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Bombshell this weekend… a new whistleblower being represented by Mark Zaid and Andrew Bakaj, the lawyers for the original whistleblower, according to CNN’s Jake Tapper, Pamela Brown and Zachary Cohen.
Key points:
First-hand knowledge: If the second person has 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.
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.
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 many is “multiple?”
Zaid has acknowledged a second whistleblower and his partner, Andrew Bakaj, described “multiple” whistleblowers in a tweet Sunday, but will not specify if that is more than the two we now know.
Bakaj: “I can confirm that my firm and my team represent multiple whistleblowers in connection to the underlying August 12, 2019, disclosure to the Intelligence Community Inspector General. No further comment at this time.”
The New York Times reported Friday about an official with direct knowledge of the call who was considering coming forward. It’s not clear if that person is the second whistleblower, as first reported by ABC.
Where the puzzle pieces fit
CNN’s Adam Levine points out that the news of the second whistleblower who apparently had direct knowledge of elements of the complaint underscores how much of the complaint has been corroborated.
- The call itself between Trump and the Ukrainian leader
- The main thrust of the call was that Trump pushed Zelensky to investigate two claims that benefit the president’s political needs – scrutiny of Burisma, the Ukrainian company where Hunter Biden was on the board, and scrutiny of the 2016 election and Ukraine’s role
- The White House has confirmed that the call was placed in a highly classified server to avoid scrutiny and that White House lawyers played a role
- The Giuliani meeting with the Zelensky aide was indeed a follow-up on the call
- Kurt Volker has confirmed how he tried to help the Ukrainians navigate the demands of the White House
- Text messages released by House Intel confirm that the Zelensky leadership team was led to believe they needed to play ball on the investigations
- Pence and Perry both brought up investigating corruption during their meetings with Ukrainians. Though both contend they did not discuss investigating Biden, the relevance of the demand was publicly and privately already conveyed to the Ukrainians by others
- CNN confirmed that the OMB meetings and discussions about stopping military aid coming directly from the president did occur
New talking point: Trump’s just messin’ around
After his attempts last week to say there’s nothing wrong with what happened on the call between Trump and Zelensky, top Trump surrogate Rep. Jim Jordan argued in an interview with ABC News that Trump wasn’t seriously asking China to investigate the Bidens when he directly asked China to investigate the Bidens. This is a new riff on the old idea that Trump shouldn’t be taken literally. Just seriously.
JORDAN: George, you really think he was serious about thinking that China’s going to investigate the Biden family?
STEPHANOPOULOS: He said it right there in public.
JORDAN: I think – I think – I think he’s getting – as I think Senator Rubio said a couple days ago. I think he’s getting the press all spun up about this. Remember, this is the president who’s been tougher on China than any other president.
He has been tough on China. He’s also in the midst of negotiations on trade with China. If nothing else, he’s transmitting his pressure points.
No votes
Why doesn’t Pelosi just hold a vote? As Democrats carry forward with their impeachment inquiry, the lack of an official vote to kick things off is becoming more of an issue.
Mark Sanford, a Republican as opposed to Trump as any you’re likely to find and who is running against him in the GOP primary, told Tapper on State of the Union not even he would support the impeachment without a vote to kick it off.
“Again, I think we need to take this incrementally. I mean, I think, to your point, there ought to be a vote before we go into the inquiry… you formalize the process, as opposed to having an open-ended process, which is the route that Pelosi is taking right now…”
Pelosi argues no vote is required under the Constitution even though the two most recent presidential impeachment inquiries featured one.
Sanford, a former congressman and South Carolina governor, said he’d be more likely to support censuring Trump over impeaching him this close to an election.
Former Rep. Joe Walsh, who is also opposing Trump in the GOP primary, disagreed big time.
“I don’t understand that, with all due respect, Mark. This president deserves to be impeached. Jake, nobody from the White House and no high-level Republicans are on this show today because there is nothing to defend. This president betrayed his country again this week. Would I vote if I were in Congress on the inquiry? There is enough we know now to vote to impeach this president. He stood on the White House lawn this week, Jake, and told two additional foreign governments to interfere in our election. That alone is impeachable.”
Democrats process problems are giving Republicans an out
The lack of a vote coupled with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s reading of inaccurate quotes attributed to Trump during a Congressional hearing is an easy way for Republicans to have it both ways – criticizing Trump and then also going after the impeachment inquiry process.
Here’s Sen. Susan Collins questioning Trump, according to the Bangor Daily News:
“I thought the president made a big mistake by asking China to get involved in investigating a political opponent,” Collins said. “It’s completely inappropriate.”
But Collins also questioned the Democrats’ process, according to WABI:
“I’m a bit concerned about the fact that the chairman of the house intelligence committee misrepresented and misled people about what was in the transcript of the call between the president of the United States and the president of Ukraine. So I hope this will be done with the seriousness that any impeachment proceeding deserves.”
The rest
Backlash – Moderate Dem and former CIA officer heckled for impeachment support – It was support of moderates like Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin that helped push Pelosi toward the impeachment inquiry. Now Slotkin is facing at least some backlash in the form of heckling at town halls in Michigan. WATCH
The US attorney general is traveling the world investigating the Russia probe – The New York Times reports on Barr’s travels to Italy and elsewhere as the nation’s top law enforcement official takes personal charge of the president’s personal conspiracy theories. LINK
Trump calls Romney an ass, suggests impeaching him – This is what’s in store for Republicans who, like Romney, criticize Trump’s behavior. LINK
Fact Check: Why Trump’s sudden fixation on investigating corruption doesn’t add up. LINK
Perry encouraged Trump to talk to Zelensky – But according to the Energy Department, it was a focus on natural gas, not investigations. LINK
Impeachment inquiry testimony this week – EU ambassador Gordon Sondland is now scheduled to testify to three House committees on Tuesday. Former US Amb to Ukraine Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch is scheduled for the Friday.
Sen. Ron Johnson tried very hard to defend Trump – After telling the Wall Street Journal last week that he asked Trump in August about pressuring the Ukrainians, the Wisconsin Republican was on defense patrol on Meet the Press. It was contentious. LINK
SNL did Mike Pence’s impeachment strategy – Matthew Broderick is Mike Pompeo. LINK
