FINNISH LINE

Trump says he welcomes impeachment because he thinks it will help him win re-election. But then why is he increasingly angry, accusatory, and profane? His latest press conference with the President of Finland was a complete freak-out

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-finland-meeting-rage-tweets
Trump Reaches His Impeachment Breaking Point In Front Of Finnish Prez

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/trump-press-conference-finland-ukraine-sauli-niinisto.html
For his part, Trump spent most of the press conference railing against the Democrats’ impeachment probe, which he once again denounced as a “hoax” amounting, possibly, to “treason.” In the course of the diatribe, he told several lies—and revealed, as he has a few times in recent days—that his biggest complaint is based on a complete misunderstanding.  . . .   Trump also said that the whistleblower’s complaint—which he described as “vicious”—differs from the transcript, when in fact the two are quite consistent. He also speculated that Schiff’s staff wrote the complaint before the story was made public, suggesting that the whole business—as he has said of the Mueller report—is a conspiracy hatched by those who are trying to reverse the 2016 election. . . . When Reuters reporter Jeff Mason asked what he wanted Zelensky to do in exchange resuming the aid, Trump went off, practically screaming at him to ask the Finnish president a question. Even by Trump standards, it was bizarre and unnerving. . . .

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-ukraine-finland-press-conference_n_5d94f639e4b0da7f6620bcee
Trump Repeatedly Refuses To Answer Questions About Biden Part Of Ukraine Call

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/10/donald-trump-completely-loses-his-mind
Trump Completely Loses His Mind At Press Conference With Finland's President . . . Trump attacks CNN and then abruptly ends the news conference. [watch]

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/10/howard-fineman-warns-take-trumps
Today Donald Trump held two incredibly irrational press conferences with Finland's president. They weren't just the usual rambly self-absorbed crap we're used to. These were angry, vicious, petty and dangerous. . . . Howard Fineman jumped right on that imagery. "The cornered animal is a dangerous animal," he agreed. "The only thing more dangerous than a dictatorial leader who's confident of his position is a would-be dictatorial leader who isn't." "Donald Trump in that press conference today went as far as I've ever seen him go down the road toward "I am king" thinking," Fineman warned. . . . 

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/trumps-very-normal-day.html
Trump on concerns about his desire to out a whistleblower: "I don't care" . . . "This country has to find out who that person was, because that person is a spy in my opinion."

[NB: The threat to "out" a whistleblower is just the kind of vindictive retaliation that blows apart the very idea of "whistleblower protection." Now the person has been put in protective custody, and their life is truly at risk. But it's true -- Trump doesn't care.]

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/2/20893840/impeachment-inquiry-trump-investigate-ukraine-whistleblower-explained
Trump’s controversial calls to investigate the whistleblower, explained

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/trump-says-house-investigations-are-bullshit/
Trump Says House Investigations Are ‘Bullshit’

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/02/donald-trump-impeachment-inquiry-020617

Trump goes into battle mode on impeachment

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/pelosi-says-trump-is-scared/

Pelosi Says Trump Is Scared 

[NB: Trump's reactions to impeachment. . .  are creating new grounds for impeachment.]

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/02/trump-impeachment-poll-support-016403

Support for impeaching Trump hits new high

Suspicious indications about the not-a-transcript of the call between Trump and Ukraine

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/odd-markings-fuel-doubts-about-rough-transcript/

[NB: Why can't we simply have the actual transcript?]

More people were part of the Trump-Ukraine phone call

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/2/1889645/-News-Roundup-Pompeo-listened-in-on-Trump-Ukraine-call-Vice-President-Pence-also-implicated

Pompeo listened in on Trump-Ukraine call, Vice President Pence also implicated

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/2/1889649/-WaPo-Trump-involved-Pence-in-his-Ukraine-pressure-campaign-but-aides-claim-Pence-s-ignorance

Trump involved Pence in his Ukraine pressure campaign, but aides claim Pence's ignorance

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pompeo-giuliani-volker-scapegoat-dirt-digging-mission

Pompeo Forced Volker Out After Giuliani Spilled That State Dept Knew Of Dirt Digging

https://www.vox.com/2019/10/2/20895103/ukraine-pompeo-trump-call-zelensky

The Ukraine scandal exposes the Trump crony Pompeo really is . . . “I’ve run out of words to appropriately convey how horrified, dispirited, and disgusted we all are,” a State Department official told me.

