President Trump falsely claimed that House Democrats never sought testimony from former National Security Adviser John Bolton during their impeachment probe.
Said Trump: “The Democrat controlled House never even asked John Bolton to testify. It is up to them, not up to the Senate!”
The House Intelligence Committee did ask Bolton to testify, but he declined to testify on instructions from the White House.
Lev Parnas told the New York Times that he had turned over to congressional Democrats a recording from 2018 of President Trump ordering the dismissal of Marie Yovanovitch, the United States ambassador to Ukraine at the time.
The recording emerged as Democrats are pressing the Senate to call more witnesses and seek additional evidence for the trial, saying there is more to be learned about the pressure campaign against Ukraine.
Parnas located the recording after its existence was first reported by ABC News.
Three weeks before Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) cemented his defection to the Republican Party with a pledge of “undying support” for President Trump, he sent a constituent a very different message, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
From the voicemail: “I haven’t voted for him, I didn’t support him, I will not vote for him.”
“The emergence of the voicemail comes just days before Van Drew is set to fly with Trump on Air Force One to a rally… which Van Drew hopes will help gin up support for him in the Republican primary.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) will deliver the Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union address.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) told the Washington Examiner that the $50 million in damages sought in her defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton is not enough.
Said Gabbard: “It should have been for $50 billion. What is your life worth to you? What is your honor and loyalty and your identity worth to you?”
New York Times: “Ms. Pelosi’s role in the impeachment of Mr. Trump may be formally over, but by her own design, the matter is not out of her hands. Even in her absence from the Capitol this week, as the speaker traveled through Poland and Israel in remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, she had her hand firmly on the tiller of the prosecution of the president.”
“In many ways, Ms. Pelosi is the eighth, largely unseen manager of the Democrats’ case.”
“Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) suspects a senior White House aide pushed to keep him off the president’s impeachment defense team — weeks after the Florida Republican voted to rein in Trump’s war powers,” Politico reports.
“Gaetz said he wasn’t sure why he didn’t make the cut. But Gaetz said he heard from someone in the White House that legislative affairs director Eric Ueland was ‘responsible for the brush back.'”
“I like Nancy Pelosi, I’ve known her for years. I think she is a very religious person. But when it comes to Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi may pray for him privately, but she’s orchestrated the church of holy hell. From the time Trump has been sworn in until now, it’s been one thing after another.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on Fox News.
The House Intelligence Committee released materials Friday provided by Lev Parnas, who investigators say acted as a “direct channel” between Rudy Giuliani and individuals close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Axios reports.
“The new materials detail conversations between Parnas and one of House Intelligence Ranking Member Devin Nunes’ aides, highlighting surveillance efforts against Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.”
Washington Post: “The text messages corroborate Parnas’s previous claims that he arranged conversations with the Ukrainian prosecutors for the Nunes aide. And they deepen questions about how much Nunes knew about the pressure campaign — even as he served as one of Trump’s most vociferous defenders during the House impeachment hearings.”
“She’s going to get us. Total assassin. She’s an assassin.”
— Stephen Bannon, quoted in A Very Stable Genius, about Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Axios excerpts the full passage.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) told The Root about the struggles she faces with alopecia, a condition that can cause hair loss, and revealed her bald head for the first time in public.
Said Pressley: “I think it’s important that I’m transparent about this new normal.”
“The speaker distributed souvenir pens to her own colleagues, emblazoned with her own golden signature, that literally came in on silver platters. Nothing says seriousness and sobriety like handing out souvenirs as though this were a happy bill signing instead of the gravest process in our Constitution.”
— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by Politico, on Speaker Nancy Pelosi handing out commemorative pens to House impeachment managers.
House impeachment investigators released a new set of evidence that were obtained from Lev Parnas, an indicted former associate of Rudy Giuliani — including voicemails, photos, and text messages between Parnas and high-level figures within Trump’s orbit, Politico reports.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) announced that she would take a leave of absence from the House to seek treatment for alcoholism, Politico reports.
“Kirkpatrick did not say how much time she is expected to be away from Washington, but made clear she intended to keep her seat.”
“The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to send the Senate two articles of impeachment against President Trump, appointing seven Democrats to prosecute the case and initiating only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history,” the New York Times reports.
Washington Post: “Pelosi plans to hold an engrossment ceremony at 5 p.m., and then the managers are scheduled to begin a procession across the Capitol Rotunda to present the articles of impeachment to the secretary of the Senate.”
President Trump accused House Democrats of a “con job” shortly after Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the lawmakers who would be managing the case to impeach him in the Senate, The Hill reports.
Trump’s tweet suggested he was watching Pelosi’s press conference announcing the impeachment managers on Wednesday morning.
Jonathan Bernstein: “The new documents released by House Democrats on Tuesday, exposing previously unknown details about efforts by Trump associates to obtain material in Ukraine that would undermine Trump’s Democratic opponents, probably don’t change anything. Whatever evidence emerges is unlikely to change either the trial outcome or its effect on public opinion.”
“But it has to worry House Republicans, who have already voted to support Trump, and Senate Republicans expecting to vote to acquit him. At least a little bit. Because if new ugly details are still emerging, who’s to say that more won’t turn up later?”
Jonathan Bernstein: “That’s what CNN’s Chris Cillizza says. I don’t see it. The political scientist and Washington Post columnist Dan Drezner is closer to the mark. He tweeted: ‘Pelosi got little from McConnell in delaying the transmittal of impeachment. On the other hand, during the delay some damning new documents appeared, Bolton said he’d testify, and now even the Trump White House expects witnesses will be called.’ John Bolton, one of Trump’s former national security advisers, was part of the White House foreign-policy team when Trump ordered military aid withheld from Ukraine as he pressured that country to investigate a leading Democratic rival, ex-Vice President Joe Biden — the topic of one of the impeachment articles.”
“Overall, I’d say Pelosi may have marginally helped her cause, and it’s hard to make an argument that she harmed it.”
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.
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