“A video depicting a macabre scene of a fake President Trump shooting, stabbing and brutally assaulting members of the news media and his political opponents was shown at a conference for his supporters at his Miami resort last week,” according to footage obtained by the New York Times.
House Democrats Will Keep Impeachment Narrow
“Ahead of this week’s subpoenas and depositions, new documents obtained by Axios show how Democrats are taking the impeachment inquiry in two tightly focused directions: Ukraine and obstruction of justice.”
Trump Called Head of Fox News to Complain
New York Times: “Fed up with the coverage on his favorite cable news station, President Trump decided late this summer that a direct intervention was needed. So he telephoned the chief executive of Fox News, Suzanne Scott, and let loose.”
“In a lengthy conversation, Mr. Trump complained that Fox News was not covering him fairly… Ms. Scott, who has led the cable network since last year, responded by urging Mr. Trump to sit for an interview with Bret Baier, the channel’s chief political anchor.”
Kurds Cut Deal with Syrian Government
“America’s former Kurdish allies in Syria on Sunday announced a new deal with the government in Damascus — a sworn enemy of Washington that is backed by Russia — after President Trump ordered the withdrawal of American forces from northern Syria,” the New York Times reports.
“For five years, United States policy relied on collaborating with a Kurdish-led militia both to fight the Islamic State and to limit the influence of Iran and Russia…”
“On Sunday, after Mr. Trump abruptly abandoned that approach, American leverage appeared all but gone. That threatened to give President Bashar al-Assad and his Iranian and Russian backers a free hand. It also jeopardized hard-won gains against the Islamic State — and potentially opened the door for its return.”
Trump Still Prefers to Face Warren In 2020
“President Trump’s allies still fear a general election matchup against a banged-up Joe Biden more than a run against an invigorated Elizabeth Warren,” people close to the president tell Axios.
“Several advisers in Trumpworld told Alayna that Warren is arguably a better candidate in terms of being quick on her feet and prepared on a debate stage. But those advisers say her liberal stances on some issues and her ‘likeability’ problem with segments of general election voters make her weaker against Trump than even a Biden hindered by gaffes, generational dissonances and a son with personal drama and a lobbying record.”
Erdogan Called Trump’s Bluff
“President Trump had been calling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s bluff for more than 2 years, and some senior administration officials thought Erdoğan would never actually go through with his long-threatened Syria invasion,” Axios reports.
“Trump would tell Erdoğan that if he wanted to invade Syria he would have to own whatever mess ensued… Erdoğan would have to take care of ISIS and manage international condemnation, trouble from Capitol Hill, and the quagmire with the Kurds. And when Trump put it in such stark terms to Erdoğan, the Turkish leader would demur. Until last Sunday, that is, when he told Trump he was moving ahead with the invasion of northern Syria.”
“This time, Erdoğan called Trump’s bluff, having waited for international forces to wipe out the ISIS caliphate.”
‘There Is Blood on Trump’s Hands’
Gen. John Allen, the former commander of American forces in Afghanistan, told CNN that there is “blood on Trump’s hands for abandoning our Kurdish allies.”
Said Allen: “There was no chance Erdogan would keep his promise, and full blown ethnic cleansing is underway by Turkish supported militias. This is what happens when Trump follows his instincts and because of his alignment with autocrats.”
He added: “I said there would be blood, but could not have imagined this outcome.”
McMaster Wasn’t Aware of Foreign Call ‘Lockdowns”
Three former administration officials tell Axios that former national security adviser H.R. McMaster did not authorize and was not aware of the “locking down” of transcripts of conversations between President Trump and foreign leaders that were politically damaging but didn’t pose national security risks.
U.S. Forces Leave ‘High-Value’ ISIS Detainees
“The American military was unable to carry out a plan to transfer about five dozen ‘high value’ Islamic State detainees out of Kurdish-run wartime prisons before the Pentagon decided to move its forces out of northern Syria and pave the way for a Turkish-led invasion,” the New York Times reports.
“In the same area on Sunday, hundreds of Islamic State sympathizers escaped from a low-security detention camp in the region, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Turkish ground invasion and the accompanying strikes.”
“Both developments underscored the pandemonium unleashed by President Trump’s sudden decision to order American troops to evacuate part of the Syrian region bordering Turkey.”
Warren Is Building a Broad Coalition
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Pompeo Grilled by Local Reporter
Nancy Amons, an investigative reporter at WSMV in Nashville, gave a masterclass while interviewing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the scandal involving President Trump pressuring Ukraine’s president to investigate Joe Biden.
In the end, he accused her of working for the DNC. It’s worth watching the whole thing.
Son of Sheriff Who Called Immigrants ‘Drunks’ Busted
A day after a Texas sheriff caused an uproar by calling undocumented immigrants as “drunks,” his son was arrested on charges of public intoxication and indecent exposure, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Barr Blames ‘Moral Upheaval’ for Societal Ills
Attorney General Bill Barr decried attacks on religious values in a speech, tying a movement of “militant secularism” to societal maladies including the opioid epidemic and “an increase in senseless violence,” CNN reports.
Barr said a “moral upheaval” and decades of efforts to undermine religion had given way to growing illegitimacy rates, drug use, and “angry, alienated young males.”
Said Barr: “The campaign to destroy the traditional moral order has coincided and I believe has brought with it immense suffering and misery. And yet the forces of secularism, ignoring these tragic results, press on with even greater militancy.”
Chinese President Warns of ‘Crushed Bodies’
“Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Sunday that any attempt to divide China will be crushed, as Beijing faces political challenges in months-long protests in Hong Kong and U.S. criticism over its treatment of Muslim minority groups,” Reuters reports.
Said XI: “Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones.”
Secret Testimony Aimed at Keeping Trump in the Dark
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff defended holding testimony behind closed doors in the impeachment inquiry he’s heading up against President Trump, likening this phase of the investigation to a “grand jury,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Schiff: “We want to make sure that we meet the needs of the investigation and not give the president or his legal minions the opportunity to tailor their testimony and in some cases fabricate testimony to suit their interests.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Look in the mirror and figure out how you want to be remembered later and how you feel about yourself today.”
— Former Gov. John Kasich, in a CNN interview, giving advice to fellow Republicans in Congress.
China Gives Up Little for Trade Truce
Wall Street Journal: “For now the truce opens an opportunity for Beijing to kick down the road concessions that it doesn’t want to make. Whether those hard issues ever get resolved is a question.”
“The Chinese leadership feels that time is on its side, believing President Trump is under pressure to make compromises as part of his re-election bid next year. But by trying to drag out the negotiations, Beijing also risks the prospect that Mr. Trump may harden his position again to show he is being tough on China—or that it may have to start over with a new Democratic president.”
Trump Orders Full Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Syria
“President Trump has ordered a withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria in the face of a Turkish military offensive targeting Kurdish fighters in the region, two days after he promised that the United States was not ‘abandoning’ its partners in the campaign against the Islamic State,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump ordered a withdrawal of the about 1,000 U.S. troops left in northern Syria late Saturday. The president made the decision after indications that Turkey intends to expand its attack ‘farther south than originally planned and to the west.'”
