House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Bloomberg that President Trump’s new NAFTA deal is the “easiest trade deal that we’ve ever done.”
Said Pelosi: “We’re on a path to yes, and I think every day brings us closer to agreement. I’d like to have it done as soon as it’s ready. I wouldn’t rule it out next year. Hopefully we can do it sooner, but I said when it’s ready we’ll do it.”
“He is the war room. We don’t feel the need for a war room.”
— White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, on Fox News, dismissing the need for a “war room” to defend President Trump from impeachment.
Philip Rotner notes the process will have three phases prior to any impeachment vote by the full House:
“News footage from an October 20, 2018, midterm election rally in Nevada shows indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas standing behind President Trump,” CNN reports.
“The video of the rally is the latest example of how the pair who had little record of donations to candidates before 2018, wielded their proximity to Giuliani and used political donations to gain access to the president and political campaigns.”
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) criticized the “Medicare for All” proposal released by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as “unrealistic,” The Hill reports.
Said Bennet: “Voters are sick and tired of politicians promising them things that they know they can’t deliver. Warren’s new numbers are simply not believable and have been contradicted by experts. Regardless of whether it’s $21 trillion or $31 trillion, this isn’t going to happen, and the American people need health care.”
House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff told PBS Newshour that transcripts of the closed-door interviews in the impeachment inquiry could be released “early next week.”
Said Schiff: “You know, I think early next week is probably the realistic time. And we still need to go through some of the transcripts and excise any potentially classified information or personal information. But they will be released very soon.”
Amy Walter: “Back in 1973-74, even as voters were souring on Nixon, and getting plenty of evidence of his wrongdoings, but they weren’t sold on the prospect of the wrenching process of impeachment until the very end. Impeaching a president is rare for a reason. It can tear and divide us like nothing else. Yet, it’s hard to believe that anything can divide us more than we already are. As such, an impeachment vote feels less like a sacred, once-in-a-lifetime event and more like a predictable reaction to a time of ceaseless polarization.”
“This is a gift for us. Our internal polling shows that Donald Trump’s support has gone up thanks to the impeachment inquiry. Since Nancy Pelosi called for this we have seen the numbers go up… We can let them keep going with this because the American people are not distracted by this.”
— Lara Trump, in an interview on Fox News.
Julian Castro raised $800,000 in the last 10 days of October, a fundraising figure that he said was necessary in order to continue his campaign, CNN reports.
Judge Andrew Napolitano: “The proof is largely undisputed, except by the president himself. It consists of admissions, testimony and documents, which show that Trump sought to induce the government of Ukraine to become involved in the 2020 presidential election.”
“Specifically, Trump held up $391 million in American military hardware and financial aid to Ukraine – which is at war with Russia after the Russian seizure and continual occupation of what was until 2014 a Ukrainian province – until Ukrainian prosecutors commenced a criminal investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.”
“That is a mouthful of facts to swallow in one bite, but the legal implications are straightforward and profound. Whether one agrees with federal law or not, it is a crime to solicit assistance for a federal campaign from a foreign government. As well, the crime of bribery consists of a government official refraining from performing a legal duty until a thing of value is delivered to him.””
David Brooks: “The evidence against Trump is overwhelming. This Ukraine quid pro quo wasn’t just a single reckless phone call. It was a multiprong several-month campaign to use the levers of American power to destroy a political rival.”
“Republican legislators are being bludgeoned with this truth in testimony after testimony. They know in their hearts that Trump is guilty of impeachable offenses. It’s evident in the way they stare glumly at their desks during hearings; the way they flee reporters seeking comment; the way they slag the White House off the record. It’ll be hard for them to vote to acquit if they can’t even come up with a non-ludicrous rationale.”
“And yet when you get outside Washington it’s hard to imagine more than one or two GOP senators voting to convict.”
Rep. Don Young (R-AK) headbutted a camera when activists asked him if it was acceptable to ask foreign governments to interfere in our elections.
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Friday proposed a $20.5 trillion package of tax increases to pay for the Medicare-for-all plan she backs, a move that attempts to answer critics who question how she would pay for the proposal but could open her to fresh lines of attack,” the Washington Post reports.
“The plan is designed to hit corporations and the wealthy, including a provision requiring companies to send most of the funds they currently spend on employee health contributions to the federal government. It also would expand her signature wealth tax proposal and would make cuts to military spending.”
“Warren’s new health-care financing blueprint comes at a pivotal moment in the Democratic presidential primary, as the Massachusetts senator’s steady rise in the polls has prompted sustained attacks by competitors about how she would pay for her plans. As someone known to come up with politically savvy ways to sell dense policy ideas, communicating the gist of this 20-page proposal will be a major test of her candidacy.”
“The House impeachment inquiry is zeroing in on two White House lawyers privy to a discussion about moving a memo recounting President Trump’s phone call with the leader of Ukraine into a highly restricted computer system normally reserved for documents about covert action,” the AP reports.
“Deepening their reach into the West Wing, impeachment investigators have summoned former national security adviser John Bolton to testify next week. But they also are seeking testimony of two other political appointees — John Eisenberg, the lead lawyer for the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, a senior associate counsel to the president.”
Bloomberg: “As Stone goes on trial for lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering, it is one of the lingering mysteries of the special counsel’s 22-month probe of Russian interference in the election. And it’s one of the many reasons the trial, starting next week, will be closely watched, even as House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry gathers steam just around the corner.”
“Did Stone, an early Trump confidant and booster, know what documents WikiLeaks had and when it would release them? The government claims he tipped off the campaign, and Mueller’s report refers numerous times to WikiLeaks or Trump’s interest in its stolen cache. Mueller says Trump and campaign advisers “privately sought information” about further releases.”
A new New York Times/Siena poll in Iowa finds Elizabeth Warren leading the Democratic presidential race with 22%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 19%, Pete Buttigieg at 18% and Joe Biden at 17%.
They are followed by Amy Klobuchar at 4%, Kamala Harris at 3% and Andrew Yang at 3%.
Key takeaway: “The survey is full of alarming signs for Mr. Biden, who entered the race in April at the top of the polls in Iowa and nationally. He is still in the lead in most national polls, but his comparatively weak position in the earliest primary and caucus states now presents a serious threat to his candidacy. And Mr. Biden’s unsteadiness appears to have opened a path in the race for other Democrats closer to the political middle, particularly Mr. Buttigieg.”
Nigel Farage has launched his general election campaign in Britain by saying his Brexit party will contest every seat in the country unless Boris Johnson agrees to drop his deal with the EU and sign up to a “leave alliance,” the Guardian reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.