In Defying the Odds, we discuss Trump's dishonesty and his record of disregarding the rule of law. The update -- recently published --includes a chapter on the 2018 midterms. Impeachment is becoming likely.
-While you were sleeping, Democrats released a trove of explosive text messages between U.S. diplomats and a senior Ukrainian aide — and boy, they are a doozy. The text messages — which former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker turned over to House investigators during his deposition yesterday — outline how senior State Department officials were deeply alarmed that the Trump administration would try to make foreign aid to Ukraine (as well as a White House visit) contingent on efforts to help the president’s reelection campaign. And they also demonstrate how U.S. diplomats were pushing Ukraine to probe Biden and the 2016 election on Trump's behalf.
Democrats will likely say they’ve got their smoking gun, and will certainly use the text messages as more ammo for impeachment. But Republicans, who insist that Volker testified that Trump never sought a “quid pro quo” from Ukraine, say the texts were cherry picked and are calling on Democrats to release a full transcript of Volker’s deposition. Here is a highlight of some of the texts:
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BUT, WAIT THERE’S MORE ... The text messages weren’t the only bombshell stories that dropped last night. Here is a roundup of some of the other important news reports that you don’t want to miss:
- — "Trump Ordered Ukraine Ambassador Removed After Complaints From Giuliani, Others," by WSJ’s Rebecca Ballhaus, Mike Bender and Vivian Salama: https://on.wsj.com/30KFvL1.
- — "Trump Envoys Pushed Ukraine to Commit to Investigations," per Ken Vogel and Mike Schmidt of the NYT: https://nyti.ms/359jR6z.
- —"Trump raised Biden with Xi in June call housed in highly secure server," via Kylie Atwood, Kevin Liptak, Pamela Brown, Jim Sciutto and Gloria Borger: https://cnn.it/2VdNIX5.
- — “IRS whistleblower said to report Treasury political appointee might have tried to interfere in audit of Trump or Pence,” from WaPo’s Jeff Stein, Tom Hamburger and Josh Dawsey: https://wapo.st/331SjhK.
