Zelensky today: “You are asking me how’s the situation on the front line … there’s a front line everywhere. A few small towns just don’t exist anymore. And this is a tragedy. They are just gone. And people are also gone. They are gone forever. So we are all on the front line.“
Zelensky: “Today I asked the 27 leaders of Europe whether Ukraine will be in NATO, I asked directly. Everyone is afraid, does not answer. And we are not afraid, we are not afraid of anything.”
One way this could backfire for Trump: As a government official, Krebs had been forbidden from speaking to the Biden transition team. Nothing stopping him from doing so now, and he has a lot of institutional knowledge that isn’t necessarily classified.
President Zelensky this morning said foreign fighters have begun to arrive in Ukraine to help battle the Russians. “Ukraine is already greeting foreign volunteers. (The) first 16,000 are already on their way to protect freedom and life for us, and for all,” he said.
Zelensky is now addressing the European Parliament. The European Parliament translator is getting emotional as he translates. "We are fighting for survival, but we are also fighting to be equal members of Europe," Zelensky says.
BREAKING: House Oversight is investigating whether US military expenditures have been propping up Trump Turnberry. A peculiar refueling stop in Glasgow by a US Air Force crew, who stayed overnight at the resort—there & back—tipped them off. Our exclusive:
BREAKING: The US Air Force has ordered a sweeping review of its use of Trump resorts for overnight crew accommodations. It comes as POLITICO uncovers yet another overnight stay at Turnberry by at least a dozen USAF crew members in September 2018.
To recap: Trump asked Comey for loyalty; asked him to drop the Flynn probe; fired Comey; pressured Sessions not to recuse; pressured Sessions to fire McCabe; pressured Coats, Rogers, Pompeo &multiple congressmen to say he wasn’t under FBI investigation; and tried to fire Mueller.
FBI Director Chris Wray: FBI has made about 100 domestic terrorism arrests this year—more than last year. A majority of the suspects are motivated by some version of white supremacy, he says.
In presser today from Kyiv, Zelensky repeated call to NATO for no-fly zone: “How long do you need? How many arms and legs and heads should be severed so that you understand?...If you don’t have the strength to provide a no-fly zone, then give me planes. Would that not be fair?”
Some news: Devin Nunes’ Democratic opponent,
@JanzforCongress
, raised over $100,000 today alone with news of the memo release, per a senior campaign aide.
Republicans want to fix DACA far more than the Democrats do. The Dems had all three branches of government back in 2008-2011, and they decided not to do anything about DACA. They only want to use it as a campaign issue. Vote Republican!
Stepping back for a minute: If no other reporting existed on Trump/Russia, the fact that the FBI started a CI investigation to determine whether or not the sitting president of the US was either comprised by or an agent of Russia, it would be the biggest political story...ever.
NYT reports that law enforcement officials were so concerned by Trump's actions after firing Comey that the FBI began investigating whether Trump was a Russian agent:
Andrew McCabe, who was targeted by Trump relentlessly until Sessions fired him earlier this year just days before he was set to retire/eligible to receive a pension, opened an obstruction of justice investigation into Trump after Comey's firing, per
@CNN
.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter died in the Parkland shooting, tells
@cnn
that Kavanaugh not only wouldn’t shake his hand—he asked security to remove Guttenberg from the hearing, and identified him by the bracelets he wears to commemorate his daughter.
News: More than 50 former senior intelligence officials, including ex-Trump admin officials like Russ Travers, have signed on to a letter outlining their belief that the Biden emails saga “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation”
Can you *imagine* what the right’s reaction would be if it came out that Obama or Clinton had, during an election, dictated a letter about their health to their personal doctor who then released it knowing it was at best incomplete or, at worst, false. Can. you. imagine.
Raffensperger adviser to
@MarcACaputo
on why they recorded their call with Trump: “Lindsey Graham asked us to throw out legally cast ballots. So yeah, after that call, we decided maybe we should do this.”
@playbookplus
JUST IN: Striking new statement from IC inspector general Michael Atkinson, who was fired by Trump on Friday. “It is hard not to think that the President’s loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations...”
NEW: Trump was receiving one of his first codeword classified briefings on Afghanistan, at his Bedminster club, when he suddenly got bored and ordered milkshakes. The incident became legendary inside CIA, where like at other agencies, morale has slumped.1/
Um holy sh*t. This certainly makes it sound like Parnas and co. were actively tracking Yovanovitch's movements. This could explain why Yovanovitch was moved out of Ukraine so quickly.
Breaking:
@mchancecnn
with Russian forces at the Antonov airport about 15 miles outside of Kyiv. "These troops you can see over here, they are Russian airborne forces. They have taken this airport"
NEW: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been hosting secretive talks & off-the-record dinners with conservative influencers in recent months to discuss free speech and partnerships. Among the participants: Tucker Carlson & Lindsey Graham. scoop w/
@dlippman
:
It always surprises me when Sanders refuses to answer a question, ignores requests for follow-up, and the next reporter called on doesn’t pick up where their colleague left off.
Sarah Sanders refusing to resolve the blatant, direct contradiction between her own statements and the president’s lawyers’ letter to the Special Counsel seems like a good prompt for reporters to get up and leave the briefing room tbh.
Sgt. Erick Estrada of the Texas Dept of Public Safety tells
@andersoncooper
the shooter crashed his car near the school, got out with a gun and wearing body armor, was engaged by law enforcement, but made his way into the school anyway and went classroom to classroom shooting.
Wow. Former top DOJ counterintel official
@DavidLaufmanLaw
on the recent Trump/Russia revelations: “The evidence points to the inference—and it’s a painful thing to acknowledge—that the president is a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.”
A bombshell statement to Congress from Aaron Zelinsky, the prosecutor in the Roger Stone case who says he withdrew because of “wrongful political pressure”:
"I was explicitly told that the motivation for changing the sentencing memo was
political, and because the U.S. Attorney was “afraid of the President.”
👀"From golden showers in a sex club in Vegas, to tax fraud, to deals with corrupt officials from the former Soviet Union, to catch and kill conspiracies to silence Trump’s clandestine lovers, I wasn’t just a witness to the president’s rise—I was an active and eager participant."
Biden tells reporters that he referred to what is happening in Ukraine as a genocide earlier today because “it’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out even the idea of being Ukrainian.”
“And the evidence is mounting,” he said.
Oh boy. Britain's man in the the US says Trump is 'inept' and potentially compromised by “dodgy Russians”—Cables from ambassador say he is 'dysfunctional'
The Mueller investigation isn’t even 2 years old. Whitewater went on for nearly 8 years. Iran contra, nearly 7. And every part of it has been serious. This isn’t hard.
AP editor
@SallyBuzbee
: The Trump-Russia probes have "gone on so long that it's difficult to be able to assess what in this investigation is truly very serious and what is not as serious. So that is one thing that journalists struggle with a little bit..."
NEW: In a shift, Dems will not necessarily wait for Mueller's findings to launch impeachment proceedings, I'm told. Barr's refusal to commit to publicizing Mueller's findings combined w/Trump potentially suborning perjury has created new sense of urgency.
! Tapper: Do you think Donald Trump knew nothing about that [Trump Tower] meeting?
Nunberg: "No. You know he knew about it. He was talking about it a week before...I don't know why he went around trying to hide it."
BREAKING: Trump has fired the intelligence community’s chief watchdog, Michael Atkinson, saying he no longer has confidence in him. He will be removed 30 days from now.
New: Devin Nunes flew to the U.K. this month to gather intel on Chris Steele from MI5, MI6, & GCHQ. But the agencies—wary that he was “trying to stir up a controversy," per a source—didn't meet with him.
The presidents of Estonia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia published an open letter on Monday urging the EU to immediately grant Ukraine candidate country status and begin negotiations on its formal acceptance into the bloc.
FBI agents have been going door-to-door in D.C. asking residents for any photos/doorbell footage they might have that could help them identify the individual suspected of planting pipe bombs. They have been telling residents they are "all hands on deck" on this at the moment.
Holy cow. “The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said...the White House has yet to authorize any” response.
Wow: Investigators searching the apartments of the 2 men who allegedly posed as DHS agents say they found a loaded Glock 19, disassembled long guns, sniper spotting equipment, ammunition, handcuffs, radios, body armor, a surveillance drone and several servers. 1/
New: Zelensky in late night address tonight slams NATO over ruling out no-fly zone. “This is the self-hypnosis of those who are weak, insecure inside, despite the fact they possess weapons many times stronger than we have," he said.
Just today: Trump admin declined to impose new Russia sanctions, a top FBI official probing Trump&Russia was forced out, and House Intel R's voted to release a classified memo that purports to undermine Russia probe. Also, DOJ/FBI are officially under investigation by HPSCI R's.
Devin Nunes said just now on Hannity: “It’s possible” I talked to Lev Parnas. “l haven’t gone through all my phone records...I don’t really recall that name, I remember that name now because he’s been indicted. But it seems very unlikely I’d be taking calls from random people”
Russia deployed a military grade nerve agent in a city of 40,000 people. Chemical warfare experts were sent to the scene and hundreds of people may have been poisoned. In England. In 2018.
BREAKING: British PM May: "The government has concluded that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible" for nerve agent attack on Russian ex-spy.
Zelensky tells the UN to stop Russia or dissolve itself. "Please show how we can reform or change and work for peace. Or if there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether," he says.
Comey, asked whether he thought it was significant that Trump lied about not staying overnight in Moscow, says “it’s always significant when someone lies, especially about something you didn’t ask about.”
SCOOP/BREAKING NEWS: The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks, officials directly familiar with the matter said.
Meanwhile, a current Metro D.C. police officer on the scene yesterday said in a public Facebook post that off-duty police officers and members of the military, who were among the rioters, flashed their badges and I.D. cards as they attempted to overrun the Capitol.
New: Newly released video shows indicted Giuliani associate Igor Fruman with RNC chief Ronna McDaniel. She hugs him during a Trump event at Mar a Lago and says she's "so glad" he's there.
NEWS: Pelosi admonished top counterintel official Evanina during private briefing this a.m., accusing him of withholding info about Russia. Evanina ultimately acknowledged that Russia is trying to boost Trump’s reelection; Dems want him to say it publicly.
BREAKING: Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, Alex Vindman's twin brother who served as a senior NSC ethics official, has filed a complaint w/DoD IG raising concerns that he was retaliated against for reporting "ethics and legal compliance violations" by NSA O'Brien
Gen. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tells reporters he doesn't know where Trump got his information that Baghdadi was "whimpering and crying" when he died. "I don't know what the source of that was."
Top Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling, a Republican, calls today "anti-disinformation Monday" and is now walking through Trump's voter fraud claims and debunking them in a press conference.
Just in: President Zelensky has informed the Council of Europe that he is now unable to address them given urgent matters in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Prime Minister will address the council instead later today.
Here is that emotional moment: "This morning, two cruise missiles hit Freedom Square...this is the price of freedom. We're fighting for our land and for our freedom."
News: The Biden admin is preparing to send Ukraine advanced, long-range rocket systems—known as MLRS and HIMARS—that are now the top request from Ukrainian officials, multiple officials say.
Approval could be announced as soon as next week.
Fiona Hill, a Russia expert who served on Trump's NSC (you may recall her impeachment testimony last year), does not often speak out publicly.
"I’ve been studying authoritarian regimes for three decades, and I know the signs of a coup when I see them."
