The Commentariat -- January 27, 2020

Late Morning Update:

The Guardian's liveblog for today's impeachment proceedings is here. @10:19 am ET: "Mitt Romney, one of the Republican senators that has already expressed openness to calling new witnesses to testify in the impeachment trial, said it was 'increasingly likely' other Senate Republicans would support the request." BUT @10:55 am: "Republican senator Susan Collins declined to commit to supporting a subpoena for John Bolton after one of her colleagues, Mitt Romney, predicted more Senate Republicans would soon join Democrats in requesting new witness testimony." Mrs. McC: I guess she's "concerned" about something. ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' liveblog is here. Mrs. McC: Sadly, I have to be away this afternoon, so I'll miss some of the dissembling. ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman: "By Monday morning, several Republican senators had angrily called the White House trying to determine who at the administration knew about Mr. Bolton's manuscript, which aides there have had for several weeks, and what was in it. They told the White House they felt blindsided, according to people briefed on the calls who insisted on anonymity to describe private discussions.... John Ullyot, a spokesman for the National Security Council, issued a carefully worded statement on Monday morning, 16 hours after the Times story was published. 'Ambassador Bolton's manuscript was submitted to the N.S.C. for pre-publication review and has been under initial review by the N.S.C.,' he said. 'No White House personnel outside N.S.C. have reviewed the manuscript.'" Mrs. McC: Trump's private attorney Jay Seculow, for instance, is not one of the "White House personnel." Neither are most other lawyers on Trump's defense team.

Today's Most Significant Unbelievable Lie of the Day -- And Other Lies. Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "President Trump on Monday pushed back on a firsthand account from his former national security adviser, John R. Bolton, about tying military aid for a foreign ally to his own personal agenda, as senators consider the president's future in the Oval Office. 'I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens,' Mr. Trump wrote just after midnight, referring to a widely debunked theory that the president had pursued about former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter.... Hours after his midnight posts, Mr. Trump falsely stated that the Democrats never asked Mr. Bolton to testify during the House impeachment inquiry last year.... Mr. Trump also falsely claimed that his White House released the critical military aid to Ukraine ahead of schedule.... 'There can be no doubt now that Mr. Bolton directly contradicts the heart of the president's defense,' Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, said in a joint statement on Sunday...."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "At first glance, at least, John R. Bolton's account of President Trump's private remarks sounds like an echo of the so-called smoking gun tape that proved that President Richard M. Nixon really had orchestrated the Watergate cover-up and ultimately forced him from office. But this is Mr. Trump's era and Mr. Trump's Washington, and the old rules do not always apply.... The pressure on the handful of Republican senators who had been wavering on calling witnesses will now increase exponentially and the president's defense has suddenly been thrown into disarray. When Mr. Trump's lawyers address the Senate Monday afternoon, they will face the challenge of explaining how his own former top aide says the president did exactly what they say he did not do -- or trying to ignore it altogether.... In their trial brief submitted earlier last week, the president's lawyers made that one of their key points. 'Not a single witness with actual knowledge ever testified that the president suggested any connection between announcing investigations and security assistance,' the lawyers wrote. What's perhaps even more shocking is that the White House knew what Mr. Bolton had to say at least as far back as Dec. 30, when he sent his manuscript to the National Security Council for standard pre-publication review to ensure that no classified information would be released, yet continued to promote a completely opposite narrative." ~~~

~~~ Steve M.: "... Senate Republicans will blame phony offenses by Democrats for their decision to end the trial quickly.... [They] will use the outrage off-ramp to dismiss the case for Bolton's testimony. And if they don't think that will work, maybe a few of them will concede that testimony from Bolton would be a good idea -- but then the question of his testimony will get mixed up in the fight for Republican witnesses[.]... I think Democrats would swap a Biden for Bolton. But an aggressive Republican move to subpoena a Trump wish list of witnesses will lead to a protracted fight, after which Republicans -- who are much better than Democrats at message discipline -- will say that no agreement could be reached because Democrats are afraid to hear witnesses. End of witness fight; end of trial."

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Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Once John Bolton indicated he would testify before the Senate, the odds that he would get his story out, one way or another. went up. So ~~~

~~~ ** Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton.... Mr. Bolton's explosive account of the matter at the center of Mr. Trump's impeachment trial ... was included in drafts of a manuscript he has circulated in recent weeks to close associates. He also sent a draft to the White House for a standard review process for some current and former administration officials who write books. Multiple people described Mr. Bolton's account of the Ukraine affair. The book presents an outline of what Mr. Bolton might testify to if he is called as a witness in the Senate impeachment trial, the people said. The White House could use the pre-publication review process ... to delay or even kill the book's publication or omit key passages." Read on. Bolton whacks Pompeo, Barr, Mulvaney and of course Giuliani. The Hill's summary report is here. ~~~

~~~ Noah Weiland of the New York Times outlines key takeaways from the draft of Bolton's book. Here's one: "The revelations from the draft of Mr. Bolton's book could complicate the impeachment trial.... Mr. Bolton's revelations could unearth support among ... a handful of [Republican] senators who have indicated they might be open to hearing from him.... If the Senate does vote to hear from Mr. Bolton, the trial could stretch deep into February." ~~~

~~~ Seung Min Kim & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Congressional Democrats called for former national security adviser John Bolton to testify in President Trump's impeachment trial following a new report that the president told Bolton last August that he wanted to withhold military aid to Ukraine unless it aided investigations into the Bidens.... In a joint statement, the seven House impeachment managers called the report 'explosive' and urged the Senate ... to agree to call Bolton as a witness in Trump's trial.... The revelation from the Bolton book was certain to roil the dynamics of the trial this week, when the Senate was expected to face a critical vote on whether to allow witnesses at all. Charles Cooper, a lawyer for Bolton, said he submitted the manuscript to the National Security Council's records management division on Dec. 30 for a standard review process to examine potentially classified information. Cooper said they believed the book manuscript did not include any classified material.... Sarah Tinsley, a spokeswoman for Bolton, added: 'The ambassador has not passed the draft manuscript to anyone else. Period.'" Here's NBC News's story. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So the White House has had Bolton's book for nearly four weeks, yet the lying lawyers defending Trump still got up before the Senate & claimed Trump's "real" purpose for withholding funds from Ukraine was over his deep concerns about general corruption in Ukraine.

~~~ Dan Nexon of LG&$: "... you should read the piece -- and then reflect on the fact that nothing matters, the Senate will acquit Trump, there's a good chance he'll be reelected, and everything is terrible. NB: think about the fact that Giuliani could've been a cabinet official, but he was seen as too compromised for this administration." ~~~

