“Marie L. Yovanovitch, who was recalled as the American ambassador to Ukraine, testified to impeachment investigators on Friday that a top State Department official told her that President Trump had pushed for her removal for months even though the department believed she had ‘done nothing wrong’ … She warned that private influence and personal gain have usurped diplomats’ judgment, threatening to undermine the nation’s interests.” The NYT on another dent in the forcefield. Meanwhile, Gordon Sondland is opting to ignore the State Department’s suggestion that he avoid questions. David A. Graham in The Atlantic: The Conspiracy of Silence Is Cracking. Here’s the latest on the impeachment battle.

+ Predictably, Trump is fighting the impeachment news by attacking immigrants, this time Somali Americans living in Minnesota. WaPo: ‘Stunning in ugliness & tone’: Trump denounced for attacking Somali refugees in Minnesota. (In my experience, Minnesotans are positive about immigrants who have moved to their state. What they don’t like is xenophobic assholes.)