such an action would not be inappropriate. 'If you don't talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?' he said.... 'What Biden did is a disgrace. What his son did is a disgrace,' Mr. Trump said. Between events at the United Nations complex, Mr. Trump also tweeted an attack against his accusers as 'stone cold Crooked.' And he implied that an unnamed intelligence community whistle-blower who filed a secret complaint about his behavior, based in part on his dealings with Ukraine, might be a traitor: 'Is he on our Country's side,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'Where does he come from.'" Here's the Hill's story. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump is well-past the place where he started -- calling the whole story "fake news" -- & now into admitting he discussed Biden on the phone call in which -- however obliquely -- he tried to twist Zelensky's arm to investigate the Bidens by holding back aid to Ukraine. This is a pattern with Trump & his apologists: deny, hedge, admit, defend (with a phony excuse) & accuse others. And gradually, many people who were shocked by the initial news story, which Trump denied, are assauged by the assertions that the shocking thing Trump did was "perfectly nice," as he puts it, and Joe Biden isn't. ~~~

~~~ Update. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... on Monday, Trump appeared to inch ever closer to admitting the underlying allegation raised by that same whistleblower." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Chait: "Trump 'speaks in code,' as his former fixer, Michael Cohen, testified. He avoids direct corrupt offers, but makes his intentions plain. As he revealingly told a reporter, 'I did not make a statement that "you have to do this or I'm not going to give you aid." I wouldn't do that....' The code is Trump's plausible deniability. But in several comments, he has translated it, eliminating that deniability.[Sunday], a reporter asked Trump if he had mentioned the name of Joe Biden or his son in his phone call with Ukraine's president. Trump did not answer directly but did make it clear that 'corruption' was his code word for his demand to investigate Biden. He also made clear that he connected the Biden investigation to aid for Ukraine:... 'Well, I don't even want to mention it, but certainly I'd have every right to. I'd have every right to. If there's corruption, and we're paying lots of money to a country, we don't want a country we're giving massive aid to to be corrupting our system, and we don't want it to be corrupt in any way.'... Also Sunday, Trump told reporters his conversation was 'largely' devoted to the subject of 'corruption' -- i.e., Biden[.]... And in remarks to reporters [Monday], he reaffirmed his belief that it is proper to withhold aid from Ukraine to compel the country to investigate Biden (again expressed through the code of 'corruption')[.]"

~~~ Thomas Elfrink of the Washington Post: "Hours after appearing to confirm that he had discussed former vice president Joe Biden and his son with Ukraine's president in an exchange at the center of a whistleblower complaint, President Trump took to Twitter on Sunday night to insist again that he had done nothing wrong on a 'nice' call with the foreign leader and to slam his Democratic rival. The tweets came after a full day of attacks against the Democratic presidential nominee by Trump administration officials and allies who demanded investigations of Biden and his son Hunter despite a lack of evidence of wrongdoing.... Trump repeated those claims on Sunday night, again without any evidence, writing, 'Sleepy Joe Biden, on the other hand, forced a tough prosecutor out from investigating his son's company by threat of not giving big dollars to Ukraine.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Washington Post Editors: "PRESIDENT TRUMP is right about Ukraine in one respect: For many years, the country's politics have been dominated by a complex and ugly struggle over corruption.... An underdog movement of civil society activists, journalists and liberal legislators, with the sporadic support of Western governments, has battled oligarchs -- many with connections to Russia or to organized crime -- and the compromised government officials who protect them.... Wha Mr. Trump does not explain is that he and his lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, have sided with the bad guys in this struggle: the Russians, the oligarchs and the compromised officials. The false stories they tell about Joe Biden and other U.S. Democrats result from this misguided alliance. Mr. Giuliani has a record of doing business with Ukrainians close to Russia and to former president Viktor Yanukovych, a stooge of Russian President Vladimir Putin who, after being ousted by a popular uprising in 2014, was accused of looting millions of dollars.... By demanding that he investigate the 'corruption' of Mr. Biden and Mr. Leshchenko, Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani of course are trying, dishonestly, to damage a potential opponent of Mr. Trump in the 2020 presidential election. But in the process, they also are advancing the agenda of those in Ukraine who seek to defend corrupt oligarchs and block genuine reform." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The editors remind me of the comeuppance of Miss Jean Brodie. At about 5:50 min. in, Miss Brodie (Maggie Smith) & Sandy (Pamela Franklin) begin talking about the death of one of Miss Brodie's other pupils, Mary McGregor, who went off the fight with her brother in the Spanish rebellion. Miss Brodie commends Mary for dying "a heroine ... for a cause." But -- much to Miss Brodie's surprise -- Sandy tells her, "Her brother is fighting for the other side.... Mary was headed for the wrong army." Trump & Giuliani, of course, know perfectly well they're in cahoots with the "other side'" Sandy says later to Miss Brodie, "You are dangerous & unwholesome & children should not be exposed to you." It's what any sensible person would say about Trump. (BTW, the character of Miss Mackay -- who appears in the earliest scene of this clip) is played by Celia Johnson, whose most famous role was decades earlier as the central character in the film "Brief Encounter," a romantic drama.