The misuse of "top secret" servers to hide communications that weren't top secret is worse than you think

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/2/1889566/-Top-secret-wasn-t-good-enough-Trump-upgraded-most-secure-server-to-hide-his-crimes

The State Dept Inspector General asks for an "urgent" meeting with congressional committees

https://www.axios.com/state-dept-watchdog-ukraine-committee-hearing-6c9ee710-7ef5-4bf1-a7ea-99ffc9716268.html

State Department Inspector General Steve Linick provided "assorted news clippings and conspiratorial memos" on alleged Democratic wrongdoing in Ukraine that "he did not assign credibility to" on Wednesday in a private committee hearing that he requested . . . Interview notes involving Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and "Ukrainian officials about the Bidens" appeared to be among the materials, which were addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo . . .

https://www.thedailybeast.com/rudy-giuliani-says-some-of-the-documents-state-dept-ig-handed-to-congress-originated-with-him

Giuliani Says Some of the Documents State Dept IG Handed to Congress Came From Him

https://www.thedailybeast.com/biden-ukraine-dirt-file-has-private-email-between-john-solomon-and-rudy-allies

Biden Dirt File Has Private Email Between John Solomon and Rudy Allies

All roads lead to Rudy Giuliani

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/giuliani-is-a-one-man-wrecking-crew/

Giuliani Is a One-Man Wrecking Crew

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/giuliani-consulted-manafort-on-ukraine/

Giuliani Consulted Manafort on Ukraine

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-rudy-dossier

The Rudy Dossier

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/giuliani-wont-say-if-he-has-agreement-with-trump/

Rudy Giuliani “refused to say what sort of agreement, if any, he has with President Trump to act as his lawyer” . . . 

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/trump-stands-by-giuliani/

Trump Stands By Giuliani

 

For shame

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/republican-party-collusion.html

Trump asked a foreign government for help in an election. Republicans say that’s fine

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/what-republicans-privately-say-about-impeachment/

What Republicans Privately Say About Impeachment

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/republicans-fear-what-comes-next/

“What you most hear from congressional Republicans on impeachment this week is the sound of silence . . . GOP sources say they have a good reason for that fear. They have no idea what else House Democrats’ investigation will uncover or what comes next.”

“Along with that fear is frustration with President Trump: his ranting in performances full of false claims, like Wednesday in the Oval Office and White House East Room, and stream of consciousness rapid-fire tweets — curse words and all — are not exactly an anti-impeachment road map for his fellow Republicans.”

Trump is spending $10 million on anti-impeachment ads -- because he knows where this case is really being fought

https://www.thedailybeast.com/democrats-are-getting-torched-by-trump-in-impeachment-ad-wars

No, it's not a "coup"

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-coup-impeachment-inquiry-democrats

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-accuses-dems-coup-flubs-the-words-meaning

Oh, how Trump loves to have an enemy

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-plan-to-save-his-presidency-take-a-hatchet-to-adam-schiff
Trump’s Plan to Save His Presidency: Take a Hatchet to Adam Schiff

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/2/1889601/-Trump-claims-Adam-Schiff-wrote-the-whistleblower-complaint-in-a-repeat-of-tactics-he-s-used-before 
Trump claims Adam Schiff wrote the whistleblower complaint, in a repeat of tactics he’s used before

How Bill Clinton dealt with impeachment, and how Trump is (thanks to JT for the link)

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/trumps-impeachment-plan-opposite-clintons/599095/

And still Trump does nothing

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/2/1889443/-North-Korea-launches-ballistic-missile-from-submarine-payload-lands-in-waters-off-Japan
North Korea launches ballistic missile from submarine, payload lands in waters off Japan

In investigation news . . .

A kind of confession? 

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/10/02/trump-both-accepts-and-denies-russian-interference-in-the-2016-election/
[Trump] "I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected."

