Bill Taylor testified he was told by Sondland that security aid to Ukraine could have been held up in part because of a push for Ukraine to publicly announce an investigation that could help Trump politically, per sources in both parties: The senior U.S. diplomat in Ukraine said Tuesday he was told release of military aid was contingent on public declarations from Ukraine that it would investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election, contradicting Trump’s denial that he used the money as leverage for political gain.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/diplomat-who-raised-alarm-about-withholding-aid-to-ukraine-testifies-in-impeachment-probe/2019/10/22/086fb850-f436-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html
Mr. Taylor’s testimony was based in part on detailed notes that he took throughout his tenure, according to another person familiar with what he has told lawmakers. Mr. Taylor has shared his notes with the State Department but has not produced copies of them for lawmakers conducting the impeachment inquiry, the person said. | The State Department tried to block Mr. Taylor from appearing for Tuesday’s deposition, or to limit his testimony if he did, according to an official working on the impeachment inquiry who insisted on anonymity to described the negotiations. So early Tuesday morning, in keeping with a pattern that has allowed investigators to extract crucial information from numerous administration witnesses, the House Intelligence Committee quietly issued a subpoena to compel Mr. Taylor to testify, and he complied.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/us/politics/trump-impeachment.html
_____________________
https://games-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/default/documents/542ee36f-eafc-4f2b-a075-b3b492d981a5/note/75965f57-6561-42f8-af40-a9e984a85660.pdf
Highlights:
By mid-July it was becoming clear to me that the meeting President Zelenskyy wanted was conditioned on the investigations of Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 elections
Page 6
During that phone call, Ambassador Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelenskyy to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 elections
Page 11
Amb. Sondland also told me that he now recognized that he had made a mistake by earlier telling the Ukrainian officials to whom he spoke that a White House meeting with President Zelensky was dependent on a public announcement of investigations — in fact, Amb. Sondland said, ‘everything’ was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance,’
Page 11
Ambassador Sondland said that he had talked to President Zelenskyy and Mr. Yermak and told them that, although this was not a quid pro quo, if President Zelenskyy did not "clear things up" in public, we would be at a "stalemate." I understood a "stalemate" to mean that Ukraine would not recieve the much-needed military assistance. Ambassador Sondland said that this conversation concluded with President Zelenskyy agreeing to make a public statement in an interview with CNN.
https://games-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/default/documents/542ee36f-eafc-4f2b-a075-b3b492d981a5/note/75965f57-6561-42f8-af40-a9e984a85660.pdf
Page 12
Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Yernak that the security assistance money would not come until President Zelenskyy committed to pursue the Burisma investigation
Page 10
But President Trump did insist that President Zelenskyy go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference, and that President Zelenskyy should want to do this himself
Page 12
Also on July 20, I had a phone conversation with Mr. Danyliuk, during which he conveyed to me that President Zelenskyy did not want to be used as a pawn in a US re-election campaign.
_____________________
MLB says it plans to investigate the clubhouse incident reported on by Sports Illustrated and disputed in awkward statements by the Astros.
https://twitter.com/BillShaikin/status/1186716160206635008
The Amazon hasn't stopped burning. There were 19,925 fire outbreaks last month, and 'more fires' are in the future
https://phys.org/news/2019-10-amazon-hasnt-outbreaks-month-future.html
In Hungary, a Freewheeling Trump Ambassador Undermines U.S. Diplomats—He brokered a White House meeting for Hungary’s prime minister. He spends $320,000 on parties and takes positions at odds with American policy. He says he knows what Trump wants.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/world/europe/david-cornstein-hungary-trump-orban.html
CBC News is projecting that Justin Trudeau's Liberals will form a minority government
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2019/results/
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2019/10/22/justin-trudeau-canada-election-liberal-party-victory-intl-vpx.cnn
Zimbabwe says 55 elephants have starved to death in 2 months
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/zimbabwe-55-elephants-starved-death-months-66416816
Turkey accused of war crimes after white phosphorus use against civilian Kurds in Syria
https://www.newsweek.com/turkey-accused-war-crimes-suspected-white-phosphorous-chemical-weapons-use-against-kurds-syria-1466248
Trump claimed the US captured all ISIS fighters, but they just launched a major attack on an Iraqi oil field
https://www.businessinsider.com/isis-killed-iraqi-security-forces-as-us-troops-leave-syria-2019-10
Trump campaign manager discussed using facial recognition at rallies to analyze reaction of supporters
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/466924-trump-campaign-manager-discussed-using-facial-recognition-at-rallies-to
Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked legislation that would provide funding for states to shore up election security and create more transparency around online advertisements.