Jonathan Chait: "The anticlimactic denouement of the Mueller report ... [gave] President Trump ... an almost intoxicating sense of impunity, a realization that his attempts to cultivate Russia as an ally, and largely successful efforts to gain control of the Justice Department, gave him carte blanche to plan his next crime. In June, he announced on television that he would accept dirt on his opponent from a foreign government if offered it again. He dispatched his lawyer to Ukraine to deliver the message that he demanded an investigation of his leading Democratic rival, and that he would use the powers of his office to leverage this end. It is primarily because Trump is indicating his war on democratic norms will not end that Congress is barreling toward impeachment right now at astonishing speed.... [What] seems ... likely now is a prospect that had appeared remote just days ago: The House of Representatives will hold impeachment proceedings for ... Donald Trump."

Natasha Bertrand & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "The intelligence community's chief watchdog, Michael Atkinson, is known to his peers and colleagues as a highly cautious 'straight shooter' who tends to keep his head down. So when he sounded the alarm to Congress earlier this month about an 'urgent' complaint he'd received from an intelligence official involving Trump's communications, those who've worked with him were surprised -- and took it seriously. 'As soon as I saw that it was Atkinson, I thought, "Oh shit, this is real,"' said one of Atkinson's former Justice Department colleagues.... He's ... irked Republicans who have accused both him and the whistleblower of being partisan actors. There's no evidence Atkinson is a political partisan in either direction -- a search of campaign finance records, for instance, finds no evidence that he's ever donated to a candidate. And those who know Atkinson say he wouldn't have gone this far if he didn't believe his actions were consistent with the law." --s

Mrs. McCrabbie: Something that hasn't received a lot of attention: the number of other high-ranking officials Trump has implicated in the Ukraine scheme. His acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; the Office of Management & Budget; AG Bill Barr & the "Justice" Department, of course; the Pentagon & Defense Department; the acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo & the State Department; Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin; VPOTUS mike pence; & probably others. This is one big steaming pile. ~~~

~~~ Update. Josh Marshall gets it: "... this latest and most egregious Trump scandal is that his senior team was clearly in on it, aware of it, participated in it. One key person here is Vice President Mike Pence.... On September 1st, he met in Warsaw with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The next day he held a press conference with President Duda of Poland at which he was specifically asked whether he had pressed Zelensky to manufacture damaging information about Joe Biden and whether military aid was being held up until he did. Pence started by saying he hadn't and then proceeded to give an answer that made it pretty clear that he had, even if he had not mentioned the former Vice President by name.... '... We discussed America's support for Ukraine and the upcoming decision the President will make on the latest tranche of financial support in great detail.... But as President Trump had me make clear, we have great concerns about issues of corruption.... To invest additional taxpayer in Ukraine, the President wants to be assured that those resources are truly making their way to the kind of investments that will contribute to security and stability in Ukraine. And that's an expectation the American people have and the President has expressed very clearly.... [I] also told him that I would carry back to President Trump the progress that he and his administration in Ukraine are making on dealing with corruption in their country." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Message delivered, message received. Welcome, President Pelosi.