~~~ Adam Silverman of Balloon Juice has some thoughts worth considering. Here's one of them: "Bolton's real concern, according to Haberman's and Schmidt's reporting is that if he doesn't get to testify in the President's impeachment trial in the Senate, that people will think he's only interested in his personal profit.... Ambassador Bolton doesn't have to worry about [that].... That ship has sailed, got caught in a storm after leaving port, and has sunk. I'd call Ambassador Bolton a selfish, egomaniacal, megalomaniacal whore, but that would be insulting to selfish people, egomaniacs, megalomaniacs, and whores!" ~~~

~~~ ** Josh Marshall gets to the nub of it: "I think there is little chance -- but not no chance -- that this is will shift the equation on Senate Republicans voting to hear testimony from witnesses. But it is still important to note that during the trial we have a clear indication that the President's then-foreign policy chief says that his entire impeachment defense is bogus. But the biggest thing is we shouldn't lose track of what a disgrace this is. Bolton, as we've suspected, denied critical information to a lawful and constitutional judicial inquiry while making it available for what is at the end of the day a private business venture. There is just no conceivable justification for this from any, any perspective." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Besides, isn't this eleventh-hour ploy just a spectacular kickoff to Bolton's book tour? I mean, what's the last time a book draft was the NYT's top story? And the Times never quotes any passages from the book. Rather, if you want to know what Bolton actually wrote, you have to buy the book!* Ka-ching! Talk about drug deals. It also seems possible that Bolton a friend of Bolton's leaked the draft because Bolton was worried that the White House would hold onto the draft forevah, or at least until the money quotes had diminished in value -- like until after the November election.

     ~~~ * Update: Reserve your copy now!

Rebecca Klar of the Hill: Donald "Trump tweeted early Sunday morning that [Adam] Schiff, whom he called a 'CORRUPT POLITICIAN,' has 'not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!'... Schiff ... said Sunday that [the] tweet from the president is 'intended to be a threat." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Jeremy Schulman of Mother Jones: "Trump's tweet drew immediate outrage, with many suggesting it might incite violence against Schiff. 'What do you say to somebody who says, "President Trump is saying that Adam Schiff needs to pay a price -- this is in the midst of Adam Schiff getting death threats,"' asked CNN's Jake Tapper during an interview with GOP Sen. James Lankford (Okla.). 'I just don't think it's a death threat,' Lankford responded. 'People who are supporters of the president have heard his rhetoric and then actually tried to bomb and kill politicians and the media,' Tapper shot back -- a reference to Cesar Sayoc, a Trump supporter who last year pleaded guilty to mailing pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and CNN in 2018.... Trump didn't just call Schiff 'corrupt.' [In another tweet Sunday,] he called him a 'conman' who made a 'fraudulent statement to Congress.' And Trump once again accused Schiff of 'illegally making up my phone call.'... Trump's accusations are entirely meritless. Even if they weren't, it's incredibly unlikely that he'd succeed in suing, let along criminally prosecuting, Schiff -- members of Congress enjoy broad legal immunity for what they say in committee hearings."

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "Alan Dershowitz, a member of President Trump's legal team, said the Democrats 'completely failed' to meet the constitutional standard for removing Trump from office in their opening argument last week. Dershowitz told Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday' that he thought the House managers presented the strongest case they could' but 'didn't come close to alleging impeachable offenses.' 'They completely failed to meet that high constitutional standard, and therefore it would be unconstitutional to remove a president based on the allegations that were made against him in the articles of impeachment,' he said." Mrs. McC: If you don't have the facts, make up something. If you don't have the law & the Constitution, make up something else. If you don't have the facts or the law, go on Fox "News." (Apologies to Carl Sandburg.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ BUT Maybe Not on "Fox 'News' Sunday." Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "... Alan Dershowitz faced a bruising interview on Sunday when confronted with his abandoned position that a federal crime isn't necessary to form the legitimate basis to impeach the president.... As Dershowitz laid out the historical precedents he's using as the basis for his argument, Wallace called several of them into question before quoting Alexander Hamilton and George Mason arguing that the violation of a criminal statute 'is not essential to impeachment.'"

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says an NPR host lied in setting up an interview with him on Friday, but email records support the journalist's account of how the contentious exchange came to be. The emails, obtained by The Washington Post, indicate that Pompeo's staff was aware that NPR's Mary Louise Kelly would ask Pompeo about several topics in the interview and raised no objections, contrary to Pompeo's characterization. In an extraordinary statement issued on State Department letterhead on Saturday, Pompeo blasted Kelly for repeatedly asking him why he refused to express support for the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.... 'NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly lied to me, twice.... First, last month, in setting up our interview and, then again yesterday, in agreeing to have our post-interview conversation off the record. It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency.' [In an exchange with Pompeo's press aide Katie Martin,] Kelly responded, 'I am indeed just back from Tehran and plan to start there. Also Ukraine.... I never agree to take anything off the table.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You know that Bible you so proudly keep open on your desk, Mike? You should consult it from time to time on the many passages that warn against lying. Looks as if you're going to wind up "in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur." Seems fair to me.

This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this administration. It is no wonder that the American people distrust many in the media when they so consistently demonstrate their agenda and their absence of integrity. -- Mike Pompeo, in his statement Saturday, condemning NPR reporter Mary Kelly, et al. ~~~

~~~ Edward Wong of the New York Times: Pompeo's "statement ... ignited outrage online among foreign policy experts, scholars of diplomacy and press freedom advocates. Mr. Pompeo violated the goals and nonpartisan nature of his office, whose core mission is to promote American values worldwide, including freedom of the press, they said.... Mr. Pompeo has occasionally issued statements calling on authoritarian governments to respect press freedoms. But he has insulted journalists and has even cursed at diplomatic reporters in private meetings. His Saturday statement was notable for the public -- and broad -- denunciation of the news media.... Five Democratic senators sent a letter on Saturday to Mr. Pompeo denouncing his 'irresponsible' comments and the 'corrosive effects of your behavior on American values and standing in the world.'... For some, Mr. Pompeo's treatment of Ms. Kelly underlined a persistent hostility toward women." ~~~

~~~ ** Former Ambassador Bill Taylor takes another whack at Pompeo in this New York Times op-ed: "As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepares to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv later this week, he has reportedly asked, 'Do Americans care about Ukraine?' Here's why the answer should be yes: Ukraine is defending itself and the West against Russian attack. No matter the outcome of the debate about the propriety of a phone call between the two presidents, the relationship between the United States and Ukraine is key to our national security. Americans should care about Ukraine. Russia is fighting a hybrid war against Ukraine, Europe and the United States." Worth reading every word. And worth knowing that the POTUS* doesn't give a flying fuck about any of it.