https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/466985-senate-republicans-block-two-election-security-bills
U.S. troops leaving Syria and heading to neighboring Iraq do not have permission to stay in the country, Iraq's military said Tuesday as American forces continued to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey's invasion of the border region.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraq-american-troops-leaving-syria-cannot-stay-in-iraq/2019/10/22/57b7e824-f4b3-11e9-b2d2-1f37c9d82dbb_story.html
Trump Conduct Toward Ukraine Coached by Putin and Orbán (Hungary) | According to intelligence officials who spoke to the Post — and the closed-door testimony of State Department deputy assistant secretary George Kent — Trump consulted the pair in May, shortly after the election of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, to gauge the leaders' feelings on his fellow entertainer turned politician | In a May 3 call, Trump asked Putin about his impressions of Zelensky, according to a Western official familiar with the conversation. Putin said that he had not yet spoken with Zelensky but derided him as a comedian with ties to an oligarch despised by the Kremlin … The May conversation with Putin coincided with a White House visit by Orban that many in the administration had opposed because of the Hungarian leader's moves to undercut democratic institutions in that country and his combative relations with U.S. allies in Europe … Senior U.S. diplomats said they had limited insight into the private conversation between Trump and Orban, let alone how Trump's views of Ukraine have formed. But one official familiar with the encounter said that it became “clear that the meeting with Orban had solidified” Trump's pessimistic view about Kyiv and Zelensky.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/10/trump-attitude-on-ukraine-coached-by-putin-and-orbn-report.html
Massive Pennsylvania factory layoff foreshadows Trump 2020 troubles
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/massive-pennsylvania-factory-layoff-foreshadows-trump-2020-troubles-n1069341
Devin Nunes asked Russian bots to help make an article discrediting the Russia investigation 'go viral'
https://amp.businessinsider.com/devin-nunes-asked-russian-bots-on-twitter-to-get-an-article-to-go-viral-2018-2
Democrats introduce 'SWAMP' Act to ban meetings with foreign leaders at Trump properties
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/466798-democrats-introduce-swamp-act-to-prevent-trump-properties-from-hosting
Nancy Pelosi Releases ‘Fact Sheet' Detailing How Trump ‘Betrayed Oath Of Office' | The House speaker listed some of the evidence she says shows how the White House launched a pressure campaign on Ukraine and then tried to cover it up.
https://www.speaker.gov/sites/speaker.house.gov/files/Trump%20Shakedown%20and%20Coverup.pdf
Andrew Yang rules out third-party or independent run if he's not the Democratic nominee
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/andrew-yang-rules-out-third-party-or-independent-run-if-hes-not-the-democratic-nominee/2019/10/21/02b71e46-0f91-4b81-bd22-87f8eeb38181_story.html
Mitch McConnell advances another 'unqualified' judicial appointment.
https://abovethelaw.com/2019/10/imagine-being-37-and-getting-a-job-for-life/
Trump To Ban Copies Of NYT, WaPo Newspapers From White House
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/nyt-wapo-newspapers-banned-white-house
White House Officials Tried Blocking Trump From Meeting Hungary's Far-Right Prime Minister Because They Feared Pair Would Get Along Too Well
https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-officials-block-trump-hungary-far-right-prime-minister-1466903?
