Ex-National Enquirer Editor Tries to Kill Farrow’s Book
“Former top National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard is using high-powered law firms that practice in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and the United States in an attempt to quash Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow’s much-anticipated exposé Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators,” the Daily Beast reports.
Impeachment Bombshell That Wasn’t
New York Times: “Some Democrats prepared for an explosive revelation that might show top administration officials had tried to obstruct their work. Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers on a caucus conference call that news reports were confirming that the heart of the briefing was about the White House retaliating against State Department staff who complied with the investigation. Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called Mr. Linick’s request ‘significant’ and told lawmakers to ‘stay tuned.'”
“So what congressional aides received — a roughly 40-page packet of documents sheathed in a manila envelope decorated with cursive script and manipulated to look aged, with a return address portraying that it had come from the White House — may have been a bit of a letdown.”
Republicans Fear What Comes Next
“What you most hear from congressional Republicans on impeachment this week is the sound of silence,” CNN reports.
“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 Involved Pence In Pressuring Ukraine
“President Trump repeatedly involved Vice President Pence in efforts to exert pressure on the leader of Ukraine at a time when the president was using other channels to solicit information that he hoped would be damaging to a Democratic rival,” the Washington Post reports.
“Officials close to Pence insist that he was unaware of Trump’s efforts to press Zelensky for damaging information about Biden and his son.”
Plans to Expand Trump’s Scottish Resort Rejected
The Scotsman: “The Trump Organization’s plans for a major expansion of its flagship Scottish resort by building swaths of housing and luxury villas have been thwarted, further jeopardising efforts by the US president’s company to stem multimillion pound losses at its most prestigious overseas property.”
U.S. Plans to Collect DNA from Detained Immigrants
“The Trump administration is moving to begin collecting DNA samples from hundreds of thousands of people booked into federal immigration custody each year for entry into a national criminal database, an immense expansion of the use of technology to enforce the nation’s immigration laws,” the New York Times reports.
Fox News May Be Key to Trump’s Fate
Farhad Manjoo: “I won’t lie to you: Watching Fox isn’t easy. Much of it is still a fetid sewer of venom that bears little resemblance to the real world, and I would hope that you have more enjoyable ways to spend your time, like elective dental surgery.”
“But when news breaks on television — as it will in an unending cascade of hearings, stump speeches, debates and grandstanding news conferences from now until at least January 2021 — Fox should be your go-to place to watch, especially if you are on the left.”
“There is a simple reason: While other organizations report the news, Fox News is the news. There is now a growing rift on Fox: Its news side is asking increasingly tough questions of Trump, while its opinion side pushes his raving conspiracies. The drama speaks to real tension on the right, and Fox will inform political reality. It is no exaggeration to say that what happens on Fox now — the way it decides to play impeachment and the twists and turns of the 2020 race — could well determine the fate of the republic.”
Fox News Host Dismissed After Comments
The Wrap has learned that Todd Starnes’ contract at Fox News is not being renewed.
“His removal comes a few days after he said on his radio program on Monday that Democrats do not believe in the Christian God and instead may worship Moloch, a pagan god often associated with child sacrifice.”
Giuliani Won’t 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,” BuzzFeed News reports.
Said Giuliani: “If I did, I wouldn’t show it to you, and what right do you have to ask me that? I’m a private lawyer. I could have a handshake with him. I don’t have to tell you what the basis of my attorney-client relationship is.”
“The nature of Giuliani’s work for Trump is central to how Congressional investigators are able to gather information from Giuliani. If Giuliani has been working as the president’s personal lawyer, he could claim attorney-client privilege over his communications with the president… But there are exceptions to that privilege, and Giuliani himself recently told The Atlantic, ‘I’m not acting as a lawyer.'”
Trump Claims He’ll Sue Over the Russia Investigation
President Trump said he likely will bring lawsuits against some of the people involved in the investigation into whether he or his 2016 election campaign colluded with Russia, Reuters reports.
Said Trump: “I probably will be bringing a lot of litigation against a lot of people having to do with the corruption investigation having to do with the 2016 election.”
Giuliani Is a One-Man Wrecking Crew
John Cassidy: “If this was a dystopian thriller, one could imagine Giuliani as an undercover saboteur, who was ordered to embed himself as deeply as possible within Team Trump and then bide his time. In 2016, he proved his bona fides with Trump by publicly defending him after the appearance of the Access Hollywood tape, and then he accompanied Trump on his final campaign swing. In 2018, after Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel, Giuliani reappeared as the public face of the President’s legal-defense team. With other lawyers conducting most of the actual legal work, he had plenty of time for pursuing other projects, including a certain oppo-research effort in Kiev. And what a job he made of it.”
“Giuliani isn’t an undercover operative, of course. He’s a retired politician who couldn’t bear to be out of the spotlight and who saw, in Trump’s rise, a way to get back on the stage. He’s also a rich security consultant, whose clients include Eastern European moguls with ties to the Ukrainian government. In promoting to Trump the unfounded theory that Biden blackmailed Ukraine’s government to protect his son, these two streams in Giuliani’s life came together. And you have to give him some credit, at least, for knowing his client. Outside the confines of 4chan, there is probably nobody in America more partial to conspiracy theories than Trump.”
Justice Department Tells White House to Keep Records
“The Justice Department told White House personnel on Wednesday that they must preserve all notes regarding President Trump’s meetings and phone calls with foreign leaders,” CNN reports.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“A parental advisory for you: In this block, I’m going to be quoting from things that the President of the United States has tweeted, so if you have kids in the room, you might want to mute the television…”
— Jake Tapper, during his show on CNN.
Trump Won’t Answer What He Asked Ukraine
When asked what specifically he asked Ukraine President Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, President Trump repeatedly refused to answer the question. He became very agitated when it was pointed out that he did not answer the question.
Here’s the exchange with Jeff Mason of Reuters:
MASON: “The question, sir, was what did you want President Zelensky to do about Vice President Biden and his son Hunter?
TRUMP: “Are you talking to me?”
MASON: “Yes. It’s just a follow-up of what I just asked you, sir.”
TRUMP: “Listen, are you ready? We have the president of Finland. Ask him a question.”
MASON: “I have one for him. I wanted to follow-up on the one that I asked you.”
TRUMP: Did you hear me? Did you hear me? Ask him a question. I’ve given you a long answer, ask this gentleman a question. Don’t be rude. I’ve answered everything. It’s a whole hoax. And you know who’s playing into this hoax? People like you and the fake news media that we have in this country. And I say in many cases, the corrupt media.”
Overall, the press conference was a train wreck and showed Trump at his most rage-filled and victimized. He’s clearly in crisis.
Betsy DeVos’ Security Detail Could Cost $26 Million
The federal security detail assigned to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is expected to cost taxpayers more than $26 million during President Trump’s first term, CNN reports.
Pelosi Says Trump Is Scared
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC News that President Trump is “scared” of the impeachment inquiry she launched last week.
Said Pelosi: “I think the president knows the argument that can be made against him, and he’s scared. And so he’s trying to divert attention from that to where [he’s] standing in the way of legislation.”
Schiff Got Heads Up on Whistleblower Complaint
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) learned about the outlines of a CIA officer’s concerns that President Trump had abused his power days before the officer filed a whistle-blower complaint, the New York Times reports.
“The early account by the future whistle-blower shows how determined he was to make known his allegations that Mr. Trump asked Ukraine’s government to interfere on his behalf in the 2020 election. It also explains how Mr. Schiff knew to press for the complaint when the Trump administration initially blocked lawmakers from seeing it.”
