The Serious Side - part 7

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50165596

Speechless..........

Paris Agreement: Trump confirms US will leave climate accord
By Roger HarrabinBBC environment analyst

• 5 hours ago
  

[size=13]Media captionWatch Trump explain why he is pulling the US out of Paris climate accord
The US will definitely withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, President Trump has confirmed.
He made the announcement at an energy conference in Pittsburgh on a stage flanked by men in hard hats.
He described the accord as a bad deal and said his pro fossil fuel policies had made the US an energy superpower.
The earliest he can formally start the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris accord is 4 November.
The pull-out will take effect a year later - the day after the 2020 US presidential election – assuming that Mr Trump is re-elected.
The Paris agreement brought together 195 nations in the battle to combat climate change.
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• What is in the Paris climate agreement?
  
• Paris climate pullout: The worst is yet to come
  
• 'Trump effect' threatens Paris pact
  

It committed the US to cutting greenhouse gases up to 28% by 2025 based on 2005 levels.
President Trump said if he couldn’t improve that deal he’d pull out, but diplomatic sources said there’s been no major effort at renegotiation.

A seek-and-destroy mission

In the meantime, the president’s staff have conducted what critics call a seek-and-destroy mission through US environmental legislation.
Mr Trump promised that he’d turn the US into an energy superpower, and he’s attempting to sweep away a raft of pollution legislation to reduce the cost of producing gas, oil and coal.
He categorised former US President Barack Obama’s environmental clean-up plans as a war on American energy.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionTrump, speaking here at a conference in Pittsburgh, has vowed to deregulate the oil and gas industry
The gas and oil industries are indeed thriving, but Mr Trump’s pledge to resurrect the coal industry has proved much more challenging.
Coal can't compete on price with gas - or, for that matter, with renewables whose costs have plummeted.
Firms are also reluctant to invest billions in coal-fired plants which could have a limited life if the next administration rejoins the rest of the world on climate change.
As coal is the dirtiest fuel, the industry’s woes have held down US emissions, despite the President’s policies.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionPresident Trump made support for the coal industry a key election promise
What’s more, many US states, cities and businesses remain committed to the Paris Agreement, whatever Mr Trump does.
Campaigners say these now represent nearly 70% of US GDP and nearly 65% of the US population. If they were a country, this group would be the world’s second largest economy.
The rebels are led by California, which is locked in a battle with the president over his plans to repeal their powers to impose clean air standards.

The Trump effect

So far the biggest negative effect of Mr Trump’s stance has arguably been to relax pressure on countries like Brazil and Saudi Arabia to take action of their own.
Environmentalists say Mr Obama would have acted quickly to press Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro to tackle forest fires in the Amazon, for instance.
Mr Obama agreed in Paris that the US should take a lead on climate change because it’s contributed far more than any other nation to the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionA truck is loaded with coal at a mine near Cumberland, Kentucky
China - the current top emitter - and India still have relatively low per capita emissions, but Mr Trump said they shouldn’t be allowed to phase out fossil fuels more slowly than the US.
He said: "The Paris accord would have been shutting down American producers with excessive regulatory restrictions like you would not believe, while allowing foreign producers to pollute with impunity.
"What we won't do is punish the American people while enriching foreign polluters," he said, adding: "I'm proud to say it - it's called America First."






Media captionWatch the moment Greta Thunberg saw US President Donald Trump at the UN climate summit
His opponents warn the president is weakening US global leadership on the clean economy with technologies to boost wind and solar power, advanced batteries and energy conservation.
Neera Tanden, from the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, said: "Instead of projecting strength, this action weakens America on the world stage and cedes leadership on climate change and other challenges of our time to countries like Russia and China."
In fact, Chinese leadership on the issue has been muted recently as politicians there focus on avoiding a recession.

A train wreck for US diplomacy

The Beijing government is having difficulty persuading provincial leaders to abandon coal plants for which they have taken heavy loans.
It’s also committed to a massive airport-building programme to stimulate economic growth. Critics say this is incompatible with concern for the climate.
As extreme weather events alarm the world’s scientists, diplomats will meet in a few weeks in Chile to figure out the path ahead.
Andrew Light, a former State Department official during the Obama administration that helped broker the Paris agreement, said the formal withdrawal would make it difficult for the US to be part of the global conversation.
"It will take some time to recover from this train wreck of US diplomacy," he said.
Follow Roger on Twitter: @RHarrabin

Beggars belief. 

