Cred Bull
“The pages lay out the raw contours of a potential quid-pro-quo exchange — Trump gets his political investigation of a top Democratic rival in return for granting a favor to Ukraine.” AP on the text messages that confirm what we’ve already learned (and what the president has already re-enacted on the South Lawn of the White House). Diplomats pushed Ukraine to investigate, dangled Trump visit. Trump is still insisting there was no quid-pro-quo (he’s just really passionate about quashing corruption and ending political nepotism), and he’s pushing the House to take a vote on the impeachment inquiry. Here’s the latest from CNN.
+ The illegal pressure and its response not only happened, it continues to play out in real time as Ukraine’s new chief prosecutor plans to ‘audit’ Biden case. “The audit does not mark a reopening of the investigation, but it could buy Ukraine some time in dealing with the White House.” (Joe Biden could shoot somebody in the middle of Ukraine’s version of Fifth Avenue and that still wouldn’t make it OK for Trump to ask Ukraine for election help…)
+ The first cracks in Trump’s GOP forcefield are beginning to surface. The latest is this understated statement from Mitt Romney: “When the only American citizen President Trump singles out for China’s investigation is his political opponent in the midst of the Democratic nomination process, it strains credulity to suggest that it is anything other than politically motivated.” (Cred’s dead baby, Cred’s dead.)