~~~ Max Boot in the Washington Post: Rex "Tillerson might not have known what he was doing once he left ExxonMobil, but he was at least ethical and well-intentioned -- and not afraid to stand up to President Trump.... [Mike Pompeo's] reward for being Trump's enabler is to amass far more influence than Tillerson ever did. Pompeo is the most powerful member of the Cabinet.... Pompeo has become a Trump mini-me who emulates his master in boorishness, bombast, bullying -- and dishonesty. Every day that Pompeo stays in office, he makes Tillerson -- once seen as the worst secretary of state ever -- look better by comparison. Pompeo has become a Trump mini-me who emulates his master in boorishness, bombast, bullying -- and dishonesty. Every day that Pompeo stays in office, he makes Tillerson -- once seen as the worst secretary of state ever -- look better by comparison."

Evan Semones of Politico: "Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's wife on Saturday appeared to publicly break with her husband over support for Greta Thunberg's climate change activism. 'I stand with Greta on this issue. (I don't have a degree in economics either),' actress Louise Linton wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post after Mnuchin chided the 17-year-old's call for governments to end their support of fossil fuels at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying she should attend college and study economics." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mark Landler of the New York Times: Benjamin Netanyahu "will return to the White House for meetings Monday and Tuesday, and Mr. Trump is expected at last to lay out the details of that long-awaited plan. Mr. Netanyahu said Sunday he hoped to 'make history' on the visit. But far from a bold effort to bring old enemies together ... Middle East experts now expect the plan to be mainly a booster shot for Mr. Netanyahu's desperate campaign to stay in power. Benny Gantz, again Mr. Netanyahu's rival in Israel's third election in less than a year, will have his own separate meeting with Mr. Trump on Monday."

That's the way Jews work. They are deceivers. They plot, they lie, they do whatever they have to do to accomplish their political agenda. This 'Impeach Trump' movement is a Jew coup, and the American people better wake up to it really fast.... When Jews take over a country, they kill millions of Christians. -- Rick Wiles, founder of TruNews & a Trump fave, in a radio broadcast ~~~

~~~ Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Five employees of TruNews ... received formal credentials from the White House to cover the president's trip [last week to Davos, Switzerland, TruNews founder Rick] Wiles said in an interview last week from his hotel room in Switzerland -- a room in a ski lodge reserved by the Trump administration for traveling members of the American press.... TruNews, a website aimed at conservative Christians ... recently described Mr. Trump's impeachment as 'a Jew coup' planned by 'a Jewish cabal.'... TruNews, which Mr. Wiles ... has a history of spreading conspiracy theories and proclaiming an imminent apocalypse." After Jonathan Karl, president of the White House Correspondent's Association, said he was "puzzled" as to why the White House credentialed a "hate group" after it had denied credentials to Jim Acosta of CNN, "Mr. Wiles ... said that he had been unfairly attacked by 'the self-appointed gods and goddesses of the news media....' He went on to blame George Soros, the Jewish financier often cited in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, for coordinating a campaign against him." Wiles says he bears "no ill will toward the Jewish people."

The Commentariat -- January 26, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "Alan Dershowitz, a member of President Trump's legal team, said the Democrats 'completely failed' to meet the constitutional standard for removing Trump from office in their opening argument last week. Dershowitz told Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday' that he thought the House managers presented the strongest case they could' but 'didn't come close to alleging impeachable offenses.' 'They completely failed to meet that high constitutional standard, and therefore it would be unconstitutional to remove a president based on the allegations that were made against him in the articles of impeachment,' he said." Mrs. McC: If you don't have the facts, make up something. If you don't have the law & the Constitution, make up something else. If you don't have the facts or the law, go on Fox "News."

Rebecca Klar of the Hill: Donald "Trump tweeted early Sunday morning that [Adam] Schiff, whom he called a 'CORRUPT POLITICIAN,' has 'not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!'... Schiff ... said Sunday that [the] tweet from the president is 'intended to be a threat."

Evan Semones of Politico: "Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's wife on Saturday appeared to publicly break with her husband over support for Greta Thunberg's climate change activism. 'I stand with Greta on this issue. (I don't have a degree in economics either),' actress Louise Linton wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post after Mnuchin chided the 17-year-old's call for governments to end their support of fossil fuels at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying she should attend college and study economics."

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The Democrats are relying on facts, but the Republicans are relying on Fox. -- Maureen Dowd, in today's NYT column

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump's legal defense team mounted an aggressive offense on Saturday as it opened its side in the Senate impeachment trial by attacking his Democratic accusers as partisan witch-hunters trying to remove him from office because they could not beat him at the ballot box. After three days of arguments by the House managers prosecuting Mr. Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors, the president's lawyers presented the senators a radically different view of the facts and the Constitution, seeking to turn the Democrats' charges back on them while denouncing the whole process as illegitimate." ~~~

~~~ Elise Viebeck, et al., of the Washington Post: "In a two-hour presentation that reserved their most provocative attacks for Monday, members of Trump's legal team echoed the president's justifications for his actions toward Ukraine and sought to plant doubts about both the prosecutors' case and its lead advocate, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.). Yet, in arguing that the case for Trump's removal was partisan and misleading, lawyers for the president omitted facts, presented claims that lacked context or minimized evidence gathered by House investigators. Their most sweeping arguments did not specifically defend Trump but instead framed impeachment as no more than a politically motivated effort to remove him from the ballot in November.... The lawyers landed repeatedly on themes that matter to Trump, including what he has described as his 'perfect' July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report, and omissions and errors by the FBI in document submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.... The next session is expected to include full-throated attacks on [Joe] Biden and his son Hunter...." ~~~

~~~ Lauren Gambino of the Guardian: "Jay Sekulow, Trump's personal lawyer and a member of his legal team, had promised that there would be 'plenty' of material to delight the Sunday talk shows. He vowed to fill their 24 hours of allotted time over three days with all manner of conspiracies that ping from Fox News segments to the president's Twitter feed: the Bidens, the FBI warrants, FISA court orders and the like. But on Saturday, the team mostly avoided the fever swamps, focusing instead on rebutting the prosecution's case. Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel whose surname the prosecution never quite agreed on how to pronounce (it's SIP-uh-loan-ee), began with a time-honored trick of the trade: he flipped the script, seeking to turn those trying to impeach Trump into the villains who undermine American democracy." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: SIP-uh-loan-ee may be the way Pat Cipollone pronounces his surname, but Italians would pronounce it CHEEP-uhl-low-nay, "dragging out" that double "L".

