Live political reporting continues in Tuesday’s blog:
Summary
- The Justice Department inspector general will testify before the Senate judiciary committee on December 11. The IG has been investigating whether officials violated surveillance rules by looking into Trump’s 2016 campaign.
- The US official who overheard a conversation between EU ambassador Gordon Sondland and Donald Trump will reportedly testify publicly on Thursday in the House impeachment inquiry.
- Republican senator Ron Johnson, who was part of the US delegation at the Ukrainian president’s inauguration, questioned officials who have testified in the inquiry.
- Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said Israel’s West Bank settlements are no longer considered illegal, breaking with previous US policy and international law.
The Hill is reportedly reviewing work by John Solomon, a former columnist for the publication after Marie Yovanovitch on Friday denied claims he published, according to Politico.
In her testimony last week, Yovanovitch denied Solomon’s claim that she gave Ukraine’s then-top prosecutor a list of who not to prosecute. Solomon’s reporting has been promoted by Fox News and Donald Trump.
The conservative columnist defended his work. “All facts in those stories are substantiated to original source documents and statements,” he told Politico.
Meanwhile, it seems Pete Buttigieg has moved supporters to... move in puzzling ways.
...meanwhile, during the #PeteSummit lunch break #teampete #highhopes pic.twitter.com/8VFU4b1q0c
— Liz McLeod (@LizMcLeod) November 17, 2019
Buttigieg supporters have taken to performing a coordinated dance to “High Hopes” by Panic at the Disco!.
Here’s a performance from September, in Iowa:
Here’s a supporter, explaining the choreography:
Hey @conor_mcconor here’s more of it :) #BarnstormersforPete pic.twitter.com/eIgIVO81ao
— Barnstormers For Pete- Headed to New Hampshire (@PeteBarnstormer) November 4, 2019
But why?
“This dance is fun!” GrandmasforPete tweeted.
Justice Department inspector general will testify to the Senate on alleged surveillance abuse during the 2016 campaign.
Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz will appear before the senate Judiciary Committee to testify on an upcoming report looking into whether the FBI violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the Russia probe.
Horowitz will testify publicly on Dec. 11, according to Senate judiciary committee chair Lindsay Graham. He’s likely to address whether the FBI’s court-ordered surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide was handled properly
Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC today announced that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz will testify before the Committee on Wednesday, December 11, 2019.https://t.co/q4dWeTyZNy
— Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) November 18, 2019
Graham and other Trump allies have suggested that the upcoming report will undermine the credibility of the Russia probe by providing improper conduct during the early stages of the investigation.
The report is likely to be released at the height of the impeachment inquiry and could bolster Republicans who claim that Trump has been unfairly targeted by government officials investigating his actions.
Senator Ron Johnson responds to Republicans' request for information on Trump and Sondland
Ron Johnson, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, responded to Republican congressmen involved in the impeachment hearings with his account of the Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. In a letter to Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan, Johnson said that Trump denied a link between investigations and aid to Ukraine, and that the president said he “barely knew” EU ambassador Gordon Sondland.
Johnson also questioned the motives of witnesses who have testified in the impeachment inquiry, and called the inquiry a “ “continuation of a concerted, and possibly coordinated effort to sabotage the Trump administration”.
The Republican senator and frequent Trump defender attended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inauguration in May as part of a delegation that also included Sondland, Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker, energy secretary Rick Perry, Trump’s energy secretary; National Security Council official Alexander Vindman.
Politico and the Democratic National Committee are reportedly at odds over the ideology of a proposed moderator of the December presidential primary debate.
Because Tim Alberta, the chief political correspondent for Politico Magazine, used to write for the National Review, a conservative magazine and has spent much of his recent career reporting on the Republican Party, DNC officials are concerned that he’s ill-suited to moderate a debate that’s meant to better inform Democratic voters, sources told NBC news.
Journalists for various outlets have come to Alberta’s defense, noting that he is a non-partisan journalist.
Tim Alberta is a nonpartisan journalist. Byers doesn't need to qualify that as just Politico's perspective. And if the DNC can't handle questions from someone who once worked for the National Review, they should quit now. https://t.co/j6VaSGkdlq
— Dan Friedman (@dfriedman33) November 18, 2019
Some pointed out that other Democratic debate moderators have had an ideological bias.