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/02/trump-asked-boris-johnson-to-help-discredit-mueller/
Trump Asked Boris Johnson to Help Discredit Mueller 

Trump loves to threaten to sue people. But then doesn't

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-mueller-lawsuit-press-conference
Trump Loses His Cool And Threatens ‘Major Lawsuit’ Related To Mueller Probe

Buying favor

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/02/trump-hotel-empty-rooms-016763
A Trump hotel mystery: Giant reservations followed by empty rooms

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/controversy-surrounding-trumps-hotels-grows-even-more-serious

In other news . . . 

Fact: 60 miles of replacement fencing, so far

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1179382223860113413
[Trump] "Massive sections of The Wall are being built at our Southern Border. It is going up rapidly. . . ." 

Trump vowed to bring back U.S. manufacturing. How's that going?

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-failure-manufacturing-comes-sharper-focus

https://www.vox.com/2019/10/2/20893767/manufacturing-contracting-trump-trade-war

https://www.axios.com/china-trade-war-us-manufacturing-jobs-124d6c1e-6545-4727-b200-49875853ba75.html 

When Fox World fails the Trump loyalty test

https://www.thedailybeast.com/rush-limbaugh-blasts-fox-news-they-should-change-name-to-fox-never-trumper-network

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fox-correspondent-hannity-difference-trump-nixon
Fox News Correspondent Tells Hannity He’s What Keeps Trump From Becoming Nixon

[NB: What an unintentionally revealing line. Nixon was guilty, and got caught. So what is Trump being protected from?] 

Poor Bernie. He didn't need this

https://www.salon.com/2019/10/02/bernie-sanders-undergoes-heart-surgery-after-experiencing-chest-discomfort-campaign-says/
Bernie Sanders undergoes heart procedure after experiencing "chest discomfort," campaign says

Time to start taking Andrew Yang seriously?

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/andrew-yang-fundraising-10-million-third-quarter_n_5d94b307e4b0e9e76055fd8c
Andrew Yang Exceeds Expectations With $10 Million Fundraising Haul

Bonus item: The word of the season: "gaslighting"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-colbert-rips-trump-for-gaslighting-media-on-ukraine-call

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

FACE TIME

Trump wants to meet the whistleblower "face to face." I'm sure there is no way he would reveal their identity

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-pm-ed2c8a54-7a00-40c6-9a8f-86c99e260bc1.html
Over the past 72 hours, Trump has:

1. Called 3x for arresting a House Democratic chair steering his impeachment inquiry, falsely claiming Rep. Adam Schiff broke the law and even suggesting he committed treason.
2. Demanded to meet the whistleblower, which violates the anonymity guaranteed by whistleblowing laws and is opposed by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley.
3. Attacked his own watchdogs, pushing an incorrect story about whistleblower forms being shadily changed.
4. Repeatedly defended as "perfect" the Ukraine call where he pushed for investigations into his political rival Joe Biden.

More: https://www.axios.com/trump-tweets-ukraine-whistleblower-interview-adadb041-365d-4e69-b43c-2afe5a8c5f34.html 

A deeper dive into the Ukraine mess

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/guiliani-house-intel-subpoena
The Scheme . . . 

https://www.vox.com/2019/4/11/18291061/trump-ukraine-barr-whistleblower-investigation
The Trump-Ukraine story shows the power of conspiracy theories

The Vogel effect: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/prime/the-vogel-effect-is-real
As Blake notes, 45%-36% people believe Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden – something we basically read obvious proof of in the transcript/memo. But people also believe Biden probably did pressure Ukraine to protect his son by a 42% to 37% margin. From one perspective that number probably represents Republican partisans for whom believing whatever Republicans and especially President Trump is currently saying is an article of faith. But that is probably too rosy a take. Some of it is simply people’s cynicism about public figures. But a lot of it is that major press organizations, with some important exceptions, have in most cases treated it as something not clearly proven but which could be true.  