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen won't seek reelection after recording scandal
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/22/Dennis-Bonnen-to-not-seek-reelection-to-Texas-House
Landmark Climate Trial Turns on Whether Exxon Cooked the Books
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-10-22/landmark-climate-trial-turns-on-whether-exxon-cooked-the-books
The White House personnel office has told Trump his rumored top picks to fill the Homeland Security secretary position are ineligible by federal law
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/466793-trumps-top-picks-for-homeland-security-chief-are-ineligible-for-job
Prisoners in China's Xinjiang concentration camps subjected to gang rape and medical experiments, former detainee says
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-xinjiang-uighur-muslim-detention-camps-xi-jinping-persecution-a9165896.html
‘Loot boxes' should be classed as gambling, says children's commissioner
https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/national/17983924.loot-boxes-classed-gambling-says-childrens-commissioner/
Iraqi security forces killed 149 protesters, most by shots to head, chest | Protests over high unemployment, poor public services and corruption erupted on Oct. 1, prompting a violent security crackdown. Protesters blame graft and infighting among political leaders for failing to improve their lives even in peacetime, two years after Islamic State was declared defeated in Iraq.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-protests/iraqi-security-forces-killed-149-protesters-most-by-shots-to-head-chest-government-inquiry-idUSKBN1X116T
Facebook reports Russia's 'well-resourced operation' to meddle in 2020 US election
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/oct/21/donald-trump-news-today-republicans-impeachment-inquiry-ukraine-live?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_reddit_is_fun
Millions of apples left to rot as European pickers abandon Britain
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/millions-of-apples-left-to-rot-as-european-pickers-abandon-britain/21/10/
Russian Nuclear Submarine Misfires Ballistic Missile During Massive War Games
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-military-putin-vedemosti-thunder-2019-missile-1466636
2 Proud Boys Sentenced to 4 Years in Brawl With Antifa at Republican Club
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/nyregion/proud-boys-antifa-sentence.html
47 US attorneys general are investigating Facebook for antitrust violations
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/22/47-state-attorneys-general-are-investigating-facebook-for-antitrust-violations.html
Former Sanders Surrogate Lucy Flores Endorses Elizabeth Warren
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lucy-flores-nevada-biden-warren-endorsement_n_5da8b727e4b034f1d69f4cd5
Iran banned from world judo until it agrees to face Israel
https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/10/22/iran-banned-from-world-judo-until-it-agrees-to-face-israel/
Trump White House account tweeted that wage growth under Trump exceeded predecessors by “multiple times over.” That’s prudently vaguer than previous claims, but no less false
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1186700856084877313
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EHgCIzTXUAErQR9.jpg
Saying “denies improper relationship” in headline is a crappy choice, especially since story buries there is no proof one occurred! How about “Conservative website publishes private photos of Rep. Katie Hill, sparking Capitol Hill police investigation”
https://twitter.com/rmc031/status/1186699060742410246
Hill denies allegations of relationship w/ staffer, says "abusive husband" behind claims; She reached out to Pelosi and Hoyer personally; Cap Police investigating nude photo published w/o her consent; She has no plans to resign.
https://twitter.com/heatherscope/status/1186697736432828416
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/22/katie-hill-denies-improper-relationship-054313
Graham challenger invites him to African American Museum in SC after lynching comments
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/466951-graham-challenger-invites-him-to-african-american-museum-in-sc-after
Supreme Court rejects oil companies' request to intervene in state lawsuit over climate change
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/466937-supreme-court-rejects-oil-companies-request-to-intervene-in-state-lawsuit-over
I suspect that Clinton chose her words carefully and, rather than accuse Gabbard of anything, was connecting the dots about Russia’s interference based on evidence that has been widely reported. For example, back in February, Robert Windrem and Ben Popken reported that “Russia’s propaganda machine discovers 2020 Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard.”
The legacy of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, and suppression is alive and well in every part of this country—including in the White House where the president is a white supremacist.
https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1186668770368118785
Learning the anonymous op-ed writer is writing a book still anonymously the same day a top U.S. diplomat gives a scathing 15-page statement everyone can now read and trace back to him is really something
https://twitter.com/kathrynw5/status/1186755108954148866
One Day After Trump Called Emoluments Clause ‘Phony,’ Court Sets Hearing in Emoluments Case Against Him
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/one-day-after-trump-called-emoluments-clause-phony-court-sets-hearing-in-emoluments-case-against-him/
I guess some people need reminding that an impeachable offense doesn’t require illegality. Two of the articles against Nixon were for abuse of post and contempt of Congress. If you oppose impeachment fine. But don’t make stuff up.