Although, and let's be really candid here, It says something about the @DNC's process that they're cool with Rachel @Maddow (who doesn't hide ideology) & @GStephanopoulos (worked in Clinton WH) hosting a debate but have a problem with Tim b/c he has National Review on his resume.
— Derek Wallbank (@dwallbank) November 18, 2019
Updated
Report: David Holmes will testify publicly on Thursday as part of impeachment inquiry
The US official who overheard a key phone conversation between Eu ambassador Gordon Sondland and Donald Trump will testify publicly as part of the House impeachment inquiry, according to CNN.
David Holmes, the counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Ukraine, said in a closed-door testimony last week he overheard Sondland tell Trump that the Ukrainian president “loves your ass”.
Holmes will testify alongside former White House official Fiona Hill on Thursday, CNN reported, citing a Democratic aide.
Evening summary
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the US does not consider Israel’s West Bank settlements to be a violation of international law, marking a significant Middle East policy shift. Pompeo also dodged questions about the impeachment inquiry, including whether he still has confidence in acting US ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor.
- House lawyers told a federal court that lawmakers are investigating whether Trump lied to Robert Mueller as the Justice Department seeks a stay on congressional Democrats receiving the special counsel’s grand jury materials.
- Trump said he would “strongly consider” testifying in the impeachment inquiry, but that suggestion was met with skepticism given the president’s past refusals to sit for an interview with Mueller.
- The Supreme Court issued a temporary stay on a House committee receiving Trump’s financial records from a subpoena it issued.
- The House will vote on a continuing resolution tomorrow that would fund the government through Dec. 20 and avert a shutdown.
- New polls confirmed Joe Biden maintains a strong lead in South Carolina as his fellow Democratic presidential candidates have struggled to put a dent in his polling advantage among African American voters.
Maanvi will have much more coming up on the news of the day, so stay tuned.
House to vote tomorrow on government funding bill
The House intends to vote tomorrow on a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 20 as concerns mount about a potential shutdown amid the impeachment inquiry.
The House will vote tomorrow on a continuing resolution to fund government through December 20. We must use this additional time to fully fund the government before the end of the year.
— Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) November 18, 2019
Current government funding expires on Thursday, and the Democrats leading the House are proposing to keep spending at current levels for another month, with the hope they’ll be able to strike a deal with Republicans on a full spending bill by Dec. 20.
The new Quinnipiac poll of South Carolina has given Tom Steyer his final qualifying poll for the December debate, and Andrew Yang now only needs one more to cross the polling threshold.
Steyer still needs to meet the donor requirement, but he is reportedly on track to do so, and Yang has already attracted enough donors to qualify. If they do meet the requirements, the billionaire activist and tech entrepreneur would be the seventh and eighth candidates to qualify for the December debate.
The debate ramifications: @TomSteyer has now HIT the POLLING THRESHOLD. He still needs the donors, but his campaign told me on Friday they were on track to do so. @AndrewYang gets his third poll, needing just one more to qualify https://t.co/RKRRj3Glu9
— Zach Montellaro (@ZachMontellaro) November 18, 2019
Another poll shows Biden with commanding South Carolina lead
Another poll has been released showing Joe Biden with a commanding lead in the early voting state of South Carolina, buoyed by the support of African American voters.
According to the Quinnipiac poll, Biden has the support of 33% of South Carolina Democrats, putting him 20 points ahead of Elizabeth Warren. Bernie Sanders hit 11%, and Pete Buttigieg trails at 6%.
Among the state’s African American Democrats, Biden hits 44% compared to Sanders’ 10% and Warren’s 8%. Buttigieg attracted 0% of the support of black Democrats in South Carolina, once again underscoring the Indiana mayor’s difficulties in appealing to African American voters.
Buttigieg has surged in the mostly white states of Iowa and New Hampshire, but his struggles to attract the support of African Americans -- who make up a large share of the Democratic primary electorate -- could hinder his candidacy in the later-voting states.
During his press conference announcing the policy shift on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, secretary of state Mike Pompeo notably dodged a question on whether he still trusted Bill Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine.
During a rare press conference at the @StateDept, @SecPompeo declines to directly answer @EenaRuffini's question of whether he still has confidence in Amb. Bill Taylor.
