The latest on the Trump impeachment inquiry

The intelligence community inspector general forcefully pushed back today on assertions by President Trump and some Republicans about the lack of first-hand knowledge and rules regarding how whistleblower complaints are processed. 

In a statement released today, the IC IG said the whistleblower had “direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct.”

The statement appears to debunk a theory that has been pushed by Trump and several of his Republican allies who have sought to raise questions about the complaint’s credibility by falsely claiming that it is based on “hearsay.”

“As part of his determination that the urgent concern appeared credible, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community determined that the complainant had official and authorized access to the information and sources referenced in the complainant’s letter and classified appendix, including direct knowledge of certain alleged conduct, and that the complainant has subject matter expertise related to much of the material information provided in the complainant’s letter and classified appendix,” the statement said.

The IC IG response makes it clear that a whistleblower is not required to have first-hand knowledge in order to submit a complaint and confirms that the IC IG obtained other information during his preliminary review that supported the allegations.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on the call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a source familiar told CNN.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Pompeo was on the July 25 phone call between the two leaders.

CNN has asked the State Department for comment but has not heard back.

The only public comment from Pompeo was last week when he was asked about the whistleblower complaint at the United Nations Assembly General. He said at the time he had not yet read the full whistleblower complaint.

Asked if he or his staff acted improperly, Pompeo said that to the best of his knowledge, “each of the actions that were undertaken by State Department officials was entirely appropriate.”

President Trump pressed Australia’s Prime Minister during a recent phone call to help Attorney General William Barr with his review of the origins of the Russia probe, according to an official familiar with the call.

The call happened with Barr’s knowledge and at his suggestion, the official said. The New York Times first reported this call.

The official notes this is seeking assistance with the review, which is being conducted by US Attorney John Durham, and so is seen as appropriate and completely different from the Ukraine matter. Justice Department officials say that it is appropriate for the attorney general and the President to seek help from foreign countries with an investigation of 2016 election interference.

Durham is examining what intelligence came from other countries that propelled the investigation that eventually became the Trump-Russia probe.

An official briefed on the matter said the attorney general has asked the President to request the help of several countries, including Australia, with the Durham review.

Officials believe that requesting foreign help with a retrospective look at 2016 election interference differs vastly from Trump’s request made in the Ukraine call transcript released last week.

Some background: A rough transcript released by the White House shows Trump repeatedly pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s potential 2020 political rival, and his son Hunter Biden. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe or Hunter Biden.

Keep reading here.

Democrats from the Senate Judiciary Committee want Attorney General William Barr and others to be called to testify on the whistleblower’s complaint.

In a letter to committee chairman Lindsey Graham, Democrats also asked to hear from Department of Justice officials. They are…

Americans are about evenly split over impeaching President Trump and removing him from office, as support for that move has risen among independents and Republicans, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS after the announcement of a formal impeachment inquiry by House Democrats last week.

Here are the key numbers:

Read more about the poll here.

The House Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani for documents related to the Ukraine controversy to be turned over by Oct. 15.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings requested the documents in a letter they sent to Giuliani, according to their joint statement.

What we know about Giuliani: The former New York City mayor has become a central figure in the unfolding scandal surrounding Trump’s communications with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that have led to a House impeachment inquiry into the President’s conduct. 

According to a White House-released transcript of a July call between the two leaders, Trump asked Zelensky to work with Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, though there is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

Andrew P. Bakaj, one of the lawyers representing the whistleblower, tweeted today that his client is “entitled to anonymity” and that retaliating against the individual is “a violation of federal law.”

More on this: President Trump said today that he is trying to find out the identity of the whistleblower and wants to speak to this person.

President Trump said he’s “trying to find out” about the whistleblower who filed an anonymous complaint against him.

An important note: Many details in the whistleblower’s complaint about Trump’s July 25 call with the Ukrainian president match up with the White House’s rough transcript of the call. Both the complaint and the transcript were released last week.

Trump over the weekend demanded to meet the whistleblower, whom he referred to as his “accuser.”

Today, Trump again defended his phone call with the Ukrainian leader.

“The statement I made to the president of Ukraine — a good man, a nice man, new — was perfect. It was perfect. But the whistleblower reported a totally different statement like the statement was not even made,” Trump said.

With impeachment taking center stage, the Democratic presidential primary race will shift to the backburner. Most of the oxygen will be sucked up by what’s unfolding on Capitol Hill. But this shift is surely temporary — the Iowa caucuses are happening in February no matter what.

The Ukraine affair is about Trump’s alleged misconduct. But Trump’s underlying actions were all about prodding Ukraine to investigate 2020 Democrat Joe Biden, dirtying up the Democratic frontrunner. It’s early, but Trump is trailing Biden by large margins in general election polls in pivotal swing states.

Remember: There’s no evidence of wrongdoing on Biden’s part.

What this means for the GOP: Republicans could turn the tables and try to turn the impeachment trial into a platform to highlight Biden’s supposed wrongdoing. Trump and his allies have been spreading debunked conspiracy theories about Biden and his son Hunter Biden regarding their actions in Ukraine.