~~~ New York Times liveblog: "President Trump's lawyers wrapped up a brief opening argument against his impeachment on Saturday much as they had begun, seeking to turn accusations of wrongdoing back on Democrats and insisting that there were innocent explanations for Mr. Trump's actions toward Ukraine.... The president's legal team spent only two of the 24 hours allotted to them on Saturday opening his defense, in what Mr. Trump's lawyers said was a preview of a fuller set of arguments to come on Monday. Their focus was on dismissing the House impeachment inquiry as a partisan ploy that ignored the facts in order to cast Mr. Trump's actions in the worst possible light...." ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear: "Immediately after the White House lawyers finished their opening arguments on Saturday, Democrats sought to pick the presentation apart.... House managers held a news conference to rebut the White House case, point by point. Over 30 minutes, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the lead manager, and Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, another manager, accused the president's lawyers of having little substance. Mr. Schiff said their case amounted to a single argument: that the president has the power to do whatever he wants. 'That is so deeply destructive of our national security, the integrity of our elections. It's hard to overstate the matter,' Mr. Schiff said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I would have posted this sooner, but I was busy. Unlike Akhilleus, who was watching other Saturday morning cartoons (see yesterday's Comments), I opted for an old movie starring Richard Gere. ~~~

~~~ Trump's Lawyers Cut Impeachment Clause out of Constitution. Eric Tucker, et al., of the AP: "... Donald Trump's lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump's dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House. 'They're here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,' White House Counsel Pat Cipollone told senators.... From the White House, Trump tweeted his response: 'Any fair minded person watching the Senate trial today would be able to see how unfairly I have been treated and that this is indeed the totally partisan Impeachment Hoax that EVERYBODY, including the Democrats, truly knows it is.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Now, the first point that I would like to make is that the president's counsel did something that they did not intend: They made a really compelling case for why the Senate should call witnesses and documents. They kept saying there are no eyewitness accounts, but there are people who eyewitness accounts, the very four witnesses and the very four sets of documents that we have asked for.... -- Chuck Schumer, in comments following yesterday's proceedings ~~~

~~~ Sonam Sheth of Business Insider: "... on Saturday, Trump's lawyers seemed to bolster Democrats' case [for witnesses & documents] by repeatedly claiming that they hadn't heard from a single witness who had 'direct contact' with the president.... Their statements were misleading (Gordon Sondland, the US's ambassador to the European Union, was in frequent touch with Trump and testified to Congress that the president engaged in a quid pro quo with Ukraine).... It's worth noting, too, that though the president's lawyers complain of not hearing testimony from witnesses who spoke to Trump directly, the defense team led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone could easily solve that problem by retracting Trump's sweeping directive last year barring all executive branch officials across six agencies from cooperating with the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Mrs. McCrabbie: I think the head-on-a-pike story is essentially superfluous, but Jonathan Chait does a good job of disposing of it: "How convenient for the Republicans, that being accused implicitly of violating their conscience for political expediency should be the very thing that gives them license to violate their conscience for political expediency. It is as if stating the accusation grants them permission to fulfill it."

Mrs. McCrabbie: It seems to me that the main difference between elected Republicans & elected Russian Communists is that there are, percentage-wise, fewer elected Republicans than elected Communists. But their fealty to their respective dictators is identical.

Ken Vogel & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "For more than an hour one evening in 2018, President Trump sat around a dinner table in a private suite in his Washington hotel with a group of donors, including two men at the center of the impeachment inquiry, talking about golf, trade, politics -- and removing the United States ambassador to Ukraine. The conversation, captured on a recording made public Saturday, contradicted Mr. Trump's repeated statements that he does not know the two men, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who went on to work with the president's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to carry out a pressure campaign on Ukraine.... [The tape] does seem to shed light on the origins of Mr. Trump's interest in the issue, and to foreshadow his administration's withholding of military assistance from the country as part of the pressure campaign. It hints at the motivations of Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman, who had come to believe that [Ambassador Marie] Yovanovitch was opposed to their business plans in Ukraine, where they had tried to break into the natural gas market, according to associates of the two men.... And it provides a glimpse of something rarely seen: top-tier political donors getting a chance in an intimate setting to share their views with the president and press their agendas with him." ~~~

~~~ Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "... Donald Trump inquired how long Ukraine would be able to resist Russian aggression without U.S. assistance during a 2018 meeting with donors that included the indicted associates of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. 'How long would they last in a fight with Russia?' Trump is heard asking in the audio portion of a video recording, moments before he calls for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. She was removed a year later after a campaign to discredit her by Giuliani and others, an action that is part of Democrats' case arguing for the removal of the president in his Senate impeachment trial." The report goes on to relate some of Trump's other remarks recorded in the 80-minute tape.

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Oddly, however, the report does not include the answer to Trump's question about Ukraine's need for U.S. assistance. According to this PBS News report by Yamiche Alcindor, "Someone replies, 'Without us, not very long.' Trump appears to echo the voice saying, 'Without us.'" The report includes the full video, most -- but not all -- of which pictures the ceiling. More on this in yesterday's Commentariat. ~~~

~~~ Marcy Wheeler zeroes in on the original source of the videotape, who she believes is Lev Parnas. She explains her theory, "All of which suggests Parnas is trying to carefully manage what he'd sharing with HPSCI [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence], presumably focusing on the latter period of his work to get Masha fired, when he could claim to be doing Rudy Giuliani's bidding, and not the earlier part, when prosecutors claim he was working for some Ukrainian. For better and worse, that likely means that Rudy is at least partly a victim of Parnas, someone who was desperate and weak and easily manipulated into doing really stupid things -- just like Trump -- who could then be claimed as the real actor behind this operation."