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) November 18, 2019
Trump has reportedly expressed frustration with Pompeo for asking Taylor to step in after the ouster of Maria Yovanovitch, accusing the secretary of state of jeopardizing his presidency by hiring officials who have testified in the impeachment inquiry.
Pompeo announces Iraeli policy change and briefly touches on impeachment
Secretary of state Mike Pompeo has announced the US does not consider Israel’s West Bank settlements to be a violation of international law, marking a significant policy shift in the Middle East.
The New York Times reports:
The United States has in the past described the settlements as illegitimate, and Palestinians have demanded the land for a future state, a goal that has been backed by the international community.
But President Trump has been persistent in changing United States policy on Israel and the Palestinian territories — moves aimed at boosting political support for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who has failed to form a government after two rounds of elections with razor-close outcomes.
Pompeo also tried to brush off questions about the House impeachment inquiry just three days after Maria Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, criticized state department leadership for not standing by its foreign service officers. “I always defend state department employees,” Pompeo told reporters.
"I'm not going to get into the issues surrounding the Democrat impeachment inquiry," Sec. Mike Pompeo says when questioned about criticism whether he has properly defended State Dept. employees. "Just not going to do it today." https://t.co/JsAo4rT8TM pic.twitter.com/GpOHZ83uQZ
— ABC News (@ABC) November 18, 2019
Nancy Pelosi also argued in her “Dear Colleague” letter on the impeachment inquiry that the investigation is crucial to protecting the integrity of US elections.
“The weak response to these hearings has been, ‘Let the election decide,’” the House speaker wrote. “That dangerous position only adds to the urgency of our action, because the President is jeopardizing the integrity of the 2020 elections.”
Some of Trump’s allies have argued the inquiry is undermining the 2020 race because lawmakers are considering whether the president should be impeached and removed from office just a year before the election.
Pelosi releases 'Dear Colleague' letter on impeachment inquiry
House speaker Nancy Pelosi just released a “Dear Colleague” letter defending the impeachment inquiry amid Trump’s repeated attacks on the investigation.
Speaker Pelosi sends letter to Dems disputing GOP defenses, including that Trump didn’t do anything wrong bc aid eventually came pic.twitter.com/FVe60hF5pJ
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) November 18, 2019
Pelosi emphasized the House is continuing to work on legislation related to government funding and trade, even as the investigation intensifies. Trump has repeatedly claimed the impeachment inquiry is interfering with the House’s legislative agenda. “At the same time we legislate, we continue to investigate and litigate, as the impeachment inquiry proceeds,” Pelosi said.
The House speaker went on to lay out the accusations against Trump, once again using the term “bribery” to describe the president’s alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
“The facts are uncontested: that the President abused his power for his own personal, political benefit, at the expense of our national security interests,” Pelosi wrote.
“There are also some who say that no serious wrongdoing was committed, because the military assistance to Ukraine was eventually released. The fact is, the aid was only released after the whistleblower exposed the truth of the President’s extortion and bribery, and the House launched a formal investigation.”
A bipartisan pair of senators are considering an IRS whistleblower’s claim that a Trump political appointee may have interfered with the routine audit of the president and vice president’s tax returns.
The Washington Post reports:
Staff members for Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (Ore.), the chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, met with the IRS whistleblower earlier this month, those people said. Follow-up interviews are being scheduled to further explore the whistleblower’s allegations.
It could not be learned to what extent the senators consider the whistleblower a credible source. Trump administration officials have previously played down the complaint’s significance and suggested that it is politically motivated.
The whistleblower, a career IRS official, initially filed a complaint in July, reporting that he was told that at least one Treasury political appointee attempted to improperly interfere with the annual audit of the president’s or vice president’s tax returns. In recent weeks, the whistleblower filed additional documentation related to the original complaint, which was given to congressional officials in July, [two people familiar with the matter] said.
Representative Richard Neal, the Democratic chairman of the House ways and means committee, previously said the complaint raised “serious and urgent concerns” about the IRS audit process, which is supposed to be protected from political interference.
Gold Star father Khizr Khan endorses Biden
Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who became famous following his speech condemning Trump at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, has announced he is endorsing Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
“I’m supporting Joe Biden for President because of the America he stands for and the one he will fight for — the country that my son, Humayun Khan, believed in and fought for so bravely,” Khan said in a statement released by Biden’s campaign.