And apparently he thinks he's building a wall in Colorado - to everybody's amusement. Someone show him a map of the country he's president of..................

You could show him the map but he wouldn't understand it.

Now he says he was joking yeah right.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7610167/Trump-follows-threat-cancel-White-Houses-NY-Times-Washington-Post-subscriptions.html

[size=34]Donald Trump orders ALL federal agencies to end New York Times and Washington Post subscriptions after canceling White House's subscriptions and vowing to 'TERMINATE' them[/size]

• Trump said he wanted to 'terminate' the New York Times and Washington Post 
  
  
• Hard copy delivery of the two papers to the White House ended Tuesday
  
  
• President is also ordering all federal agencies to follow suit 
  
  
• President has called Times and Post 'failing' and 'fake news' 
  
  
• White House press secretary cites 'hundreds of thousands' in savings 
  
  
• 'This is dumb,' a State Department official said: 'I don't know anyone under 60 who still reads the Post in print' 
  
  

By DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR  and KATELYN CARALLE, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 12:18 EDT, 24 October 2019 | UPDATED: 14:05 EDT, 24 October 2019

     





Donald Trump's White House has discontinued delivery of print editions of The New York Times and The Washington Post, according to administration officials, and he has ordered all federal agencies to follow suit.
'Not renewing subscriptions across all federal agencies will be a significant cost saving – hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars will be saved,' White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told The Wall Street Journal.
The White House's subscriptions ended Tuesday. It's unclear how the White House will be able to stop Cabinet agencies, VA hospitals and military bases from subscribing to two of America's most widely read newspapers.
Both offer free digital subscriptions to federal government employees and servicemen and women whose email addresses end in '.gov' or '.mil.'

'This is dumb. Just dumb,' a State Department official told DailyMail.com on Thursday. 'I don't know anyone under 60 who still reads the Post in print. Who does that?' 


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Donald Trump told Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity that he wanted to 'terminate' the New York Times and Washington Post, and he followed through by canceling the White House's hard-copy subscriptions


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The president had said in an interview just three days ago that he no longer wanted to have hard copies of the two newspapers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 
'We don't even want it in the White House anymore,' Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity, speaking of the Times. 'We're going to probably terminate that and The Washington Post. They're fake.' 
Trump is an avid newspaper reader, but White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham confirmed to Politico that 'we won’t be renewing' the dead-tree editions.
The White House's other newspaper subscriptions are still active, including Financial Times, The Hill, the New York Post, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times and USA Today.
The president did not appear to be referring to the White House access Times and Post reporters enjoy, and no one at the White House has made a move to restrict West Wing access to the papers' online editions.
A Bloomberg reporter captured a photo on Thursday of a side table near the press secretary's office where newspapers are spread out daiy for staff to read. the Times and Post were not among them.
The president's comments about his desire to 'terminate' the papers drew the attention of an attorney representing two reporters whose White House press passes were suspended this year. 


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White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, pictured Thursday in an unrelated Fox News Channel interview, said the federal government will save 'hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars' when federal agencies stop getting the two newspapers the president most loves to hate


[size=18]Trump vents 'Fake News' ignored left-wing leanings of Dayton shooter




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'More compelling evidence, indeed another confession, that @realdonaldtrump and his team engage in content- and viewpoint- discrimination regarding certain (indeed many) members of the White House press corps, in plain violation of the First Amendment,' attorney Ted Boutrous tweeted Monday night.
Boutrous argued in federal court on behalf of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta and Playboy writer Brian Karem after the administration withdrew their 'hard pass' credentials.
Trump frequently rails against reporters and news outlets he calls 'fake news.' The Times and the Post are frequent targets, along with CNN and MSNBC. But no one in the White House's press wing is safe from his biting criticism.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7611393/Pentagon-told-witness-not-testify-impeachment-inquiry.html

[size=34]Pentagon sent a letter to the Defense Department Ukraine policy executive Laura Cooper telling her to NOT cooperate with the Trump impeachment inquiry before she testified[/size]

• A letter to the lawyer of Laura Cooper cited administration-wide non-compliance
  
  
•  Administration is trying to block executive branch employees from testifying
  
  
•  Some, like Gordon Sondland - EU Ambassador - were forced to under subpoena 
  
  
•  Cooper had to wait five hours for her interview to begin on Wednesday after GOP members stormed the secure room being used for depositions
  
  

By RYAN FAHEY FOR MAILONLINE and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 17:33 EDT, 24 October 2019 | UPDATED: 05:59 EDT, 25 October 2019



The Pentagon sent a letter to a Defense Department official telling her not to cooperate with the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, which she defied. 
A letter to Laura Cooper's attorney seen on Thursday cites an administration-wide policy against participating in the impeachment probe.
The directive underscores Trump administration efforts to discourage or prevent some executive branch employees from cooperating with House Democrats, who are investigating Trump's prodding of his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. 