https://twitter.com/JayCaruso/status/1186726641504079872
Trump+Republican Campaign Fundraiser Agrees to Plead Guilty to Falsifying Records to Conceal Work as Foreign Agent, Evading Taxes on Income Obtained by Lobbying on Behalf of Foreign Entities, and Illegal Campaign Contributions | Republican PACs | Federal prosecutors today filed a criminal case charging Imaad Shah Zuberi, a Southern California campaign fundraiser, with falsifying records to conceal his work as a foreign agent while lobbying high-level U.S. government officials. The criminal charges allege that Zuberi engaged in lobbying efforts that earned him millions of dollars, much of which was pilfered from his clients.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/campaign-fundraiser-agrees-plead-guilty-falsifying-records-conceal-work-foreign-agent
Pro-Trump websites that look like local Michigan news orgs have appeared — and the rest of the country could be next
https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2019/10/22/pro-trump-websites-that-look-like-local-michigan-news-orgs-have-appeared-and-the-rest-of-the-country-could-be-next
Christian groups defend Trump despite opposition to Syria decision
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/466986-christian-groups-defend-trump-despite-opposition-to-syria-decision
Some 2020 Democratic candidates are defending Tulsi Gabbard against Hillary Clinton’s accusations. A lot of intelligence experts aren’t. | Clinton was explicitly stating what some on the left, as well as in the foreign policy world, have been suggesting for quite some time — before going further than most. Some have argued that Gabbard doesn’t have to be proactively working with Russia for that government to be using her campaign to interfere in the 2020 election. Last month, Naveed Jamali, a former secret double agent who worked for the FBI to spy on Russia, noted that Russia could attempt to amplify support for the lawmaker by using the troll factories that were so effective in 2016. “Russia may choose to covertly amplify her message by building what may look like organic and grass-roots online support for her,” he wrote for Newsweek. “They may take some of her talking points — such as, Assad ‘is not the enemy of the U.S.’ or that the U.S. is in ‘a new nuclear arms race’ — and work to increase their reach across social media.” But he said concerns that Gabbard could be aware of Russia’s preference for her are inflamed by the fact that she “has steadfastly refused to renounce any Russian support she may be receiving.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/22/some-democratic-candidates-are-defending-tulsi-gabbard-against-hillary-clintons-accusations-lot-intelligence-experts-arent/
https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-being-used-russians-former-us-double-agent-evidence-clear-opinion-1466750
Clinton never mentioned anyone by name, and Gabbard isn't the only "she" in the race. Gabbard sure jumped out there to take the credit, though, essentially picking a fight to raise her poll numbers. Her assertion that as a veteran she's above criticism is offensive (as is her husband's reposting of her kneeling-at-the-graveside photo in uniform after being asked to take it down) and ignores the fact that ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS SERVE THE COUNTRY and the fact that Hillary has been to more war zones and war-torn countries than shitstain Gabbard and all the other candidates combined and that fact that Hillary served THE ENTIRE US MILITARY via her legislative work and First Lady work than shitstain Gabbard ever has. Gabbard has done nothing for the military or veterans. It's telling that she seems unwilling to speak to any non-Faux outlets and that her most vocal supporters are on the right.
Gabbard doesn't need to be intentionally cooperating with the Kremlin to be useful to them. Any third-party candidate can derail the Democratic nominee, and Putin's goons might well simply be trying to pick the most likely candidate to do that. Russia would support a Gabbard third party candidacy whether a controversy existed or not. Better to nip it in the bud. Clinton has done the world a favor.