“Beating Donald Trump and the hatred he promotes is the top priority in this election. But after Trump is gone, we need someone to help unite us and help us heal. I trust Joe Biden to be that person because I know his heart like I know my own.”
In his 2016 speech, Khan reflected upon the loss of his son in the Iraq War and lambasted Trump’s proposal to block Muslims from entering the country. “Let me ask you, have you even read the United States constitution?” Khan famously said, addressing Trump. Producing a reproduction of the constitution from his pocket, Khan added, “I will gladly lend you my copy.”
The speech sparked an attack from then-candidate Trump, who claimed Khan had not “allowed” his wife Ghazala to speak. That triggered criticism from both Republicans and Democrats and was considered by many to be one of the lowest points of Trump’s campaign.
Supreme Court issues temporary stay on House receiving Trump's financial records
The Supreme Court has issued a temporary stay on the House subpoena demanding access to Trump’s financial records, fulfilling the president’s wishes for the time being.
NEW: Supreme Court issues administrative stay blocking House subpoena for Trump financial records. This comes after the House said it would agree to a delay until the end of the month. Order from Chief Justice Roberts applies until "further order."
— Greg Stohr (@GregStohr) November 18, 2019
The House’s top lawyer previously said lawmakers would consent to a 10-day delay to allow for the filing of all applicable briefs in the case, but the counsel emphasized that a longer delay should not be necessary.
Midday summary
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Trump said he would “strongly consider” testifying in the impeachment inquiry, possibly in writing, but that suggestion was met with skepticism given the president’s refusal to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller.
- House lawyers told a federal court that lawmakers are investigating whether Trump lied to Mueller, as the Justice Department seeks a stay on congressional Democrats obtaining the special counsel’s grand jury material.
- The Ukrainian president reportedly felt pressured to announce an investigation into Joe Biden months before his July phone call with Trump, undercutting his denials of such a campaign by the president’s allies.
The blog will have much more coming up, so stay tuned.
Pete Buttigieg’s campaign issued an explanation on how a woman from Kenya ended up featured on its website promoting the Democratic presidential candidate’s “Douglass Plan: A Comprehensive Investment in the Empowerment of Black America.”
The photo was removed from the page on our website promoting the Douglass Plan months ago as part of a regular update.
— Sean Savett (@ssavett) November 18, 2019
However, we want to give everyone an explanation for how it was used to begin with. 1/3 https://t.co/2OGtDcI4TA
As our campaign has grown, we have brought all of our web development in-house to help guard against mistakes like this. We apologize for its use and for the confusion it created.
— Sean Savett (@ssavett) November 18, 2019
Buttigieg’s rapid response communications director said that the picture has been removed and noted the stock photo was not initially labeled as having been taken in Kenya.
The staffer added that the campaign’s web operations have been moved in-house to prevent such errors in the future.
Two House Republicans are requesting information from a Senate Republican on conversations he reportedly had with Trump and Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, about the frozen military aid to Ukraine.
In a letter to Sen. Johnson, Reps. Jordan and Nunes "reluctantly write to request any firsthand information you have about President Trump’s actions toward Ukraine between April and September 2019." pic.twitter.com/ge93iaul5X
— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) November 18, 2019
“Because the Democrats have abandoned fundamental fairness and objectivity in their ‘impeachment inquiry,’ we reluctantly write to request any firsthand information you have about President Trump’s actions toward Ukraine between April and September 2019,” representatives Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes wrote to senator Ron Johnson.
The Wisconsin Republican said yesterday he likely would not testify in the inquiry but would be willing to “supply my telling of events” in a written statement.
Johnson told the Wall Street Journal last month that Sondland explicitly tied the frozen aid to an announcement of investigations, but Trump later told the Senate Republican that the two were not connected.
7 in 10 Americans say Trump's investigation request was wrong
According to a new poll, 70% of Americans believe Trump’s alleged efforts to have Ukraine investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, were wrong.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 51% of Americans think Trump should be impeached and removed from office. Another 19% say Trump’s actions were wrong but that he should not be removed from office, and 25% believe the president did nothing wrong.
And as the second week of impeachment hearings begins tomorrow, only 21% of Americans say they are following the hearings very closely.