The new lingo from Trump and his allies: it's a "coup"

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/1/20894377/trump-impeachment-coup-tweet-authoritarian
 
More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/peter-navarro-impeachment-inquiry-coup-trump-aide

The case for keeping impeachment simple

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/10/01/democrats-mariotti-impeachment-228828

More: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/1/20893368/impeachment-trump-ukraine-news

Cause and effect?

https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2019/10/01/lead-clarissa-ward-3p-live-jake-tapper.cnn
Ukraine President Zelensky: I feel 'no pressure' to investigate Bidens 
 
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/state-department-ukraine-missile-sale-016650
State Department greenlights new missile sale for Ukraine

The Bill Barr road show, soliciting help from other nations on advancing Trump's electoral prospects

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/1/20893222/bill-barr-italy-ukraine-australia-uk
William Barr’s 4-country effort to discredit the Trump-Russia inquiry, explained

More: https://www.vox.com/world/2019/9/30/20892262/trump-barr-ukraine-australia-italy-uk-conspiracy

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/barr-mueller-probe-unprecedented

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/10/01/the-attorney-general-is-pressuring-our-allies-to-support-conspiracy-theories/
The Attorney General Is Pressuring Our Allies to Support Conspiracy Theories 

Will Barr be impeached too?

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/10/1/1889310/-It-s-time-to-impeach-William-Barr

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/ag-bill-barr-finds-himself-neck-deep-trump-scandal

How Trump abused a "top secret" server

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/white-house-trump-leaks-code-015194

Sect'y of State Mike Pompeo's big problems

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/mike-pompeo-impeachment-probe-014708
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is resisting House Democrats’ demands for documents and testimony relevant to their impeachment inquiry, ratcheting up the clash between Congress and the Trump administration. In a letter to top Democrats on Tuesday, Pompeo signaled the department would not comply with Democrats’ recent requests to speak with several State officials, complaining of “serious substantive and procedural deficiencies” in their investigation. . . . “Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress —including State Department employees — is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry,” Engel, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings said in a joint statement.  

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/01/house-chairmen-say-pompeo-has-conflict-of-interest/
Pompeo’s participation in the call between President Trump and the Ukrainian president, the lawmakers wrote, renders him a witness in the congressional impeachment inquiry, and as a result, “he should not be making any decisions regarding witness testimony or document production in order to protect himself or the president.”

More: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/pompeo-subpoena-trump-diplomats-015873
When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused House Democrats of trying to “intimidate, bully, and treat improperly” State Department employees in their impeachment inquiry, his words rang hollow to more than a few staffers in Foggy Bottom. If anything, critics inside and outside the department say, Pompeo has done little to protect U.S. diplomats from a virtual war waged on them by President Donald Trump’s administration. His abrupt withdrawal earlier this year of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine — whom Trump disparaged in a call at the heart of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry – also has raised questions about Pompeo’s willingness to stand up for staffers facing political attacks. . . .

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mike-pompeo-pushed-out-his-own-ukraine-representative-kurt-volker-to-quiet-a-growing-scandal
Pompeo Pushed Out His Own Ukraine Rep to Squash a Growing Scandal

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/kurt-volker-testify-congress-house-intelligence-ukraine
Ex-Ukraine Envoy Kurt Volker Still Plans To Testify Despite Pompeo’s Defiant Letter

What it's like being "Acting" in Trump's White House

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/01/homeland-security-chief-frustrated-and-isolated/
“Nearly six months after taking over the Department of Homeland Security as acting secretary, Kevin McAleenan has guided the United States out of a crisis at the southern border, but he also says he has lost command of the public messaging from his department and lacks some of the authority he was promised when he took the job . . . Increasingly isolated within the administration and overshadowed by others who are more effusive in their praise for President Trump, McAleenan said he retains ‘operational’ control of DHS… But he acknowledged that he is losing the battle to keep DHS, which he views as a neutral law enforcement agency, from being used as a powerful tool for a partisan immigration agenda.”

Trump's private immigration policy

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/01/shoot-them-in-the-legs/
“Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him.”

More: https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-president-is-bloodthirsty-tyrant.html

China doll

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/republicans-trump-china-anniversary-015290
President Donald Trump congratulated the People’s Republic of China for its 70th anniversary Tuesday morning. Senate Republicans were in no mood to celebrate. . . .