Mark Stern of Slate: "The unfolding story of the whistleblower complaint may well be another chapter in the lengthy narrative of how the [Office of Legal Counsel] has quietly facilitated some of the worst overreaches of executive power in recent history.... The OLC notoriously issued the 'torture memos,' blessing the George W. Bush administration's abusive interrogation methods, which were hidden from the public for years. It also crafted the policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted, which boxed in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and report. Under Attorney General William Barr and Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel, who is in charge of the OLC, the office has created a legal rationale for Trump's agenda while shielding that same rationale from scrutiny.... The OLC claims authority to determine which of its opinions are made public, and it releases only a tiny fraction of its memos.... What is [acting DNI Joseph] Maguire's legal basis for withholding the complaint? The OLC told him it was not an 'urgent concern.' Its reasoning, of course, is secret." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Lachlan Markay & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Rudy Giuliani is already hinting at a new front in his questionable offensive against former Vice President Joe Biden's son. And it&'s a charge that Trump allies outside the White House have been pursuing for months. A group of conservative activists closely aligned with the president -- including former White House adviser Steve Bannon, conservative author Peter Schweizer, and anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney -- are trying to spread dirt on Hunter Biden's work in China. Their efforts have come as almost all of the national political attention is currently focused on Giuliani's and ... Donald Trump's efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating alleged corruption involving the former VP's son who formerly sat on the board of an energy company in the country.... In his protracted interview last week with CNN host Chris Cuomo, Trump's attorney said the word 'China' more than a dozen times to draw attention to the matter. Giuliani and Trump have also talked about China as a liability for Biden and his son in recent conversations, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.... 'It's arguably worse than Ukraine,'" Giuliani told the Daily Beast."

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Funny irony. Trump may be impeached specifically because of his efforts to undermine a person who will not ultimately be his opponent in the presidential race. What is he going to do? Assert that Elizabeth Warren stole small change from the coffee fund in the Harvard Law lounge? Assert Kamala Harris isn't black? (Oh, wait, that one is already in the soup.)

The Party of Treason. Paul Krugman: "Republicans have spent the past half-century portraying themselves as more patriotic, more committed to national security than Democrats.... But now we have a president who really is unpatriotic to the point of betraying American values and interests.... Yet almost all G.O.P. politicians seem perfectly fine with Trump's behavior. Which means that it's time to call Republican superpatriotism what it was long before Trump appeared on the scene: a fraud.... If a party is willing to rig political outcomes by preventing minorities from voting, if it's willing to use extreme gerrymandering to retain power even when voters reject it, why won't it be equally willing to encourage foreign powers to subvert U.S. elections? A bit of treason is just part of the package.... An impeachment process would ... get the truth about who really cares about defending America and its values -- and who doesn't -- out into the open."

Tom Winter & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's office want a judge to throw out ... Donald Trump's bid to block them from looking at his personal and corporate tax returns. The office of Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance subpoenaed Trump's accountants for the returns late last month as part of a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization over hush money payments made to two women who had alleged affairs with the president. Trump has denied the affairs. Trump's lawyers filed suit in federal court to block the request, arguing in part that Vance isn't entitled to the returns and that "'[v]irtually all legal commenters agree" that a sitting president of the United States is not "subject to the criminal process" while he is in office.'" The reporters summarize Vance's arguments against Trump's above-the-law assertions.

Hahahaha. Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Monday revived his beef with the selection committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming that the process is rigged against him. Speaking to reporters before a bilateral meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Trump asserted that 'I would get a Nobel prize for a lot of things, if they give it out fairly, which they don't.'" Mrs. McC: Yeah, when the Nobel committee starts giving out the prize for people who promote international discord, you'll win, Donaldo. (Sorry, forgot the link earlier as I was laughing too hard to concentrate.) (Also linked [belatedly] yesterday.)

