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A NOTE FROM FRED
As President Trump engages in one of the most shameful acts in American history by abandoning the Kurds – our allies in the fight to eliminate ISIS – to be slaughtered by Turkey, support for impeachment of the President is rapidly growing.
The most dramatic evidence of this is the Fox News poll released yesterday which found 51 percent of voters supporting both impeaching Trump and removing him from office – a record high for a Fox poll. An additional 4 percent supported just impeaching Trump, bringing the total support for impeachment to 55 percent.
The turning point on impeachment came when a courageous whistleblower filed a complaint that told the story of Trump’s July 25 telephone call to the President of Ukraine. Trump pressured the Ukrainian President to investigate his possible presidential opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, and Biden's son, and to investigate the debunked claim that the 2016 hacking of the DNC originated in Ukraine and not Russia.
The release of a summary of the call by Trump was nothing less than a confession by Trump of misusing his office for personal political gain. The summary also confirmed the accuracy of the whistleblower’s complaint.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee issued this week powerfully reaffirms the Mueller report findings that it was Russia that “sought to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election by harming Hillary Clinton’s chances of success and supporting Donald Trump at the direction of the Kremlin.” According to the report, “The Committee found that Russia’s targeting of the 2016 U.S. presidential election was part of a broader, sophisticated, and ongoing information warfare campaign.”
President Trump has done nothing to prevent this foreign interference in our elections from happening again. And “Moscow Mitch” McConnell continues to be a chief enabler of future cyberattacks on our elections by blocking almost all legislative efforts, including bipartisan Senate bills, to strengthen the security of our elections against foreign interference in the 2020 election.
While President Trump continues to stonewall the impeachment investigation, making indefensible constitutional and legal claims to justify his position, the House is on an inexorable path to impeach Trump.
President Trump keeps demonstrating to the American people just how patently unfit he is to be President of the United States.
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MUST READS
D21 NEWS
How Can Democrats Keep Themselves From Overreaching?
“Fred Wertheimer, the founder and president of the campaign finance reform advocacy group Democracy 21 and an adviser to the House Democratic leadership on impeachment, notes that if Democrats win the presidency, they will no longer have ‘uniform opposition to Trump as their organizing principle.’ In those circumstances, ‘they will need a president with a program to avoid constant policy arguments,’ he said, adding ‘I doubt they will overreach with a left agenda,’” opinion via The New York Times.
TRUMP & FRIENDS
Trump’s Bizarro World Reading Of The Constitution
“By calling the impeachment inquiry unconstitutional, Trump has ignored reality to place himself above the law. … He no longer even pretends to play by the rules,” via Politico.
Trump’s Decision On Syria Crystallizes Questions About His Business — And His Presidency, via The Washington Post.
Profit, Not Politics: Trump Allies Sought Ukraine Gas Deal
“This circle of businessmen and Republican donors touted connections to Giuliani and Trump while trying to install new management at the top of Ukraine’s massive state gas company. Their plan was to then steer lucrative contracts to companies controlled by Trump allies,” via Associated Press.
Trump Says He’s Concerned About Corruption, But His Record Is Weak, via National Public Radio.
Perry, Sondland, Pompeo, Giuliani, And Barr: All The President’s Men, Ukraine Edition
“Trump presides over an administration unusually tainted by political, financial, and legal opportunism and malfeasance, and l’affaire Ukraine offers heightened examples of that troika,” opinion via Bloomberg News.
The Shelter-In-Place Strategy To Survive Trump’s Impeachment
Mick Mulvaney “is lying low — an approach being adopted by a wide swath of Trump aides paralyzed by an all-consuming fight,” via Politico.
Trump Urged Then-Sec’y Of State Tillerson To Help Giuliani Client Facing DOJ Criminal Charges, via Bloomberg News.
“Out On A Limb”: Inside The Republican Reckoning Over Trump’s Possible Impeachment, via The Washington Post.
Top Military Officers Unload on Trump
“The commander in chief is impulsive, disdains expertise, and gets his intelligence briefings from Fox News. What does this mean for those on the front lines?” via The Atlantic.
Ed Meese An Unlikely Recipient Of Honor ... Except By Trump
History 101: MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow dives into the checkered history of former AG Ed Meese, including Common Cause’s efforts, led by its then-Chair Archibald Cox and then-President Fred Wertheimer, to stop Meese’s nomination, via MSNBC.
Education Sec’y Devos Violated A Court Order To Stop Collecting On Some Loan Debts. A Judge Is Weighing Whether It’s Contempt
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim: “I feel like there have to be some consequences for the violation of my order 16,000 times,” via CNN.
Transportation Sec’y Chao Favored Kentuckians In Meeting With Officials Seeking Grants
“Chao met with officials from Kentucky, which her husband Mitch McConnell represents in the Senate, vastly more often than those from any other state,” via Politico.
Trump Administration’s War On Science Has Hit “Crisis Point”
“Research findings are manipulated for political gain, special interests are given improper influence, and scientists are targeted for ideological reasons, a nonpartisan taskforce of former government officials has warned,” via The Guardian.
Even With Help From The Air Force, Trump’s Turnberry Resort Remains A Money Pit, via Mother Jones.
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TWEET OF THE WEEK
“When the only American citizen President Trump singles out for China’s investigation is his political opponent in the midst of the Democratic nomination process, it strains credulity to suggest that it is anything other than politically motivated.”
-- Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), via Twitter.
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THE INVESTIGATIONS
The White House’s Scathing And Legally Dubious Impeachment Letter, Annotated, via The Washington Post.
Democrats Plot Next Phase In Impeachment, Including New Wave Of Subpoenas, via CNN.
Trump’s Ukraine Call Was “Crazy” And “Frightening,” Official Told Whistleblower, via The New York Times.
The Volker Texts: What Quid Pro Quo Looks Like, via Lawfare.
2 Giuliani Associates Tied To Ukraine Scandal Arrested On Campaign Finance Charges, via The New York Times.
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HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
Facebook Confirms Donald Trump Can Lie In Ads, But He Can’t Curse
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390 DAYS …
Bipartisan Senate Report Calls For Sweeping Effort To Prevent Russian Interference In 2020 Election
The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee “said in blunt language that Russians worked to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton while bolstering Republican Donald Trump — and made clear that fresh rounds of interference are likely ahead of the 2020 vote,” via The Washington Post.
Russia Likely To Focus On Voter Suppression In 2020, Feds Warn, via CNN.
Trump’s 2016 Campaign Was Run On A Shoestring. His Reelection Machine Is Huge, via The Washington Post.
Trump Campaign Tightens Grip On Delegate Process Ahead Of Convention, via CBS News.
Warren Tops Biden In 3rd Qtr Fundraising, But Both Lag Sanders
“Front-runner Biden brings in $15.2 million, behind Sanders’s $25.3 million, Warren’s $24.6 million and Buttigieg’s $19.1 million,” via MarketWatch.
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