North Korea keeps launching missiles: Trump has achieved NOTHING but some photo ops

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/north-korea-launch-missiles-017164

In other news . . . 

Trump tweets a poll!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1178820044802940929

Here's a real one: https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/01/trump-approval-hits-new-low-in-poll/

Trump Approval Hits New Low in Poll

Farmers are pissed with Trump -- but they're still going to vote for him

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/10/midwest-farmers-continue-to-support-trump-part-234/  

An oldie: Trump's genetic theories (thanks to DK for the link)

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/9/29/1575870/-Shocking-video-of-Trump-explaining-his-dangerous-theory-that-people-like-him-have-superior-genes

In higher ed news

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/harvard-race-affirmative-action-admissions-015815
Judge sides with Harvard in case challenging use of race in admissions

The growing divide in Fox World between real news and Trumpian agitprop

https://www.vox.com/2019/10/1/20893112/fox-news-trump-identity-crisis-ukraine-whistleblower-chris-wallace-andrew-napolitano

Biden and Warren have the lead, but a lot of folks still want an alternative

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-raised-more-than-25-million_n_5d92dfdfe4b0019647adbdc3
Bernie Sanders Raised More Than $25 Million This Quarter

https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/01/harris-raised-nearly-20-million-last-quarter/
Harris Raised $11 Million Last Quarter

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/cory-booker-fundraising-014711
Booker raised over $6 million in third quarter

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pete-buttigieg-fundraising-third-quarter-2019_n_5d93026ee4b0e9e76052213f
Pete Buttigieg’s Campaign Says He Raised More Than $19 Million In Third Quarter

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/10/01/buttigieg-pitches-himself-as-biden-alternative/
Buttigieg Pitches Himself as Biden Alternative

Unfortunately, the Repubs don't have to split their donations twenty ways

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/01/donald-trump-campaign-millionsfundraising-016251
Trump and RNC raised massive $125 million in third quarter

Bonus item: Seth Meyers on the hopeless efforts of Repubs to defend Trump

https://www.thedailybeast.com/seth-meyers-exposes-republicans-flailing-attempts-to-defend-trump-over-ukraine-scandal

***If you enjoy Progressive Blog Digest and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

SLIPPING AWAY

Trump is freaking out

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/30/20891128/trump-tweets-schiff-treason-civil-war
Trump’s Twitter tirades about treason and civil war reveal a dangerously unfit president

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/30/1888981/-Trump-s-behavior-is-getting-more-and-more-erratic-and-Republicans-might-have-no-choice-but-to-oust
Trump's behavior is getting more and more erratic

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/09/30/impeachable-tweets
Impeachable Tweets 

[NB: Trump's threats against the whistleblower and others are witness intimidation, pure and simple -- and you can add those to the list of his impeachable offenses.]
 
Trump's dog whistles have become a full-throated call to action

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/30/1888954/-Gun-toting-far-right-group-says-We-ARE-on-the-verge-of-a-HOT-civil-war-after-unhinged-Trump-tweet
Gun-toting far-right group says, 'We ARE on the verge of a HOT civil war' after unhinged Trump tweet 

More: https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/trump-amps-up-attacks-on-whistleblower/ 
Trump Amps Up Attacks on Whistleblower  

I think that word does not mean what you think it means

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/30/20891096/impeachment-inquiry-ukraine-whistleblower-arrest-treason-adam-schiff-donald-trump
Trump called for Rep. Adam Schiff to be arrested for treason — but treason doesn’t work that way

[NB: "Treason" does not mean: he criticized and made fun of me. Opposition to the president does not mean disloyalty to the country.]  

