CNN contacted in recent days dozens of offices for Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate to see if any had concerns about President Donald Trump’s remarkable public call for****** Governments (investigate) Joe Biden, a leading Democratic candidate to replace him as President, and Biden’s son Hunter.
Only a few of the 80 responded.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, Rep. Devin Nunes and Rep. Jim **** Sensenbrenner gave statements to CNN.
Aides for several others said they would check or directed CNN to statements made to other outlets.
You can read the full list of all the lawmakers askedand their responses here.
Trump is scheduled to appear in the Roosevelt Room at the White House at 3: 30 PM ET to sign the US-Japan Trade Agreement and US-Japan Digital Trade Agreement, according to the President’s official schedule put out by his staff today.
The press will be there for the , but it is unclear if he’ll take any questions.
Later on, he’ll participate in a briefing with senior military leaders and spouses in the Blue Room at 6 pm ET.
Former FBI Director Andrew McCabe pushed back on the Senate Homeland Security chair Ron Johnson’s assertion thathe doesn’t “trust”the US intelligence community.
“I think his comments yesterday are a pretty obvious attempt to work himself back into the President’s good favor,” McCabe said on CNN this morning. “It’s just really disappointing that he had to throw the entire intelligence community under the bus to do that.”
First some context:Johnson yesterday said he is “sympathetic” to what President Trump has “gone through.” In a tense interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, Johnson asked “Who leaked?” And “Who set him up?” While asserting he doesn’t trust the FBI and CIA.
McCabe this morning defended the work that the FBI and other intelligence organizations do, and said Johnson’s comments “reduces the morale” of agency employees and could stop others from joining.
“You have to remember that this is a community whose sole function is to provide information and analysis to the President of the United States and to the other leaders who support him. And to hear from people like the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee that he doesn’t trust them, he doesn’t trust the information and the intelligence he receives from them, is incredibly dispiriting, “McCabe said.
He continued:It not only reduces the morale of the folks who are trying to keep us safe every day but likely discourages other good people from joining those pursuits.
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said that he “asked the President multiple times” to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – but about energy, not the Bidens.
Speaking at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, Perry said that he told Trump that it was in the US and Ukraine’s best interests that they have discussions regarding energy issues.
He was asked directly abo ut it on the heels of reporting over the weekend that Trump had told lawmakers Perry urged him to make the call that prompted a whistleblower complaint.
“Absolutely, I asked the President multiple times. ‘Mr. President, we think it is in the United states and In Ukraine’s best interest that you and the president of Ukraine have conversations and discuss the options that are there, ’” Perry said. “So absolutely yes.”
On Friday, Perry said on the Christian Broadcasting Network that Joe Biden’s name did not come up during the many conversations that he had with President Trump.
“Not once, as God as my witness, not once was a Biden name – not the former Vice President, not his son – ever mentioned, ”he said.
Remember :There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens.
US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland is expected to testify tomorrow in front of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees.
What we know about Sondland: The ambassador is mentioned ina series of text messagesbetween US diplomats and a Ukrainian aide. The messages, which were released last week, show how a potential Ukrainian investigation into the 2016 election was linked to a desired meeting betweenUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Trump.
In one exchange, Sondland seemed to downplay the concerns raised by his counterpart in Kiev.
“Gordon, one thing Kurt and I talked about yesterday was Sasha Danyliuk’s point that President Zelenskyy is sensitive about Ukraine being taken seriously, not merely as an instrument in Washington domestic, reelection politics,” Ambassador William “Bill” Taylor, the charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Kiev, wrote on July 21.
Sondland replied, “Absolutely, but we need to get the conve rsation started and the relationship built, irrespective of the pretext. “
While Congress is in recess, the impeachment inquiry into President Trump is progressing.
Here’s the key developments that happened this weekend as the investigation continues:
Friday
- Missed deadline:The State Departmentmisseda deadline set by the House to turn over documents requested under a congressional subpoena. State Secretary Mike Pompeo said his office “sent a letter last night to Congress which is our initial response to the document request” and that they will “obviously do all the things we are required to do by law.”