Lauren Egan of NBC News: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday attacked an NPR correspondent who reported that he berated and cursed at her following questioning over Ukraine, claiming 'she lied to me' and describing her actions as 'shameful.' 'NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly lied to me, twice. First, last month, in setting up our interview and, then again yesterday, in agreeing to have our post-interview conversation off the record,' Pompeo said in a statement. 'It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency.' Pompeo did not challenge the details of Kelly's claims about his statements or demeanor during their conversation.... Kelly said she did not agree to be off the record at any point, and had communicated in advance to Pompeo's office that she intended to ask him about Iran and Ukraine." Mrs. McC: Gee, I can't decide whom to believe, a seasoned liar or a seasoned reporter. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Pompeo Confuses Ukraine with Bangladesh. Deirdre Shesgreen of USA Today: "Pompeo, in his Saturday statement, suggested Kelly, a long-time reporter, did not correctly identify the location of Ukraine on the map. 'It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine,' Pompeo's statement said. Mrs. McC: It is remotely plausible that Kelly could have confused the location of Ukraine with, say, Romania. It is not even barely plausible that she confused Ukraine with Bangladesh. The two countries are 3,600 miles apart and, obviously, in different regions of the world. But you, Mikey? I'm not so sure. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Aaron Blake of the Washington Post agrees with me. ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Chait, too: "The notion that an experienced foreign affairs reporter would be unable to locate a country that has been at the center of domestic and world news -- and would think it's next to India, not Russia! -- is implausible, and indicates not only Pompeo's dishonesty but the sheer level of absurdity he believes he can pass off.... It would be tempting to say the pressure of the Ukraine scandal is getting to Pompeo, but it's probably more likely that this is just the kind of person Pompeo is -- and the sort of behavior that has drawn him to Trump, and Trump to him." Mrs. McC: It's like a Fat Liars club.

Do you think Americans care about Ukraine? -- Mike Pompeo to NPR reporter, Friday ~~~

~~~ Top U.S. Diplomat to Fly to Ukraine or Bangladesh or Someplace. Nahal Toosi of Politico: "Mike Pompeo was already expecting to navigate a political minefield when he landed in Kyiv next week. But after the secretary of State's explosion at a respected NPR journalist, his trip just got a little more complicated.... 'Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?' he asked her -- a question arguably insulting to Ukraine as well as Americans. 'He used the F-word in that sentence and many others,' said Kelly, who has a master's degree in European studies from Cambridge University and said she correctly identified Ukraine.... Pompeo, whose own role in the impeachment scandal remains something of a mystery, faces a series of politically perilous questions[.]..." Related stories linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Nik Steinberg in a Politico Magazine opinion piece: "Since the House hearings, I’ve spoken to more than a dozen career Foreign Service officers, and it has become clear that the impeachment process has had a major collateral effect that reaches well beyond Trump himself. They say it has sharply hurt morale within the department, and in particular has eroded their faith in Pompeo. Many of the interviewees had initially hoped the secretary would rebuild the department after Rex Tillerson's efforts to strip it down, but they have instead seen Pompeo stand by silently as his employees were sidestepped and smeared. And they worry the loss of bipartisan trust in career diplomats, whom the president and his allies in Congress have cast as 'radical unelected bureaucrats,' will inflict lasting damage on the institution's role in foreign policy-making. I've agreed to keep the interviewees anonymous because of the Trump administration's record of harassing or marginalizing public servants they see as questioning their policies. But the people I spoke with serve primarily in senior roles in the department, and almost all have served for over a decade." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Is it any wonder? After serving your country for years or decades in posts far and wide, you can be abruptly fired and your personal safety threatened because the POTUS* hears a rumor from some guy he says he doesn't know & has never spoken to. Even if your difficult work has been exemplary, if somebody says -- without evidence -- that he heard you said something that hurts Trump's feelings, he will "take you out." That audio tape reported yesterday is among the best evidence that Trump doesn't give a rat's ass about U.S. international policy. Related stories linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Des Moines Register Editors: "The outstanding caliber of Democratic candidates makes it difficult to choose just one.... The Des Moines Register editorial board endorses Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses as the best leader for these times. The senior U.S. senator from Massachusetts is not the radical some perceive her to be. She was a registered Republican until 1996. She is a capitalist.... But she wants fair markets, with rules and accountability. She wants a government that works for people, not one corrupted by cash.... A qualification: Some of her ideas for 'big, structural change' go too far."

Presidential Race 2016. Obama Got That Right. Daniel Arkin of NBC News: "Barack Obama called Donald Trump a 'fascist' in a phone conversation with Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia during the 2016 presidential election, Kaine says in a video clip featured in an upcoming documentary about Hillary Clinton. Kaine, Clinton's running mate on the Democratic ticket, recounts the call during an exchange with Clinton that was caught on camera in 2016.... The clip appears in an episode of 'Hillary,' a four-part documentary series that will be available on Hulu on March 6.... Obama has rarely publicly attacked Trump since leaving office, and his description of Trump as a fascist -- as recalled by Kaine -- is a far sharper attack than he offered in public during or after the campaign." ~~~

~~~ Edward-Isaac Dovere of the Atlantic: "In the Sundance interview [on Saturday], Clinton said that Obama had never used the word fascist in conversations with her about Trump. But, she said, what Obama 'observed was this populism untethered to facts, evidence, or truth; this total rejection of so much of the progress that America has made, in order to incite a cultural reaction that would play into the fear and the anxiety and the insecurity of people -- predominantly in small-town and rural areas -- who felt like they were losing something. And [Trump] gave them a voice for what they were losing and who was responsible.'" Mrs. McC: Of course Trump is a fascist. I'm only sorry the House managers didn't mention it. Kudos to Jerry Nadler; he came close. In his closing argument he called Trump a "dictator." Though he certainly aspires to be and believes he has a right to be a dictator, Trump isn't technically a dictator yet. There are still some checks & balances. The Senate, alas, is not one of them.