“There's no reason for the National Archives to ever digitally alter a historic photograph," Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley said. "If they don't want to use a specific image, then don't use it. But to confuse the public is reprehensible.”
In related news, House Intel is voting shortly to send 50+ witness interview transcripts to Mueller "so that he consider whether additional perjury charges are warranted."
NEW: Days after White House lawyer John Eisenberg moved record of Trump call w/Zelensky into top secret system, he instructed Lt. Col. Vindman—who listened to the call & raised alarms—not to tell anyone what had happened on the call, Vindman testified.
Something I'm hearing from lots of former DOJ/FBI folks tonight is just how rare & significant it is for a DOJ official, especially an institutionalist like Mueller, to "go to paper" like this. "We are conditioned not to" do that, Chuck Rosenberg told me.
🚨OH boy. The government has notified Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Roger Stone's Instagram story from yesterday, where he shared an image that claimed he was framed.
NEW: The Special Counsel's office was made aware of a scheme to pay off women to make up sexual harassment claims against Mueller. It has referred the scheme to the FBI. STORY:
Omg this
@anitakumar01
story. Jared Kushner asked model Karlie Kloss’ dad (his brother’s father in law) for suggestions to fight coronavirus, so he turned to a Facebook group for ER doctors—telling them he had a “direct channel” to the WH.
It’s official: Rohrabacher has lost re-election for the first time in 2 decades. Republicans declined to make his House Intel testimony public in the weeks leading up to the election. But with Dems in control, that could change by early next year.
Unreal. Asked whether he would hold Russia accountable for literally anything, Trump DOES NOT MENTION GEORGIA, MH-17, CRIMEA, UKRAINE, OR ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Says the US and Russia have "both" been "foolish," we've "both made mistakes." Then discusses his election victory.
Republican Senators who have visited Moscow in the past month (None of whom are running in 2018):
Rand Paul
Richard Shelby
Steve Daines
John Hoeven
John Kennedy
Jerry Moran
John Thune
Ron Johnson
Just called Jack Burkman to see if he knew anything about Surefire Intelligence and Avenatti. He said no. So I asked him whatever happened to the Mueller accuser and he hung up on me. 🤷♀️
Democratic Rep. Adam Smith said on
@amjoyshow
that it’s “quite likely” there will be an ethics investigation into Devin Nunes’ meetings/relationship with Lev Parnas.
@MSNBC
News: Judge in Manafort case has DENIED his motion to dismiss special counsel's superseding indictment. The indictment "falls squarely within that portion of the authority granted to the Special Counsel," she writes.
"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."
Wrong. McCain’s associate David Kramer wasn’t briefed on the dossier until after the election, in late November 2016. Kramer then returned to the US and gave a copy to McCain, who then gave it to the FBI. Again, all well after the election.
So it was indeed (just proven in court papers) “last in his class” (Annapolis) John McCain that sent the Fake Dossier to the FBI and Media hoping to have it printed BEFORE the Election. He & the Dems, working together, failed (as usual). Even the Fake News refused this garbage!
BREAK: THE AIR FORCE has just confirmed to us that seven C-17 crew members stayed at Turnberry in March. Air Force ops & spending in Scotland are still under investigation, a spokesman said, and a response to House Oversight is not immediately forthcoming.
As only one of two people left who could become President, why wouldn’t the FBI or Department of “Justice” have told me that they were secretly investigating Paul Manafort (on charges that were 10 years old and had been previously dropped) during my campaign? Should have told me!
In other news...Lt. Col. Alex Vindman's brother Yevgeny has still gotten "no explanation whatsoever" for his firing from NSC on Friday, source w/direct knowledge tells me.
BREAK: Former FBI agent Peter Strzok is suing DOJ and FBI over his firing, which he calls politically motivated and a violation of his 1st and 5th amendment rights. Also alleges DOJ’s release of his texts to the media was a violation of the Privacy Act.