Stephanie Ebbs of ABC News: "Leaders from around the world are set to discuss climate change on Monday at a United Nations summit in what one U.N. official said could be a 'slingshot' to catalyze global action toward reducing emissions and limiting global warming.... Donald Trump was not scheduled to attend but showed up unexpectedly Monday morning." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Arren Kimbel-Sannit of Politico: "The president attended the day-long summit for just 14 minutes before leaving for his religious freedom event, according to a pool report.... He found a seat in the auditorium just as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the stage, according to pool reports." Mrs. McC: So it was a GOTV-India event. Nice. ~~~

~~~ Kalhan Rosenblatt of NBC News: "Teen environmental activist Greta Thunberg delivered an emotional and scathing speech at the United Nations on Monday, accusing world leaders of stealing her dreams and her childhood with their inaction on climate change.... Thunberg slammed the members of the U.N. for caring more about money and 'fairytales of eternal economic growth' than collapsing ecosystems, mass extinctions and people suffering due to climate change." ~~~

~~~ A facial expression is worth a thousand words. Thunberg spies Trump:

~~~ So ... Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "... Donald Trump mocked Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter late Monday night after the 16-year-old excoriated world leaders for not doing enough to tackle the climate crisis. 'She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!' Trump posted on Twitter, replying to a video of Thunberg's speech at the United Nations climate action summit earlier in the day.... Monday's tweet is a striking display of the President teasing a child. In the video shared by Trump of her speech, Thunberg is visibly frustrated and at times appears to be holding back tears of anger as she dresses down the UN General Assembly." ~~~

~~~ "There Is No Planet B." Justin Moyer, et al., of the Washington Post: "Climate change protesters shut down some intersections from Capitol Hill to downtown Washington Monday morning in the latest of rallies around the world designed to force policymakers to respond to Earth's rising temperatures. Organizers of Shut Down DC urged 'climate rebels' to flood the District';s streets Monday to bring 'the whole city to a gridlocked standstill,' according to the group's website. The website included a map of so-called 'climate criminals' that includes 'corporations, lobbyists, trade cartels, and government institutions that are most responsible for creating the climate crisis.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Sunday that Iran would not resume talks with ... Donald Trump and his administration until a French plan to extend $15 billion of credit to Tehran goes into full effect.... Iran has been in conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron for weeks about the possibility of accessing billions of dollars from either the French central bank or the European Central Bank to compensate for the money Iran lost in oil sales due to American sanctions.... On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo said: 'I don't know why anyone listens to the Iranian foreign minister. It's beneath the dignity of anyone to listen to him.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So Pompeo is the U.S.'s top "diplomat," and he's insulting Zarif, his Iranian counterpart. Okay. BUT Eleanor Mueller of Politico: "... Donald Trump 'would like a diplomatic solution' with Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. 'Our mission set is to avoid war. That's the task in front of us,' Pompeo said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'That's what we've been aiming for for a little over two years now, with the strongest sanctions that have ever been put in place against this revolutionary regime.'" (Also linked yesterday.) Note to Mike: You know, if it's "beneath your dignity" (as if a Trumpy flunkie has any dignity) to listen to Iran's top "diplomat," you're not all that likely to get a "diplomatic solution."

All the Best People, Ctd. Jason Burke & Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's new national security adviser attended a segregated university in South Africa, described by one of its former vice-chancellors as 'routinely racist'. Robert O'Brien, a relatively junior official appointed to the top White House post on Wednesday, went to the University of the Orange Free State under the South African apartheid system. O'Brien's LinkedIn page says he was there in 1987, while still an undergraduate.... The first black undergraduate was admitted in 1988. South Africa at the time was considered a pariah state and faced wide-ranging academic, sporting and cultural boycotts, backed by the UN. The US imposed sanctions in 1986, after Congress pushed through the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, overriding a veto by Ronald Reagan." --s

** A.G. Sulzberger, the New York Times publisher in a Times op-ed: "Around the globe, a relentless campaign is targeting journalists because of the fundamental role they play in ensuring a free and informed society. To stop journalists from exposing uncomfortable truths and holding power to account, a growing number of governments have engaged in overt, sometimes violent, efforts to discredit their work and intimidate them into silence. Thi is a worldwide assault on journalists and ... on the public's right to know, on core democratic values, on the concept of truth itself. And perhaps most troubling, the seeds of this campaign were planted right here, in a country that has long prided itself on being the fiercest defender of free expression and a free press.... The current administration, however, has retreated from our country’s historical role as a defender of the free press. Seeing that, other countries are targeting journalists with a growing sense of impunity." Read on. What the administration did (or rather didn't do) when NYT reporters Declan Walsh & David Kirkpatrick were threatened by a foreign government is still shocking, even knowing what we know about Trump.