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US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Laura Cooper arrives at the US Capitol ahead of her closed-door deposition before members of Congress in Washington, DC on October 23, 2019. The letter, sent by the Pentagon, cites a Trump (pictured right) administration-wide code of silence for the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry


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In the letter, the Pentagon cites an administration-wide code of silence in co-operating with the impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump 


The administration this month blocked Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union, from testifying, though he ultimately did so under subpoena.
The letter cites concerns about whether the House is authorized to conduct an impeachment inquiry without a formal vote and about what it says is a 'blanket refusal' to permit Defense Department lawyers from being present for the interviews. 
Excluding department lawyers, the letter says, 'violates settled practice and may jeopardize future accommodation.'
'To reiterate, the Department respects the oversight role of Congress and stands ready to work with the Committees should there be an appropriate resolution of outstanding legal issues,' reads the Defense Department letter to Cooper's lawyer, Daniel Levin.


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Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper arrives for a closed door meeting to testify as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Wednesday, October 23, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington


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US House Republicans speak to reporters after Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper arrived to testify at a closed-door deposition as part of the US House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into US President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, US October 23
But, it adds, 'Any such resolution would have to consider the constitutional prerogatives and confidentiality interests of the co-equal Executive Branch ... and ensure fundamental fairness to any Executive Branch employees involved in this process, including Ms. Cooper.'
Several witnesses, including Cooper, have appeared for closed-door interviews after receiving subpoenas from the House.
Cooper, who oversees Ukraine policy at the Defense Department, had to wait hours for her interview to begin on Wednesday after Republicans stormed the secure room being used for depositions. The act of protest brought the proceedings to a halt. The interview began about five hours late and ended after roughly four hours.
The New York Times was the first to report on the letter.

Is Bolton next?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/oct/25/trump-news-today-impeachment-inquiry-democrats-latest

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7613617/Americans-want-Amendment-changed-reflect-cultural-norms-today.html

[size=34]Majority of Americans want to change the First Amendment: Study found that people want JAIL TIME for hate speech as they call for updates to 200 year old law 'to reflect cultural norms of today'[/size]

• The study found that some 51 percent of Americans believe that the amendment - first adopted in 1791 - 'should be updated to reflect the cultural norms of today'
  
  
• It was conducted by the Campaign for Free Speech who claimed the findings 'indicate free speech is under more threat than previously believed'
  
  
• As far as punishment for hate crimes, some 54 percent of those Americans surveyed found that they would prefer 'possible jail time' 
  
  
• 57 percent felt that the government should take action against newspapers and TV stations that publish content that is 'biased, inflammatory or false'
  
  
• 54 percent of respondents felt like consequence for media personnel should be nothing more than a ticket 
  
  
• Some 49 percent felt 'Facebook should monitor and restrict offensive speech and views' 
  
  
• According to Bob Lystad, executive director of the Campaign For Free Speech, the findings are 'frankly extraordinary'  
  
  

By MATTHEW WRIGHT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 
PUBLISHED: 10:00 EDT, 25 October 2019 | UPDATED: 11:22 EDT, 25 October 2019

     



A new poll found that Americans prefer for the First Amendment to be rewritten to reflect the current climate, wanting to crack down on 'hate speech' and press that publishes content that is 'biased, inflammatory, or false.' 
The study, conducted by the Campaign for Free Speech, found that some 51 percent of Americans believe that the amendment - first adopted in 1791 - 'should be updated to reflect the cultural norms of today.'   
According to the Campaign for Free Speech, findings from the study 'indicate free speech is under more threat than previously believed.'  


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The study found that some 51 percent of Americans believe that the amendment - first adopted in 1791 - 'should be updated to reflect the cultural norms of today' (stock) 
Of the 1,004 respondents who completed the online study, 51 percent of Millennials (those between the ages of 21-38) felt that hate speech should be against the law. 

 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances
 First Amendment 
In comparison, some 46 percent of Gen X (ages 39-54) and some 46 percent of Baby Boomers (ages 55-73) felt like hate speech should be against the law. 
As far as punishment for hate crimes, some 54 percent of those Americans surveyed found that they would prefer 'possible jail time' while another 46 percent shared they would want 'nothing more than a ticket and fine.' 
Respondents for the survey also wanted to crack down extensively on the media and 'alternative news' sources. 



It was conducted by the Campaign for Free Speech who claimed the findings 'indicate free speech is under more threat than previously believed'


57 percent felt that the government 'should be able to take action against newspapers and TV stations that publish content that is 'biased, inflammatory or false.'
Taking things a step further, 54 percent of respondents felt like consequence for media personnel should be nothing more than a ticket while another 46 percent wanted jail time for offenders. 
Now there was a distinction made between traditional media companies who 'check facts, even if they are occasionally wrong or slanted' or alternative media (like online podcasts) that 'allow anyone to say anything.'  
When asked if they would support a government agency reviewing content put out by these alternative media sources, 36 percent of respondents said they supported regulations while 47 percent said they did not support. 


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Turning to social media, and specifically Facebook, some 38 percent of survey takers felt that the site should allow all speech while another 49 percent felt 'Facebook should monitor and restrict offensive speech and views'
Turning to social media, and specifically Facebook, some 38 percent of survey takers felt that the site should allow all speech while another 49 percent felt 'Facebook should monitor and restrict offensive speech and views.'
Specific groups were also targeted as being groups that should have their 'free speech restricted', with 63 percent of survey takers wanting some form of restrictions.
52 percent of survey takers wanted racist to be restricted, 50 percent of respondents also wanted neo-nazis restricted while 46 percent said radical islamist and 35 percent said Holocaust deniers. 20 percent of survey takers wanted anti-vaccine advocates restricted and 18 percent said climate change deniers.


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According to Bob Lystad, executive director of the Campaign For Free Speech, the findings are 'frankly extraordinary'
The Campaign for Free Speech determined that most don't actually understand what the First Amendment protects after some 79 percent of respondents believed that 'the First Amendment allows anyone to say their opinion no matter what, and they are protected by law from any consequences of saying those thoughts or opinions.' 
According to Bob Lystad, executive director of the Campaign For Free Speech, the findings are 'frankly extraordinary.' 
'Our free speech rights and our free press rights have evolved well over 200 years, and people now seem to be rethinking them,' he explained to the Washington Free Beacon. 
Lystad explained that 'hate speech' was not defined in the survey, allowing respondents to draw their own conclusions by what it meant. 
'I think [our findings] are fueled in large part because of a rise of hate speech, but traditionally, hate speech is protected in the First Amendment,' Lystad added. 'The Supreme Court has upheld that principle time and time again.' 
Lystad and the group believe hate speech should be denounced but don't believe censorship to be the solution. 
'Hate speech should be condemned, but legally, the answer to speech we don't like is more speech, not censorship,' he said. 'Our primary focus is education, and to help people better understand the First Amendment, free speech, free press, and why it's so vital to our democracy.'         

[size=34]History of the First Amendment [/size]

The First Amendment of the US Constitution was established with the Bill of Rights in 1791, two years after it was introduced in the 1st United States Congress.
According to History, Antifederalists were not interested in ratifying the Constitution unless there was a way to ensure civic rights. This prompted James Madison to write the majority of what became the Bill of Rights. 
The First Amendment states: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.'  


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The First Amendment of the US Constitution was established with the Bill of Rights in 1791, two years after it was introduced in the 1st United States Congress
The US Supreme Court often struggles trying to determine what falls under the caliber of 'offensive speech,' which is not protected by the First Amendment. 
Also not protected in the First Amendment is libel or false and defamatory statements made by the press. 
The First Amendment ensures a separation of church and state by declaring that there can be no 'state' religion. 
Notable First Amendment cases: 
Freedom of Speech 
Schenck versus United States, 1919: Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Socialist Party activist Charles Schenck after he distributed fliers urging men to dodge the draft during World War I. Helped create the 'clear and present danger' standard.
Freedom of The Press 
New York Times Co. versus United States, 1971: This landmark Supreme Court case made it possible for The New York Times and Washington Post to publish the contents of the Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship, giving insight as to presidents misleading the public on Vietnam involvement.
Freedom of Religion
Reynolds versus United States, 1878: Upheld a federal law banning polygamy, which tested the limits of religious liberty. The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment forbids government from regulating belief but not from actions such as marriage
Right to Assemble & Right to Petition
Edwards v. South Carolina (1962): 187 black students marched from Zion Baptist Church to the South Carolina State House in March of 1961. They were arrested and convicted of breaching the peace but the Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision to reverse the convictions. They argued that the state infringed on the free speech, free assembly, and freedom to petition of the students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8GDAFQ8E64