What this means for Democrats: Biden’s Democratic opponents are in a tough spot. They are outraged that Trump tried to get Ukraine to investigate Biden — but they don’t want the public anger to be so strong that it helps Biden secure the nomination. They will continue hitting Biden on the trail on policy issues, but they’ll need to steer clear of giving credence to the false attacks Trump spreads about Biden.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said “any rational person” should be worried about the whistleblower’s safety as President Trump continues to threaten him or her.

This weekend, Trump demanded to meet the whistleblower — who he called his “accuser.” He’s also questioned the whistleblower’s credibility and referred to the person who gave the whistleblower the information as “close to a spy.”

Warner said both Democrats and Republicans should be alarmed by the comments.

“Even my Republican colleagues — who may not want to weigh in on the substance of the complaint — need to stand up and push back on this President’s outrageous behavior about protecting the whistleblower program,” he said. “For 40 years this program has allowed folks to come forward in a protected way when they’ve seen abuse.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gestures as he speaks after tactical exercises at the National Guard training ground near Stare village on Sept. 30, 2019.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was unlikely his office would share its own transcript of his call with President Trump.

“They made it public, so it is public. That’s their own deal,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader, speaking to reporters at military drills organized by the country’s interior ministry, said his country is not opposed to opening an investigation into the claims against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, but rejects acting solely on the orders of another country.

There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

“We are not doing anything by commands. I can say it again — we are an independent country. We are not following any commands. We have only one command: to serve Ukraine,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine’s “independent law enforcement agencies are ready to investigate any sorts of proceedings if the law was broken.” 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear that the Senate would have to begin a trial if the House impeaches Trump.

He added: “How long I’m on it is another matter.” The Senate can move to dismiss the matter once a trial begins.

Why this matters: After the House votes to impeach a President, the Constitution calls for a trial in the US Senate. However, there had been some question as to whether Republicans in the Senate would even bother since they likely have the votes to easily dismiss the charges.

McConnell simply decided to not hold a vote on Merrick Garland’s nomination by President Barack Obama to sit on the Supreme Court. And there had been plenty of speculation about whether McConnell would simply decide not to hold an impeachment trial.

Former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake on Monday urged Republicans in Congress not to support President Trump’s 2020 reelection bid, saying they have a moral obligation to put their principles first — even if it means risking their careers.

Flake, a longtime Trump critic who has before argued that the Republican Party should not support the President in 2020, made his case in an op-ed published in The Washington Post titled “Fellow Republicans, there’s still time to save your souls,” writing that Senate Republicans should refuse to support a second term for the President, despite their feelings on the Democrat-controlled House’s impeachment inquiry.

Flake added: “Trust me when I say that you can go elsewhere for a job. But you cannot go elsewhere for a soul.”

House Intelligence chair Adam Schiff said yesterday that he expects the whistleblower to testify “very soon” following negotiations focusing partly on how to preserve his or her anonymity and security.

CNN reported on Wednesday the potential testimony is dependent on the whistleblower’s attorneys getting security clearances.

About the whistleblower’s complaint: In the complaint — judged credible by a Trump-appointed intelligence community inspector general — the whistleblower alleged the President tried to get Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election and the White House tried to cover it up.

Trump has repeatedly denied that he did anything wrong, saying his call with the Ukrainian leader was “perfect.”

President Trump has repeatedly tweeted this morning, continuing to seek to discredit the whistleblower, whom he has dubbed “#FakeWhistleblower,” criticizing Democrats and the media, calling the Bidens and media “corrupt,” and claiming, without any evidence, that the whistleblower rules were changed just before the report was submitted. 

Remember: There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

Here are some of the tweets:

Lawyers for the whistleblower have expressed “serious concerns” for their client.

They wrote to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire this weekend.

“The events of the past week have heightened our concerns that our client’s identity will be disclosed publicly and that, as a result, our client will be put in harm’s way,” the lawyers wrote in a letter date Saturday, September 28, before directly citing a comment by Trump last week.

On that occasion, the President said the person that gave the whistleblower the information was “close to a spy” and hinted at the possibility of execution for such behavior.

The lawyers noted that Trump was not referring directly to the whistleblower, but said that fact did not assuage their concerns and alleged that several unnamed parties had offered a $50,000 bounty for information on their client’s identity.

Republican presidential candidate Mark Sanford said that an impeachment inquiry into President Trump “may be justified” — but warned it could galvanize Trump’s base and turn his primary challenge into even more of an uphill climb.

“It may be justified, it will bring tremendous discord within the political system,” Sanford said on CNN this morning. “What happens is that people circle the wagons, they feel as if their President is under threat.”

Sanford, a former South Carolina governor, announced his longshot primary challenge for the 2020 Republican nomination earlier this month.

A majority of Americans say they think Congress opening an impeachment inquiry into President Trump is necessary, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday.

The poll, conducted by YouGov, shows 55% of Americans think the newly-opened probe necessary, while 45% of Americans think it unnecessary.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into the President after a transcript of a July call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed he pushed Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden — his potential 2020 political rival — and his son, Hunter. There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

A few more takeaways from the poll: