A group of audience members gathered behind President Trump at a campaign rally in Kentucky on Monday night all sported T-shirts featuring the phrase “Read the Transcript,” The Hill reports.
Giuliani Associate Willing to Testify
“An attorney for Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was charged last month with campaign finance violations, said Monday that his client is willing to comply with the House impeachment inquiry — and challenged the notion that President Trump does not know Parnas,” the Washington Post reports.
House Investigators Release Transcripts
“House impeachment investigators began moving witness testimony into the open for the first time on Monday, releasing transcripts of private questioning taken last month with the former United States ambassador to Ukraine and a top diplomat who advised Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,” the New York Times reports.
“The ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, told Democrats and Republicans during her deposition last month that she believed she was the victim of a conservative smear campaign that sought, incorrectly, to portray her as disloyal to President Trump and prompted him to remove her.”
Washington Post: 7 takeaways from the transcripts of testimony.
The Electoral College Could Still Save Trump
Vox: “Depending on which reputable survey you look at, President Donald Trump’s approval rating is somewhere between 41 and 38 percent — numbers that are underwhelming at best. But a new poll from the New York Times and Siena College illustrates how Trump has a clear path to winning a second term even as he remains unpopular nationally.”
“The NYT/Siena polling — which is framed as a look at the state of the 2020 race exactly one year before Election Day — indicates the Electoral College advantage that landed Trump in the White House (despite him receiving nearly 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton) is still very much in play.”
The consensus Electoral Vote Map shows seven Toss Up states.
Justice Dept. Asks for Details on Anonymous Author
“The Justice Department is trying to unearth the identity of the Trump administration official who denounced the president in a New York Times Op-Ed last year under the byline Anonymous, according to a letter from a senior law enforcement official on Monday,” the New York Times reports.
“In the letter, Assistant Attorney General Joseph H. Hunt asked the publisher of a forthcoming book by the writer and the author’s book agents for proof that the official never signed a nondisclosure agreement and had no access to classified information or, absent that, for information about where the person worked in the government, and when.”
- Hardcover Book
- Anonymous (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 272 Pages - 11/19/2019 (Publication Date) - Twelve (Publisher)
Minority Communities Waited Longer to Vote
A new study finds voters in communities with greater minority populations and lower incomes were more likely to wait longer to cast their ballots in the 2018 midterm elections.
Obama Alums Rally to Boost Biden
“More than 30 high-ranking Obama administration officials are hosting a Wednesday soiree for Joe Biden intended to be equal parts fundraiser and public show of support for the former vice president’s 2020 campaign,” Politico reports.
Democrats Bet on Obamacare to Win Virginia Statehouse
“Virginia Democrats are betting health care will help them take control of the state legislature in November, following their rout of Republicans two years ago that nearly eliminated the GOP’s hold on the Virginia statehouse,” Politico reports.
“Democrats are already pouring tens of thousands of dollars into ads targeting the health care records of GOP incumbents in newly competitive races, hoping to capitalize on recently redrawn legislative districts seen as more favorable to Democrats. And new polling data says health care ranks high for potential voters.”
Don’t Rule Out Another Government Shutdown
Jonathan Bernstein: “Is it likely? It shouldn’t be. Remember, the first rule of extended shutdowns — anything more than, say, a long weekend — is that they only happen when one side wants it and has the votes. It’s incredibly easy to keep the government’s doors open; all it takes is a one-page bill changing the expiration date, which could get through Congress in an afternoon. So even if the two sides can’t immediately reach an agreement, they could always keep the money flowing while negotiations continue.”
“Plus, Republicans should’ve learned their lesson by now. In 1994, 2013 and last winter, they thought a shutdown would be to their advantage. All three times, it turned out to be a really poor idea that didn’t work at all as a negotiating tactic and didn’t give them a boost in public opinion. This suggests they’ll be reluctant to go along with the president if he wants another one. And he’d need their support: If a temporary measure passes with the backing of both parties, Trump might well block it only to have Congress override his veto.”