Shoshana Zuboff has a longish op-ed in the New York Times about "surveillance capitalism," which she doesn't clearly define but seems to be something like, "Big Brother is here, and he's not Donald Trump; he's Mark Zuckerberg." ~~~

~~~ As a sort of companion piece, Adrienne LaFrance of the Atlantic and Hillary Clinton are horrified by Zuckerberg's totalitarian, Trumpian views of "truth."

News Ledes

ABC News: "Basketball legend Kobe Bryant is among five people who died in a helicopter crash in the wealthy Southern California residential neighborhood of Calabasas, ESPN has confirmed." An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ A Sports Illustrated obituary for Bryant & his daughter Gianna, who also died in the crash, is here.

The Commentariat -- January 25, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The Democrats are relying on facts, but the Republicans are relying on Fox. -- Maureen Dowd, in today's NYT column

New York Times liveblog: "President Trump's lawyers wrapped up a brief opening argument against his impeachment on Saturday much as they had begun, seeking to turn accusations of wrongdoing back on Democrats and insisting that there were innocent explanations for Mr. Trump's actions toward Ukraine.... The president's legal team spent only two of the 24 hours allotted to them on Saturday opening his defense, in what Mr. Trump's lawyers said was a preview of a fuller set of arguments to come on Monday. Their focus was on dismissing the House impeachment inquiry as a partisan ploy that ignored the facts in order to cast Mr. Trump's actions in the worst possible light...." ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear: "Immediately after the White House lawyers finished their opening arguments on Saturday, Democrats sought to pick the presentation apart. Immediately after the White House lawyers finished their opening arguments on Saturday, Democrats sought to pick the presentation apart.... House managers held a news conference to rebut the White House case, point by point. Over 30 minutes, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the lead manager, and Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, another manager, accused the president's lawyers of having little substance. Mr. Schiff said their case amounted to a single argument: that the president has the power to do whatever he wants. 'That is so deeply destructive of our national security, the integrity of our elections. It'hard to overstate the matter,' Mr. Schiff said." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I would have posted this sooner, but I was busy. Unlike Akhilleus, who was watching other Saturday morning cartoons (see today's Comments), I opted for an old movie starring Richard Gere. ~~~

~~~ Trump's Lawyers Cut Impeachment Clause out of Constitution. Eric Tucker, et al., of the AP: "... Donald Trump's lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump's dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House. 'They're here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,' White House Counsel Pat Cipollone told senators.... From the White House, Trump tweeted his response: 'Any fair minded person watching the Senate trial today would be able to see how unfairly I have been treated and that this is indeed the totally partisan Impeachment Hoax that EVERYBODY, including the Democrats, truly knows it is.'"

Lauren Egan of NBC News: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday attacked an NPR correspondent who reported that he berated and cursed at her following questioning over Ukraine, claiming 'she lied to me' and describing her actions as 'shameful.' 'NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly lied to me, twice. First, last month, in setting up our interview and, then again yesterday, in agreeing to have our post-interview conversation off the record,' Pompeo said in a statement. 'It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency.' Pompeo did not challenge the details of Kelly's claims about his statements or demeanor during their conversation.... Kelly said she did not agree to be off the record at any point, and had communicated in advance to Pompeo's office that she intended to ask him about Iran and Ukraine." Mrs. McC: Gee, I can't decide whom to believe, a seasoned liar or a seasoned reporter. ~~~

~~~ Pompeo Confuses Ukraine with Bangladesh. Deirdre Shesgreen of USA Today: "Pompeo, in his Saturday statement, suggested Kelly, a long-time reporter, did not correctly identify the location of Ukraine on the map. 'It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine,' Pompeo's statement said. Mrs. McC: It is plausible that Kelly could have confused the location of Ukraine with, say, Romania. It is not even barely plausible that she confused Ukraine with Bangladesh. The two countries are 3,600 miles apart and, obviously, in different regions of the world. But you, Mikey? I'm not so sure. ~~~

Do you think Americans care about Ukraine? -- Mike Pompeo to NPR reporter, Friday ~~~

~~~ Top U.S. Diplomat to Fly to Ukraine or Bangladesh or Someplace. Nahal Toosi of Politico: "Mike Pompeo was already expecting to navigate a political minefield when he landed in Kyiv next week. But after the secretary of State's explosion at a respected NPR journalist, his trip just got a little more complicated.... 'Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?' he asked her a question arguably insulting to Ukraine as well as Americans. 'He used the F-word in that sentence and many others,' said Kelly, who has a master's degree in European studies from Cambridge University and said she correctly identified Ukraine.... Pompeo, whose own role in the impeachment scandal remains something of a mystery, faces a series of politically perilous questions[.]..." Related stories linked below. ~~~

~~~ Nik Steinberg in a Politico Magazine opinion piece: "Since the House hearings, I've spoken to more than a dozen career Foreign Service officers, and it has become clear that the impeachment process has had a major collateral effect that reaches well beyond Trump himself. They say it has sharply hurt morale within the department, and in particular has eroded their faith in Pompeo. Many of the interviewees had initially hoped the secretary would rebuild the department after Rex Tillerson's efforts to strip it down, but they have instead seen Pompeo stand by silently as his employees were sidestepped and smeared. And they worry the loss of bipartisan trust in career diplomats, whom the president and his allies in Congress have cast as 'radical unelected bureaucrats,' will inflict lasting damage on the institution's role in foreign policy-making. I've agreed to keep the interviewees anonymous because of the Trump administration's record of harassing or marginalizing public servants they see as questioning their policies. But the people I spoke with serve primarily in senior roles in the department, and almost all have served for over a decade." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Is it any wonder? After serving your country for years or decades in posts far and wide, you can be abruptly fired and your personal safety threatened because the POTUS* hears a rumor from some guy he says he doesn't know & has never spoken to. Even if your difficult work has been exemplary, if somebody says -- without evidence -- that he heard you said something that hurts Trump's feelings, he will "take you out." That audio tape reported yesterday is among the best evidence that Trump doesn't give a rat's ass about U.S. international policy. Related stories linked below.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Impeachment proceedings being at 10 am ET today. Since Trump's team will be defending him, no doubt with a Trumpian combo of lies and loud whining, I don't know how much I can stomach. In fact, it appears they may make their presentation as one extended campaign ad excoriating Joe Biden: ~~~