Christine Stapleton of the Palm Beach Post: "Bad optics has prompted a West Palm Beach Marine Corps reserve unit to cancel its plans to celebrate the corps' 244th birthday at Mar-a-Lago even though no tax dollars would have been spent, no discounts had been given and no money would have been raised at the president’s private club. The controversy and cancellation has left the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, also known as the 4th ANGLICO, with no alternative but to host the annual birthday ball in its warehouse-like quarters off Belvedere Road."

Judd Legum of Popular Information: "The 'I Love America' Facebook page boasts 1.1 million fans ... [and] reaches more Facebook users than some of the largest media outlets in the United States.... Not mentioned is that the page is managed by ten people based in Ukraine. (There is also one manager from Kazakhstan, one from France, and one from the United States.)... The 'I Love America' page regularly recycles memes used by the Internet Research Agency, the Russian entity that set up phony Facebook pages to benefit Trump in advance of the 2016 election.... There is a complex network of Facebook pages, all managed by people in Ukraine ... that are now being used to funnel large audiences to pro-Trump propaganda. The pages have also joined political Facebook groups and are active on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.... A Facebook spokesperson told Popular Information that the company does not believe any of the Facebook pages discussed in this article violate its policies[.]" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update: Judd Legum, in a tweet writes that the "I Love America" page, and every page identified in his piece, has been removed by Facebook. --s

Matthew Chapman of Raw Story: "A new report [PDF] from the Vietnam Veterans Association has uncovered an ongoing two-year effort by actors in several foreign countries, including Russia, to target U.S. veterans and servicemembers. The report shows that 'These foreign admins have created individual social-media accounts that purport to belong to American veterans working at reputable veterans organizations,'... and 'spread propaganda and false news, while shaping and moderating/censoring the conversations of the unsuspecting community of American veterans who follow or join these groups and pages.'" --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Wolgelenter of the New York Times: "The tour operator and airline Thomas Cook said on Monday that it had collapsed, forcing hundreds of thousands of travelers to scramble to find a way home, after last-minute negotiation to obtain necessary financing for the debt-ridden company fell apart.... The Civil Aviation Authority in Britain said that all Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and vacations, had been canceled, affecting an estimated 600,000 people around the world. The liquidation of the world’s oldest travel company, which specialized in low-cost package vacations that included flights and accommodation in more than 60 destinations around the world, has set in motion what was being described as the biggest peacetime repatriation in British history, as the government announced plans to bring back 150,000 Britons." The NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

U.K. Another Very Bad Hair Day for Boris. Owen Bowcott & Severin Carrell of the Guardian: "The supreme court has ruled [unanimously] that Boris Johnson's advice to the Queen that parliament should be prorogued for five weeks at the height of the Brexit crisis was unlawful. The unanimous judgment from 11 justices on the UK's highest court followed an emergency three-day hearing last week that exposed fundamental legal differences over interpreting the country's unwritten constitution." ~~~

~~~ Mark Landler of the New York Times: "The unanimous decision, which upheld a ruling from Scotland's highest civil court, said that the suspension of Parliament until Oct. 14 is void. That means that the lawmakers are still in session and will continue the debate over Brexit that was short-circuited when Mr. Johnson asked the queen to suspend, or prorogue, Parliament for five weeks.... The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who presides over debate, said the chamber would reconvene on Wednesday -- nearly three weeks earlier than the schedule Mr. Johnson had set. Mr. Johnson showed no sign of being chastened by the ruling, and did not rule out suspending Parliament again.... Mr. Johnson has suffered an extraordinary string of legal and political defeats since becoming prime minister in July.... A new threat emerged over the weekend, when The Sunday Times of London reported that when Mr. Johnson was mayor of London, his office directed government grants and coveted spots in trade delegations to an entrepreneur, a young woman, whose apartment he often visited during working hours."

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