Reminder: Career diplomats keep better, more detailed, more riveting notes than James Comey ever did. Opening statement of Ambassador William B. Taylor:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/opening-statement-of-ambassador-william-b-taylor/6b3a6edf-f976-4081-ba7f-bce45468a3ff/
https://games-cdn.washingtonpost.com/notes/prod/default/documents/542ee36f-eafc-4f2b-a075-b3b492d981a5/note/5125c5bd-9723-4ea9-8180-7bb6fd714783.pdf
Astros assistant GM Brandon Taubman was targeting a female reporter wearing a purple bracelet on domestic violence. She has tweeted frequently on DV; he complained about her tweets offering info on DV hotlines when Roberto Osuna appeared in Astros games in 2018. My story:
https://twitter.com/davidfolkenflik/status/1186755725969809408
Lori Loughlin slapped with additional charge in college admissions scandal
https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2019/10/22/20927343/lori-loughlin-college-admissions-scandal-charges-court-charges-indictment
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/additional-charges-filed-against-parents-college-admissions-case
Sen. Patrick Leahy: "[Trump] should read the Constitution. He didn’t know that Emoluments Clause is part of the Constitution. He thought it was some kind of a regulation. I wish he’d take the time to do what every other president has done -- sit down, read the Constitution."
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1186760388588855297
Former ExxonMobil CEO & chairman Rex Tillerson is expected to testify in Manhattan Supreme Court in a trial that began today over whether the company deceived its investors about the effects of climate change on its business and value.
https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2019/10/22/tillerson-expected-to-testify-as-trial-begins-in-ny-ags-lawsuit-against-exxon/
Pompeo knew about the ills of Trump’s “shadow Ukraine policy.” Taylor wrote Pompeo a cable on Aug. 29 telling Pompeo it was “folly” to withhold US military aid. Pompeo took cable to a WH meeting, with no result. Pompeo is a mystery figure in all this.
https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/1911-taylor-opening-statement/71cb2f887efc7eb76629/optimized/full.pdf#page=1
At 5:22 PM, the Senate’s hearing into the most important US national security crisis of the moment is virtually empty. This is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who called up the president’s own envoy to Syria, and they can’t stick around to hear what he has to say.
https://twitter.com/DefenseBaron/status/1186755631254003714
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has recused himself from a high-profile review of the Pentagon’s controversial JEDI (Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure) cloud computing contract because his son is employed with one of the initial bidders, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/22/defense-secretary-mark-esper-recuses-himself-pentagon-cloud-review-citing-sons-employment/
Tulsi Gabbard say that she doesn’t control the Russian bots that support her, but she did control the hiring of Chris Cooper, the smear campaigner who was paid by Natalia Veselnitskaya and her Russian backed sponsors to smear me and try to repeal the Magnitsky Act in DC
https://twitter.com/Billbrowder/status/1185836541295415297
One of the people newly implicated as a fact witness to Trump’s withholding of aid: CIA Director Gina Haspel Expect her to catch a subpoena.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EHhIz6HW4AIOYX1.jpg
Parnas sought to join DeSantis transition team | “ In fact, one of the South Florida fundraisers who worked on these fundraisers for us received a request from him to be on one of our transition committees for public safety. That request was denied.”
https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2019/10/22/parnas-sought-to-join-desantis-transition-team-1225865
The federal investigation into Rudy's men is widening, a Grand Jury has demanded legal documents that include bank records on Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two key operatives who worked on the Ukrainian backchannel campaign with Rudy Giuliani.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mikesallah/federal-investigators-are-probing-suspicious-financial
In 2008, the FBI sought Lev Parnas for questioning over a penny stock scam involving his former company EdgeTech He also bounced a $100K check to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and was sued by a bank in Indiana that paid it
Out of the 21 states with manufacturing job losses so far this year, some of those experiencing the greatest percentage declines are states where Trump won by less than 5%. (2/7)
https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1186777154601701376
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EHhHiFDUEAAe9da.png
TRUMP on Oct 3rd: "I spoke to (McConnell)...he said, 'That was the most innocent phone call that I've read.'"
MCCONNELL today: "I don't recall any conversations with the President about that phone call."
https://twitter.com/frankthorp/status/1186717918526148608
Igor Fruman, one of the two associates of Rudy Giuliani who are facing criminal charges in New York, has retained a defense lawyer who is also representing Paul Manafort.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1186776768327442434
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/22/giuliani-igor-fruman-manafort-todd-blanche-054996
Trump’s D.C. hotel abruptly cancels Christian aid group’s Kurdish solidarity event
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-dc-hotel-abruptly-cancels-christian-aid-groups-kurdish-solidarity-event/2019/10/22/8a0e0fd2-f4f0-11e9-829d-87b12c2f85dd_story.html
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