- White House subpoenas:House Democrats subpoenaed the White House as part of the ongoing impeachment investigation into Trump. The White House said the “subpoena changes nothing – just more document requests, wasted time, and taxpayer dollars that will ultimately show the President did nothing wrong.” (You can read the subpoenahere.)
Saturday
- Trump vs. Romney:Trump called for Sen. Mitt Romney to be “impeached“in a tweet Saturday after the Republican from Utah criticized the President. Remember: Senators and members of Congress can’t be “impeached,” according to the US Constitution.
(Sunday)
- Second whistleblower:The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower who came forward with accusations concerning President Trump and his interactions with Ukraine said he is representinga second whistleblower regardingthe President’s actions.
- Backlash from Trump’s GOP challenger:Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, a longshot candidate for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination,called Trump a “traitor”for asking Ukraine and China to investigate Joe Bide,
Ninety former US national security officialswrote a letter yesterdaypraising the anonymouswhistleblower whose recent complaintabout President Trump’s communications with Ukraine touched off a firestorm, leading House Democrats to launch an impeachment inquiry into Tr ump.
“While the identity of the whistleblower is not publicly known, we do know that he or she is an employee of the US Government. As such, he or she has by law the right — and indeed the responsibility— to make known, through appropriate channels, indications of serious wrongdoing, “the former officials wrote.” That is precisely what this whistleblower did; and we applaud the whistleblower not only for living up to that responsibility but also for using precisely the channels made available by federal law for raising such concerns. “
Among the scores of signatories on the letter are …
- Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
- Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who is a CNN contributor
Former CIA Directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, who is a CNN analyst
There were more developments in the Trump impeachment inquiry this weekend.
If you ‘re just reading in this morning, there’s nowa second whistlebloweraccusing President Trump of abusing his power. Here’s what we know so far about him or her:
- Intel official:The second whistleblower works in the intelligence community and has spoken to the intelligence community’s inspector general, CNN is reporting.
- No new written complaint:The individual has not filed their own complaint, but the lawyers argue anyone who speaks to the intelligence community watchdog is considered to have made a protected disclosure and is a whistleblower under law.
We’re not sure if the new whistleblower has first-hand knowledge:But if they do have first-hand knowledge that supports the claims of the initial whistleblower, and was on the July 25 call between Trump and the Ukrainian president, it undercuts a main attack line that’s been used by Republicans. Trump has never disputed the transcript of the call, so the argument that the original whistleblower had secondhand and therefore bad information has never exactly worked. A whistleblower with direct knowledge of the call would completely destroy it.
Bottom line:A new whistleblower will undercut Trump’s defense and his attacks on the original whistleblower. But Republicans defending Trump say a new whistleblower changes nothing. They point to the July 25 phone transcript, where Trump pressures Zelensky to investigate the Bidens, and say they see nothing wrong. Others see impeachable offenses.
How broad will House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry be? How long should we expect the impeachment process to take? If he’s impeached, can Trump also be prosecuted criminally?
Each week, CNN legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor, Elie Honig, will beanswering your questionson impeachment as the inquiry proceeds.
Submit your questions via the link below.
Like this one, from John in Illinois:
How long does the impeachment process take?
Honig:Legally, there is no time limit on the impeachment process. This is in contrast to the criminal justice process, which limits the amount of time that can pass between the commission of a crime and indictment (the “statute of limitations”) and the time between indictment and trial (“speedy trial” rules).
Practically and politically, however, Congress knows the clock is ticking. The current Congress sits until January 2021, so any impeachment proceedings must and certainly will conclude by then (though the next Congress can resume any pending inquiry if it sees fit). And, of course, a presidential election looms in November
As the election draws closer, impeachment proceedings will become increasingly contentious and politically fraught. House leaders understand the need to move quickly here.Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosiand Chair of the House Intelligence CommitteeAdam Schiffhave both vowed to move ” expeditiously, “and Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler hasdeclared“full speed ahead.”
(Read More)
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