GOP cultists stand behind their stable genius, repeating his incoherent arguments contained in Trump’s bizarre and rambling letter to Pelosi…--Pelosi opened the session, “Trump made us do it” as Republicans use doges and stalling tactics to little avail
--Read Trump’s letter, here
--Trump will seek comfort from his cult at a mob rally in Battle Creek, MI tonight
McConnell and Graham brazenly display deep bias, as Mitch and Chuck Schumer duel over witnesses and procedure before House vote…--Schumer wants to call the key witnesses Trump has blocked from House inquiry, and McConnell sharpens his considerable skills at obstruction
--House Rules Committee is working on procedure for tomorrow’s impeachment vote, GOP will bring WWE rules
--Rudy Giuliani breaks silence, brags about getting Ambassador Yovanovitch fired
--Trump latest ethics violation: failure to report Giuliani’s work as non-cash donation
The impeachment-lite committee vote portends system failure, as GOP cult fully protects their criminal, con-man leader with insidious partisanship…--the two articles of impeachment were voted out of Judiciary this morning on partisan lines, as credulous loyalists act with impunity
--current House vote tallies show some Dem defectors, no GOP
As Democrats move to pass 2 articles of impeachment along party lines, Republiclowns use every available diversion tactic in the book…--in political ping pong, D’s and R’s trade same old talking points to the point that nobody’s listening
--new poll shows Americans don’t understand the steps of impeachment and 47% support impeachment and removal of Trump
--WashPost lists 27 arguments the Republicans repeat over and over
Even Lindsay Graham calls for major reforms to FISA and FBI, as CNN report of Manafort FISA warrant is contradicted…--FBI’s misrepresentations to FISA court in Carter Page warrant weren’t the first, as Charlie Savage details in NY Times
Democrats unveil only two articles of impeachment today, apparently excluding Mueller obstruction claims, Cohen guilty plea and other clear crimes…--Dems have been cagey about their plans, but it appears they will only vote on articles related to abuse of power and obstruction of Ukraine probe
--we go deep on Inspector General’s report, which is narrow in scope and allows both parties to cherry-pick favorable findings
--read the IG report here
Inspector General says FISA mistakes were made but Trump/Russia investigation wasn’t biased…as separate investigator, John Durham, disagrees about “predication”….--IG identifies 17 errors in FISA applications, PBC says secret court should be abolished
--House Judiciary processes 52-page report on legal basis for impeachment
--in morning session, Dems make case for urgency of removing Trump, as Republicans distract with rhetorical spitballs
Buttigieg’s 3-year stint with capitalist tool McKinsey is scrutinized, as Bloomberg is caught in lie about “stop and frisk” apology….--McKinsey does a lot of dirty work for corporate America, but Buttigieg says he can’t talk about it due to non-disclosure agreement
--CBS anchor Gayle King pins Bloomberg down on timing of his apology for stop-n-frisk as the billionaire touts his gun control plans
--in Iowa, Joe Biden bungles exchange with voter who asked question about Hunter and Ukraine
Israel-based clickbait network with a million followers profits from Islamophobic Facebook posts, some targeting Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib…--read the report, here
--breaking the bipartisan silence, documentary filmmakers sue to block rules that require visa applicants to disclose all social media handles
--Pelosi wants to deliver impeachment vote before Christmas
In Judiciary hearing, Dems focus on 3 law professors who support impeachment, but GOP pick Jonathan Turley shouldn’t be ignored…--Turley is not a Trump supporter, but argues that this approach to impeachment is too narrow, and too fast
--Rudy Giuliani is jetting around Europe shooting TV interviews with pro-Trump One America News
--at NATO conference reception, world leaders mocked Trump in moment caught on video
--this time, Trump defended NATO from attacks by Macron and other leaders
--Mr. No Malarkey, Joe Biden, unveils tax plan that’s very moderate