Lawyers for the House suggested in a previous court filing that the grand jury material from Robert Mueller’s investigation could help them determine whether Trump was truthful in his answers to the special counsel.
“Not only could those materials demonstrate the president’s motives for obstructing the special counsel’s investigation, they also could reveal that Trump was aware of his campaign’s contacts with WikiLeaks,” the lawyer’s wrote in the late September filing.
They added, “Those materials therefore have direct bearing on whether the president was untruthful, and further obstructed the special counsel’s investigation, when in providing written responses to the special counsel’s questions he denied being aware of any communications between his campaign and WikiLeaks.”
House investigating whether Trump lied to Mueller
The House told a federal court that it is investigating whether Trump lied to Robert Mueller as the Justice Department seeks a stay on lawmakers receiving grand jury material from the special counsel’s investigation.
House tells court it is now probing whether Trump lied to Mueller. “Did the President lie? Was the President not truthful in his responses to the Mueller investigation?” House General Counsel Doug Letter said, explaining why they want Mueller grand jury material, per @kpolantz
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 18, 2019
The president provided Mueller with written answers to some of the special counsel’s questions but refused to sit for an interview with his team. Mueller also wrote in his final report that he considered some of Trump’s answers to be incomplete or imprecise.
Even though he has not yet officially launched his presidential bid, billionaire Michael Bloomberg has already picked up a key endorsement in the early voting state of South Carolina.
The AP reports:
Steve Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia, told The Associated Press on Monday that he’s ready to back the billionaire if he decides to seek the Democratic presidential nomination.
‘He’s got what it takes and he’s got the resources to take it to Trump,’ Benjamin said in an interview. ‘I believe firmly that Mike Bloomberg can win. I think resources are going to matter.’
First elected in 2010, Benjamin is one of South Carolina’s highest-profile black politicians. He’s met with nearly all of the Democratic White House hopefuls, offering advice as they wind their way through South Carolina, home to the first southern primary next year and a contest in which support from black voters is critical.
Other Democratic presidential candidates have struggled to put a dent in Joe Biden’s lead in South Carolina. A new CBS News/YouGov poll from the state showed Biden attracting the support of 45% of South Carolina Democrats, putting him 28 points ahead of second-place finisher Elizabeth Warren.
An endorsement from a prominent African American politician could help Bloomberg start to chip away at Biden’s polling advantage, particularly given South Carolina’s large black electorate. The former New York mayor also visited a black church yesterday to apologize for championing “stop and frisk” despite its disproportionate effect on people of color.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has sent a letter to defense secretary Mark Esper asking him to ensure that two of the witnesses in this week’s impeachment hearing, Lt Col Alexander Vindman and Laura Cooper, are protected from retaliation.
NEW: Sen. Chuck Schumer calls on Defense Sec. Esper to ensure Alexander Vindman and Laura Cooper "are afforded the same protections as whistleblowers and are protected from retaliation" amid their public testimony this week. https://t.co/aE2u6rLZHD pic.twitter.com/kdMk3c0elv
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) November 18, 2019
“Since their identities were revealed, LTC Vindman and Ms. Cooper have been vilified and attacked by individuals in the media and elsewhere,” Schumer wrote.
“Accordingly, I request that you formally notify all civilian and military personnel of their legal rights to make protected disclosures to Congress. I also request that you brief me on what actions are being taken to ensure that LTC Vindman, Ms. Cooper, and other whistleblowers like them are afforded appropriate protections—both from workplace reprisals and for their personal safety and that of their families.”
Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the national security council, is scheduled to testify tomorrow morning, and Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, will speak to impeachment investigators on Wednesday afternoon.
Trump and Powell have previously unannounced meeting
The Federal Reserve has just announced that its chairman, Jerome Powell, met with Trump and Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin in a sit-down that was not on the president’s original public schedule.
The central bank said in a statement after the meeting, “At the President’s invitation, Chair Powell met with the President and the Treasury Secretary Monday morning at the White House to discuss the economy, growth, employment and inflation.
“Chair Powell’s comments were consistent with his remarks at his congressional hearings last week. He did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming information that bears on the outlook for the economy.
“Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective and non-political analysis.”
That final sentences appears to be a clear dig at Trump, who has tried to pressure Powell to lower interest rates more quickly by criticizing him over Twitter.