~~~ Rachel Bade, et al., of the Washington Post: "White House lawyers are gearing up for a scorched-earth defense of President Trump in the impeachment trial, mounting a politically charged case aimed more at swaying American voters than GOP senators -- and damaging Trump's possible 2020 opponent, Joe Biden. Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, and Jay Sekulow, Trump's personal attorney, plan to use their time in the trial to target the former vice president and his son, Hunter, according to multiple GOP officials familiar with the strategy. Trump's allies believe that if they can argue that the president had a plausible reason for requesting the Biden investigation in Ukraine, they can both defend him against the impeachment charges and gain the bonus of undercutting a political adversary." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I still don't understand why Cipollone -- who is supposed to represent the presidency, not the President* -- is showing up for the trial anyway. I guess if he limited himself to arguing that any president has a right to foster secret, corrupt foreign entanglements in conflict with official U.S. policy and withhold those corrupt, private dealings from Congress, Cipollone's involvement would be quasi-legit. But I don't expect Cipollone to be so circumspect. He already has proved that he is too dumb and/or too corrupt to faithfully carry out the mandate of his taxpayer-funded job, for instance in signing (and, we assume, at least partially writing with ghostwriter-dictator DJT) this October 2019 six-page screed to chairs of House committees in which he argues that an impeachment inquiry is illegal (NYT link).

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "House Democrats concluded their arguments against President Trump on Friday by portraying his pressure campaign on Ukraine as part of a dangerous pattern of Russian appeasement that demanded his removal from office. Ending their three-day presentation in the Senate, the impeachment managers summoned the ghosts of the Cold War and the realities of geopolitical tensions with Russia to argue that Mr. Trump's abuse of power had slowly shredded delicate foreign alliances to suit his own interests." ~~~

~~~ Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "The Democratic House managers focused on ... Donald Trump's attempts to stymie their impeachment inquiry during his Senate trial Friday.... The managers wound down their final day of opening arguments by outlining the second article of impeachment against the president, obstruction of Congress. Trump, they noted, is the only president in history to completely refuse to cooperate with an impeachment investigation, blocking witnesses and documents.... The case managers focused on the White House's directive that no executive branch agency or personnel cooperate with the House's impeachment inquiry, which [Rep. Jerry] Nadler called an unprecedented 'categorical blockade.' He contrasted Trump to presidential cooperation in other investigations, including President Ronald Reagan turning over his personal diary to investigators during the Iran-Contra probe.... Democrats capped three days with lead House manager Rep. Adam Schiff, who attempted to knock down some of Trump's potential defenses ahead of ceding center stage to the president's lawyers Saturday."

The Guardian's liveblog for Friday's impeachment proceedings is here. @13:14 ET: "Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell kicked off today's proceedings by confirming that the trial would resume [Saturday] at 10 a.m. ET, earlier than recent days, and run for 'several hours.'&" Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times liveblog of Friday's developments in the Senate impeachment proceedings is here. "The House impeachment managers are now at work on the heart of their task for the afternoon: stringing together, bit by bit, a story of how President Trump and lawyers around him tried to conceal his Ukraine pressure campaign. Discussion of Mr. Trump's alleged cover-up had focused primarily on Mr. Trump's defiance of subpoenas for testimony and documents in the impeachment inquiry. But Representatives Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Jason Crow of Colorado suggested to senators that behavior is just one part of a longer cover-up, much of which took place behind the scenes before the House had even learned of the pressure campaign." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Lordy, There Are Tapes!* Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "A recording reviewed by ABC News appears to capture ... Donald Trump telling associates he wanted the then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch fired while speaking at a small gathering that included Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.... The recording appears to contradict statements by President Trump and support the narrative that has been offered by Parnas during broadcast interviews in recent days. Sources familiar with the recording said the recording was made during an intimate April 30, 2018, dinner at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Trump has said repeatedly he does not know Parnas.... 'Get rid of her!' is what the voice that appears to be President Trump's is heard saying. 'Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. Okay? Do it.'" Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Update: The story now includes portions of the audio tape. *Headline stolen from digby. ~~~

~~~ Colby Itkowitz & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "But the 2018 conversation about Yovanovitch also raises questions about the impetus behind the effort to push her out, indicating that it began before the Ukraine pressure campaign. The dinner took place before Parnas and Fruman began working with Giuliani and seven months before Giuliani has said he began his Ukraine investigation -- suggesting that the duo were agitating against the ambassador for another reason and may have biased Trump against her early on."

There could be video of trump throwing her out of a helicopter and the GOP would not care. -- Ray Doherty, in a tweet ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: According to a review of the tape by NBC News, in another part of the tape, Trump asks Lev how long Ukraine could hold off Russian forces without U.S. military aid, and Lev responds, "About 30 seconds." (Of course, Trump could have learned this from our vast intel sources, but hey, why rely on those deep-state shmucks when you've got Lev & Igor?) Here's the discussion, which Rachel Maddow begins in an interview with Parnas' attorney Joseph Bondy: ~~~

~~~ Betsy Swan of the Daily Beast: “Joseph Bondy, a lawyer for Florida businessman Lev Parnas, told The Daily Beast that the recording was made by former partner Igor Fruman. Both men were arrested in October and charged with campaign-finance violations. 'We have hoped that, to the extent this recording still existed, it would be released to Congress for use in the impeachment trial,' [Bondy said]." ~~~

~~~ Update. Ken Vogel & Ben Protess of the New York Times: Lev Parnas said through his attorney "on Friday that he had turned over to congressional Democrats a recording from 2018 of the president ordering the removal of Marie L. Yovanovitch as the United States ambassador to Ukraine.... Parnas ... located the recording on Friday after its existence was first reported by ABC News, said Joseph A. Bondy, Mr. Parnas's lawyer. Mr. Bondy said the recording was 'of high materiality to the impeachment inquiry' of Mr. Trump and that he had provided it to the House Intelligence Committee, whose chairman, Representative Adam B. Schiff, is leading the impeachment managers in their presentation of the case.... Mr. Parnas and his legal team did not provide the recording to ABC News, Mr. Bondy said." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So not only did Fruman make the tape, he passed it on to someone who shared it with ABC News. Josh Marshall of TPM notes that this suggests Fruman, who has been silent. now may be leaking stuff.

Gabe Sherman of Vanity Fair dishes on Trump's "mood" (bad) as the impeachment proceedings drag on. Here's one bit: "Meanwhile, Trump has been in a particularly foul mood as impeachment drags on. Trump recently told some Republicans that he decided to say 'fuck it' and kill General Qasem Soleimani, according to a source briefed on the conversation." Mrs. McC: Vanity Fair is subscriber-firewalled & can't be opened by nonsubscribers in a private window. I don't know from the monthly limit for freebies is. digby republishes much of Sherman's post here.