Roger Stone’s Trial Begins This Week
“Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone, accused of lying to Congress and pressuring another person to do the same thing,” NBC News reports.
“A Trump friend for more than 30 years who served as an adviser to his 2016 campaign, Stone has called himself the victim of a political prosecution. During the months leading up to the trial, he was repeatedly admonished by the judge to stop making public comments about the case that could influence the potential jury pool.”
Walsh Says Fox News Is Lying to Americans
Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), who is also running for president, slammed Fox News and conservative talk radio for their coverage of the impeachment probe of President Trump, CNN reports.
Said Walsh: “This is an absolute shame and I think you’ve got to call it out for what it is. The Americans who listen to Fox News and conservative talk radio are being lied to and manipulated every day when it comes to impeachment.”
Kamala Harris Bets Big on Going Small
“In better times, Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign was full of flash: a launch rally that drew more than 20,000 people to Oakland, a five-day summer tour of Iowa on a luxury bus with her name blazing from the side in colorful capital letters, a robust multi-state operation headquartered in Baltimore,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Now, the bus has been swapped for a nondescript black SUV. The campaign stops are more intimate than immense — a few dozen people in a pastoral red barn, several hundred in a pub. And her efforts have narrowed to a single make-or-break prize: Iowa.”
“To revive her flagging campaign, Harris is betting big on going small. It is a marked tonal shift and a strategy born of necessity, reflecting her dwindling cash and limp poll numbers.”
Netflix Special Will Let You Skip the Trump Jokes
Seth Meyers told CNN that he asked Netflix to create a button for viewers to opt out of watching jokes about President Trump in his new comedy special in the same way Netflix users can bypass the introduction credits with the “skip intro” button at the top of some of its programs.
Said Meyers: “It dawned on me that because it was on Netflix, there would be this opportunity to put in technology that would allow people to skip it. It was a way to build in the response to anyone who would say, ‘Oh, let me guess there’s going to be jokes about the President.'”
Trump Can Begin to Pull Out of Climate Deal
Associated Press: “For more than two years President Trump has talked about pulling the United States out of the landmark Paris climate agreement. Starting Monday he finally can do something about it.
“Even then, though, the withdrawal process takes a year and wouldn’t become official until at least the day after the 2020 presidential election.”
Just 31% of Kentucky Voters Will Elect Next Governor
Lexington Herald Leader: “Only about three of every 10 registered voters in Kentucky will take time to vote Tuesday to elect Kentucky’s governor for the next four years, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said Wednesday.”
Writer Sues Trump for Defamation
Washington Post: “A writer and longtime women’s advice columnist on Monday sued President Trump, accusing him of defaming her this summer after she claimed he sexually assaulted her two decades ago in an upscale New York City department store.”
“E. Jean Carroll publicly described the alleged assault for the first time in June, in a published excerpt of a memoir. At that time and in the new lawuit, she said that after running into the then-real estate developer at Bergdorf Goodman in late 1995 or early 1996, they chatted and shopped together before he attacked her in a dressing room. She said he knocked her head against a wall, pulled down her tights and briefly penetrated her before she pushed him off and ran out.”
Two Ways for Trump to Regain Independents
Matthew Continetti: “Mr. Trump has two ways he could regain his standing among independents and win over undecided voters. He can pray that Democrats nominate a candidate whose personality and policies independents find more unappealing than his own. Or he can modify the way he comports himself in public. It is telling that the least likely option is the one within Mr. Trump’s control.”
Democratic Strategists Set Up $75 Million Digital Campaign
“A progressive organization is plunging itself into the presidential campaign, unveiling plans to spend $75 million on digital advertising to counter President Trump’s early spending advantage in key 2020 battleground states,” the New York Times reports.
“The effort, by a nonprofit group called Acronym and an affiliated political action committee, is an outgrowth of growing concern by some Democratic officials that Mr. Trump could build an insurmountable edge in those key states through massive early advertising efforts. Mr. Trump has spent more than $26 million so far nationally just on Facebook and Google, more than the four top-polling Democrats — Joseph R. Biden Jr., Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg — have spent in total on those platforms.”