However, Trump was purely positive in his latest tweet about Powell, claiming their meeting was “very good & cordial.”
Just finished a very good & cordial meeting at the White House with Jay Powell of the Federal Reserve. Everything was discussed including interest rates, negative interest, low inflation, easing, Dollar strength & its effect on manufacturing, trade with China, E.U. & others, etc.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2019
Testifying to Congress last week, Powell said that he was confident the Fed’s plan for lowering interest rates would help the US economy, although he acknowledged the trade war with China (among other factors) has harmed growth.
Updated
Ukrainian president reportedly felt pressure to investigate Biden before July call
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reportedly felt pressure to announce an investigation into Joe Biden even before his July phone call with Trump, which sparked the impeachment inquiry.
The AP reports:
In early May, staff at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, including then-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, were briefed on a meeting Zelenskiy held in which he sought advice on how to navigate the difficult position he was in, according to two people with knowledge of the briefings.
He was concerned that Trump and associates were pressing him to take action that could affect the 2020 U.S. presidential race, the people said. They spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic and political sensitivity of the issue.
The briefings show that U.S. officials knew early that Zelenskiy was feeling pressure to investigate Biden, even though the Ukrainian leader later denied it in a joint news conference with Trump in September.
This new reporting undermines Zelenskiy’s denials that he felt White House pressure to investigate Biden, which Republicans have repeatedly cited to push back against Democrats’ accusations in the impeachment inquiry.
A CNN reporter noted that it is smart to be skeptical of Trump’s claim that he might testify in the impeachment inquiry, given the president’s repeated promises to answer questions from special counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump claimed for months he was going to sit down with Mueller’s team, then gave written responses, which the special counsel found inadequate. He also has directed his WH not to turn over docs or agree to testify. Now claims he will “strongly consider” testifying himself https://t.co/6MfZNmddBR
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 18, 2019
Trump did eventually answer some written questions from Mueller’s team, but the president refused to sit down for an interview despite the special counsel’s requests. Mueller also said in his report that he found a number of Trump’s written answers to be incomplete or imprecise.
Updated
Trump and Pompeo reportedly at odds over impeachment inquiry
The accelerating impeachment inquiry has reportedly created tension in the relationship between Trump and secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who has previously been considered one of the cabinet members with the most sway over the president.
NBC News reports:
Trump has fumed for weeks that Pompeo is responsible for hiring State Department officials whose congressional testimony threatens to bring down his presidency, the officials said. The president confronted Pompeo about the officials — and what he believed was a lackluster effort by the secretary of state to block their testimony — during lunch at the White House on Oct. 29, those familiar with the matter said.
Inside the White House, the view was that Trump ‘just felt like, ‘rein your people in,’’ a senior administration official said.
Trump particularly blames Pompeo for tapping Ambassador Bill Taylor in June to be the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, the current and former senior administration officials said.
According to his public schedule, Trump is set to meet with Pompeo at 4 p.m. today, so the subject of state department officials testifying in the inquiry may arise again.
Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was back on the bench today after missing one day of oral arguments last week because of a “stomach bug.”
NEWS: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is back on the Supreme Court bench today after missing one day of courtroom argument last week, NBC's Pete Williams reports.
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) November 18, 2019
She was absent last Wednesday, and a court official at the time said she was "home with a stomach bug."
The liberal justice, who is the oldest member of the court at 86 years old, has had some health issues in recent months and has fought cancer several times.
Holmes arrives on Capitol Hill to review testimony
David Holmes, a staffer at the US embassy in Kyiv, has arrived on Capitol Hill to review his closed-door testimony in the impeachment inquiry.
Diplomat David Holmes at the Capitol to review his Friday night deposition
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) November 18, 2019
According to his opening statement, Holmes today impeachment investigators that Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, had referenced a “Biden investigation” in Ukraine as a possible boon to the president.
The testimony undermines Sondland’s assertion to the House committees investigating impeachment that he was not aware of a connection between the Ukrainian energy company Burisma and the Bidens.
Buttigieg surges in Iowa as he receives criticism
Meanwhile, on the 2020 campaign trail, it was a very mixed weekend for Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
On the plus side, the Indiana mayor surged into first place in a CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers. Buttigieg has hit 25% in the first caucus state – putting him nine points ahead of Elizabeth Warren and 10 points ahead of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.