The efforts of Trump proxies to deflect attention away from the not-a-transcript that depicts a clear effort by the president to enlist another country in attacking his main political rival . . . are not going very well

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/offered-opportunities-trumps-allies-struggle-spin-ukraine-scandal

Group psychology: https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/why-republicans-defend-trump/
Why Republicans Defend Trump 

Trump's defenders keep calling the whistleblower complaint "hearsay." But every single one of its major claims has been confirmed, so far

https://www.vox.com/2019/9/30/20891121/trump-whistleblower-complaint-fraud-hearsay-debunked

The latest impeachment developments

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-impeachment-probe-intensifie_n_5d92cfd2e4b0ac3cddadb65d

Russia tells Trump: you can't release the transcripts of your phone calls with Putin without our permission -- and with that, we let the standards of an autocratic state define our own

https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/kremlin-wants-to-approve-release-of-trump-putin-calls/

More: https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/remember-helsinki-when-he-spoke.html

First Russia, then Ukraine, then China, now Australia. Trump has been consistently asking other nations to help him with election problems

https://www.vox.com/2019/9/30/20892260/barr-australia-durham-trump-investigation

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/30/1889122/-AG-Barr-has-personally-pressed-foreign-intelligence-to-discredit-US-intelligence-on-2016-election

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/rapid-developments-on-the-australia-front

ANOTHER whistleblower

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ways-and-means-mulling-release-of-trump-tax-whistleblower-complaint

What is VP Mike Pence's future?

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/30/trump-mike-pence-impeachment-007838

John Bolton says out loud what we all knew: North Korea won't give up their nukes, no matter what Trump days

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/30/john-bolton-north-korea-nukes-011658

We still have courts

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/30/20891222/trumps-immigration-agenda-bad-day-court

In investigation news . . .

Trump and his legal team are overconfident that the same strategies that got them out of the Mueller mess will get them out of the Ukraine mess. I am glad to see that they think so

https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-impeachment-war-room-jay-sekulow-6d030601-6c6f-42b5-87de-7ce903c6639f.html

More: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/30/donald-trump-impeachment-staff-012914

Mueller redux

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/30/trump-mueller-house-democrats-lie-1520156
Lawyers for the House of Representatives revealed on Monday that they have reason to believe that the grand-jury redactions in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report show that President Donald Trump lied about his knowledge of his campaign’s contacts with WikiLeaks. . . .

In other news . . . 

Trump keeps trying to destroy it, but Obamacare WORKED

https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/obamacare-has-made-people-healthier/
Obamacare Has Made People Healthier

More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/09/access-to-decent-health-care-is-good-for-everyone/

The phony promise of "Trumpcare"

https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/ads-for-trumpcare-are-everywhere/
 

Theocracy watch: "religious freedom" has become an excuse for anti-gay bigotry

 

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/30/20890045/trump-justice-department-constitution-discrimination-lgbtq-catholic-church

 

Watch for GOP defections

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-civil-war-impeachment-violence-removed-from-office_n_5d916a88e4b0019647aaa42d
GOP Rep Slams Trump’s Quoting Of Pastor’s ‘Civil War’ Warning As ‘Beyond Repugnant’

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/09/mark-amodei-first-house-republican-support-impeachment-inquiry.html
Mark Amodei Becomes First House Republican to Publicly Support Impeachment Inquiry

Two more Republicans call it quits

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/texas-republican-2020-mac-thornberry-retirement

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/30/chris-collins-guilty-plea-insider-trading-1519268

The Dems will make Senate Repubs pay for defending Trump

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/30/senate-democrats-impeachment-2020-006900
Senate Democrats are growing increasingly giddy at the prospect of seeing a half-dozen vulnerable senators squirm for weeks and months about Trump’s behavior before eventually being forced to go on the record to convict or acquit Trump if he’s impeached by the House. While conventional wisdom holds that trying to remove the president could cost House Democrats in battleground seats that Trump won in 2016, there’s a sense in the party that it could improve Democrats’ bid to seize the Senate. . . .

Battleground states the Dems think they can win

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tom-perez-dnc-funding-organizers-eight-battleground-states-2020-presidential-election_n_5d91342ae4b0ac3cddaa82c9
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin

The rise of Elizabeth Warren has made Bernie's path even more difficult

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/30/bernie-sanders-2020-election-decline-228755

Why Joe, why?

https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/biden-scales-back-digital-ads/
Biden Scales Back Digital Ads 

Cory Booker achieves fundraising goal to stay in race

https://politicalwire.com/2019/09/30/booker-reaches-funraising-goal-to-stay-in-race/

Kamala Harris is struggling

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/09/30/kamala-harris-2020-shakeup-campaign-013861

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