Section: TPM (USA)
‘He’s Gonna Do It:’ Official Describes Trump-Sondland Call Discussing Ukraine Probes
A U.S. official described to House investigators a July 26 phone call between Ambassador Gordon Sondland and President Trump during which Trump brought up the Ukrainian President doing the “investigation,” CNN reported Friday. “‘So, he’s gonna do the investigation?” Trump allegedly asked Sondland, according to the account of the call in...
Pompeo Is A ‘Coward’ For Not Defending Marie Yovanovitch, Chuck Rosenberg Says
A veteran prosecutor who served in various capacities in the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a “coward” Friday for not sticking up for U.S. diplomats abroad. The criticism from Chuck Rosenberg, who served as acting DEA administrator during the first eight months of Trump’s tenure, came during a...
Twitter Showdown Unfolds Between Trump Jr. And George Conway On Impeachment
That escalated quickly. Amid the public impeachment testimony of ousted Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch Friday, a Twitter showdown unfolded between Donald Trump Jr. and George Conway. Trump Jr. fired the first shot at Conway — who has ironically gained notoriety for his vehement criticism of President Trump, despite his wife Kellyanne...
WH Blames NSC Impeachment Witness For Discrepancies In Call Summaries
When the White House on Friday released a memorandum of the first conversation between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president-elect, something popped out to eagle-eyed observers: The conversation was much different than the readout the White House issued at the time. By Friday afternoon, the administration had managed to blame the...
This Week: Impeachment Probe Enters Public Phase
The Week In Impeachment Public hearings: The House held its first two public hearings in the impeachment probe this week, with members grilling career diplomats about the highly unusual actions they witnessed from the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Ukraine diplomat Bill Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent testified...
House Republicans Give Trump Cover On Tweets Attacking Yovanovitch
Just minutes after ousted Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s public testimony wrapped up, a number House Republicans defended President Trump’s Friday morning tweets attacking the career diplomat. As Yovanovitch’s testimony was underway Friday morning, Trump tweeted that “everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad” and...
Key Moments From Yovanovitch’s Testimony On Smear Campaign That Forced Her Out
Former Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch took the stand Friday to tell the House Intelligence Committee about being shoved out of her posting after Rudy Giuliani and his cronies concocted a successful smear campaign against her. In a compelling and personal account, she expressed how it felt to lose her job and the confidence of the...
Yovanovitch Details How She Learned Of Giuliani’s Indicted Buds
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv first began to hear of the campaign against Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch in November 2018, the ousted diplomat said on Friday. Yovanovitch told the House Intelligence Committee that she learned of “rumors from Ukrainians” about Rudy Giuliani’s campaign to have her removed around November and December, but that “it...
Yovanovitch Neatly Picks Apart GOP Talking Point That Ukraine Was Out To Get Trump
Former ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch calmly dismantled Republican staff attorney Steve Castor’s line of questioning centered on the idea that Ukrainian officials were out to get then-candidate Donald Trump during the second half of her Friday hearing. Castor started by bringing up Alexandra Chalupa, a former DNC contractor who...
WSJ: Feds Probe Giuliani Over Ukraine Gas Pitch
Manhattan federal prosecutors are seeking to learn whether Rudy Giuliani could have profited from a natural gas business plan pitched by his two now-indicted buddies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman had pitched a business plan involving their company Global Energy Producers, in which Ukraine would import U.S. LNG via a...