However, the Intercept also published an article on the Buttigieg campaign’s outreach (or lack thereof) to African American voters, who make up a large portion of the Democratic primary electorate.
According to the Intercept, Buttigieg’s campaign recently released a list of 400 endorsers of his “Douglass Plan: A Comprehensive Investment in the Empowerment of Black America.” However, some of the most prominent endorsers said they actually had misgivings about the plan or felt their support for the proposal had been purposely misconstrued as an endorsement of Buttigieg’s candidacy.
To top it all off, at least half of the people on the list were white, even though the campaign had billed the endorsements as a demonstration of support for Buttigieg within the black community.
The Intercept reporter who wrote the story later added that a woman in Kenya was confused to see a picture of her used as a stock photo on Buttigieg’s website for the Douglass Plan. The campaign removed the photo and blamed the error on a contractor who helped build the website.
Long story short: Buttigieg is in a strong position in Iowa. But the question of how he will build his campaign beyond the mostly white states of Iowa and New Hampshire remains largely unanswered.
Updated
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer echoed House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s suggestion that Trump come testify in the impeachment inquiry.
“If Donald Trump doesn’t agree with what he’s hearing, doesn’t like what he’s hearing, he shouldn’t tweet. He should come to the committee and testify under oath,” the New York Democrat said yesterday. “And he should allow all those around him to come to the committee and testify under oath.”
Schumer argued Trump’s refusal to cooperate with the inquiry, as well as his efforts to block aides from testifying, beg the question: “What is he hiding?”
Updated
Sondland kept senior administration officials aware of Ukraine pressure campaign
Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU who is set to testify on Wednesday, reportedly kept some senior administration officials aware of the campaign to pressure Ukraine to open investigations into Joe Biden and the 2016 election.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Several witnesses have testified to impeachment investigators that they were alarmed by what they perceived as dual channels of U.S. policy on Ukraine—one traditional, and the other led by Mr. Sondland and Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, which focused on the president’s push for certain investigations. Mr. Sondland kept several top officials—including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Energy Secretary Rick Perry—apprised of that push, according to the emails reviewed by the Journal, in the weeks leading up to Mr. Trump’s July 25 phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart that spurred a whistleblower complaint and, ultimately, the impeachment probe.
Sondland will almost be certainly be pressed on who in the White House knew what and when during his public testimony in the impeachment inquiry on Wednesday.
Trump says he would 'strongly consider' testifying in impeachment hearings
Trump is using his light schedule today to tweet out more criticism of Democrats for their handling of the House impeachment inquiry.
However, the president interestingly said he would “strongly consider” testifying in the impeachment inquiry, possibly in writing.
....that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt. She also said I could do it in writing. Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2019
Nancy Pelosi suggested that Trump testify while appearing on “Face the Nation” yesterday. “If he has information that is exculpatory, that means ex, taking away, culpable, blame, then we look forward to seeing it,” the House speaker said.
Pelosi added that Trump “could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants.”
Updated
Trump's defense tested by this week's impeachment hearings
Good morning, live blog readers!
The second round of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump begins tomorrow, and Republicans’ defenses of the president’s alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden, are going to be put to the test.
Republicans on the House intelligence committee sought to dismiss last week’s damning testimony from Bill Taylor, Gorge Kent and Maria Yovanovitch as secondhand information because none of the state department officials spoke directly to Trump as the Ukraine controversy unfolded.
However, Trump’s congressional allies will need to devise a new defense this week. Some of this week’s most anticipated witnesses – Lt Col Alexander Vindman, who will testify tomorrow, and Gordon Sondland, who will testify Wednesday – did speak to Trump directly about the pressure campaign. Vindman was even on Trump’s July call with the Ukrainian president that sparked the initial whistleblower complaint.
As the hearings get closer and closer to the White House, congressional Republicans will have to quickly work out a new strategy if they want to protect Trump from the accelerating inquiry.
Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on today:
- Trump has no public events today but will meet with secretary of state Mike Pompeo this afternoon.
- Democratic presidential candidate Deval Patrick will make his first visit to Iowa since launching his campaign.
- The House and the Senate are back in session.
That’s all still coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