Matthew Choi of Politico: "An NPR reporter's interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo grew testy when the subject of Ukraine arose and a department aide cut off the interview, the radio network reported Friday. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly conducted a roughly 10-minute interview with Pompeo on Friday morning that ended after she brought up the topic at the center of ... Donald Trump's impeachment, according to the reporter.... When Kelly asked about former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, the secretary grew upset, the reporter said. Kelly said she was later led to the secretary's private living room, where Pompeo berated her and asked whether the American people care about Ukraine. He allegedly used the F-word multiple times and asked her to identify Ukraine on an unlabeled map of the world." Emphasis added. Mrs. McC: Gee, Mike, have you ever asked the Dear Leader "to identify Ukraine on an unlabeled map"? ~~~

~~~ Allison Quinn of the Daily Beast has more. After Pompeo cut short the interview, Kelly "was then reportedly asked to follow him without her recorder, but without any agreement that the following conversation would be off the record. At that point, Pompeo reportedly challenged Kelly to find Ukraine on an unmarked map and asked, 'Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?' He reportedly wrapped up the meeting by declaring that 'people will hear about this.'" Emphasis added. The remark in bold is a threat, a threat by a powerful man against a much less powerful woman. It's creepy-scary. ~~~

~~~ A transcript of the recorded interview is here. ~~~

~~~ Pompeo Unaware of Subject of Impeachment Trial. Marcy Wheeler: Pompeo "falsely claimed he had defended everyone of his reports, including Marie Yovanovitch. And he reportedly accused Kelly of not being able to find Ukraine on a map (which she promptly did).... But the craziest thing might be Pompeo's claim that President Obama did nothing to take down corruption in Ukraine." Mrs. McC: Wheeler doesn't say it, but a major component of the impeachment thing revolves around Trump's corrupt effort to impugn Joe Biden for the work he did, as part of the Obama administration, to curb corruption in Ukraine. Pompeo is now (and perhaps always has been) just as adept at saying black is white and white is black as is the Lyin' King he serves.

Robert Burns of the AP: "The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran's missile strike this month on an Iraqi air base, and although half have returned to work, the casualty total belies ... Donald Trump's initial claim that no Americans were harmed. He later characterized the injuries as ['headaches' and] 'not very serious.' Eight of the injured arrived in the United States on Friday from Germany, where they and nine others had been flown days after the Jan. 8 missile strike on Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base. The nine still in Germany are receiving treatment and evaluation at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest U.S. military hospital outside the continental United States." ~~~

~~~ Paul Szoldra of Task & Purpose: "The Veterans of Foreign Wars has demanded an apology from President Trump over recent comments in which he downplayed the seriousness of traumatic brain injuries suffered by American troops in an Iranian missile attack. 'The Veterans of Foreign Wars cannot stand idle on this matter,' William 'Doc' Schmitz, VFW National Commander, said in a statement Friday, noting TBI is a serious injury known to cause depression, memory loss, severe headaches and other symptoms in the short and long-term." Szoldra provides a transcript of the exchange between Trump & reporter Weijia Jiang of CBS News. Jiang asks about the discrepancy between Trump's repeated claims there were no U.S. injuries resulting from the attack:

Trump: No, I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say, and I can report, it is not very serious.

Jiang: You don't consider a potential traumatic brain injury serious?

Trump: "They told me about it numerous days later, you'd have to ask Department of Defense. No, I don't consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries that I've seen. I've seen what Iran has done with their roadside bombs to our troops. I've seen people with no legs and with no arms, I've seen people that were horribly horribly injured in that area, that war. In fact, many cases put those bombs put there by Soleimani, who is no longer with us. I consider them to be really bad injuries. No, I do not consider that to be bad injuries no. (Emphasis original to report.)

Presidential Race

Jonathan Martin & Sydney Ember of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders has opened up a lead in Iowa just over a week before the Democratic caucuses, consolidating support from liberals and benefiting from divisions among more moderate presidential candidates who are clustered behind him, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll of likely caucusgoers.... The rise of Mr. Sanders has come at the expense of his fellow progressive, Senator Elizabeth Warren: she dropped from 22 percent in the October poll, enough to lead the field, to 15 percent in this survey." Poll results: Sanders 25%; Buttigieg 18; Biden 17%; Warren 15%; Klobuchar 8%.

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times on how a bleak future is influencing the presidential race: "The candidate who polls show has the most support among young people is Bernie Sanders, the oldest person in the race. Clearly, Sanders fills his followers with hope and makes them feel that a transformed world is possible, but he also speaks to their terrors." ~~~

Beyond the Beltway

California. Yousef Baig & Chantelle Lee of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: "The Russian River flowed with a cherry red tint Wednesday after tens of thousands of gallons of fresh cabernet sauvignon wine poured into the largest tributary in Sonoma County. The wine -- enough to fill more than 500,000 bottles -- spilled from a Rodney Strong Vineyards' tank at the Healdsburg winery, made its way into Reiman Creek running through the property and drained into the river.... A roughly two-foot oval door near the bottom of a 100,000-gallon Rodney Strong blending tank somehow popped open about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and spilled from 46,000 to 96,000 gallons of wine, officials with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services said Thursday. Local and state water quality and fish and wildlife officials are investigating to determine any negative effects to the river ecosystem and whether the winery violated water quality rules." Mrs. McC: Finally a real-world approximation of The Odyssey's "wine-dark sea."

Way Beyond

China. New York Times liveblog: "As China marked a somber Lunar New Year on Saturday, 15 more deaths from the new coronavirus were reported in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Other countries, including Australia, said the virus had reached their shores.The latest deaths, announced early Saturday by the health authorities in Hubei Province, whose capital is Wuhan, brought the toll in China to 41. All but three of those deaths were in Wuhan.... Nationwide, more than 400 new cases of the virus were diagnosed, officials said early Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in China to nearly 1,300. Travel restrictions in Wuhan and 12 other cities have essentially penned in 35 million people on the country's biggest holiday, normally a time for traveling to visit family."

News Lede

NBC News: "Major search and rescue efforts are underway in eastern Turkey after it was rocked by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake late Friday evening. At least 22 people have died, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said Saturday, adding that 1,103 were injured."