Clever lady. He appears to know very little

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7615961/Trump-invited-just-ten-students-talk-historically-black-college-seven-turned-up.html

[size=34]Trump invited just 10 students to his talk at historically black college and only seven turned up as White House is criticized for bringing in 200 guests for 'the president's PR stunt'[/size]

• The president was at Benedict College to open the criminal justice reform forum
  
  
• But just a handful of students studying there were invited and fewer turned up
  
  
• Mayor Stephen Benjamin said many at the event were 'brought in' from outside
  
  
• A number of protesters were pictured outside as Trump's motorcade arrived 
  
  
• U.S. Senator Kamala Harris canceled her appearance at the forum in Columbia, South Carolina, after Trump received an award at the event on Friday  
  
  
• The decision to invite Trump to the college also sparked fierce backlash online
  
  

By LAUREN FRUEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 02:00 EDT, 26 October 2019 | UPDATED: 02:06 EDT, 26 October 2019

     



Donald Trump invited just ten students to his talk at a historically black college in South Carolina on Friday - and only seven turned up, according to a spokeswoman. 
The president opened a forum on criminal justice reform at Benedict College, touting his support for sweeping reforms that he hopes will help him pick up more votes among African-Americans next year.
But just a handful of students studying there were invited to the event, Mayor of Columbia Stephen Benjamin told CNN.
A number of protesters were also pictured outside the hall as Trump's motorcade arrived, amid reports that students were served lunch inside their dorms, USA Today reports. 

Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris of California canceled her appearance at the forum and planned to speak elsewhere after Trump received the Bipartisan Justice award for his work with the First Step Act at the event on Friday.
That's despite what she described as 'decades of celebrating mass incarceration, pushing the death penalty for innocent Black Americans, rolling back police accountability measures and racist behavior that puts people's lives at risk'. 


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President Donald Trump is awarded the Bipartisan Justice Award by Matthew Charles, right, one of the first prisoners released by the First Step Act, during the '2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum' at Benedict College on Friday


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Mayor Benjamin said the college had requested space for more students but the White House organized the event. He said many in the audience were 'brought in' from elsewhere


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Protesters and supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump clashed in front of Benedict College as the president spoke at the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum
[size=10][size=18]Trump speaks at criminal justice reform in Benedict College




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Benedict College spokeswoman Kymm Hunter confirmed only seven of those who were ask to come along did actually attend. 
Mayor Benjamin said the college had requested space for more students but the White House organized the event. He said many in the audience of more than 200 were 'brought in' from elsewhere.
He added: 'This should have been an opportunity for at least scores of students to attend this event.'
South Carolina NAACP condemned Trump's words ahead of the visit.
Using an argument that he also made when he ran for president in 2016, Trump said on Friday that generations of Democratic policies had failed minority communities.
'We've had so many people with empty political rhetoric. We're doing the opposite. We're acting, not talking,' he said. 
[size=18]People protest President Trump as he visits Benedict College




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The president opened a forum on criminal justice reform, touting his support for sweeping reforms that he hopes will help him pick up more votes among African-Americans next year. But just a handful of students studying there were invited to the event
The decision to invite Trump to the college also sparked fierce backlash online.
Commenting on the official Benedict College Facebook page one person called them 'sell outs'. 
Dale J Haberkorn wrote: 'Sad that you fell for the president's PR stunt! Only TEN students were invited and the rest of the crowd was shipped in. What a SCAM. I can't believe you fell for it. 
'Why didn't you let students protest? They were told to stay in their dorms! Rich old men blocking the freedom of African Americans again! You should have DECLINED!'


Linda Forge added: 'President of Benedict College why are you allowing someone to come to your college that does not represent Black folks values. He is only wanting to get Black votes because he can not win without them. Why?'
And Laurie Gayle Brown added: 'What WERE you thinking??? I understand that some 10 students were allowed in the room and the rest of the audience were gathered from the ranks of the trumpists. How is that benefiting your students???' 
Ann Porter called the decision 'shameful', writing: 'Cannot believe Benedict would drop this low. Come on now. #45 has used you.'


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U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California canceled her appearance at the forum and planned to speak elsewhere after Trump received the Bipartisan Justice award


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Trump is embraced by Matthew Charles, who was released from prison through the First Step Act. South Carolina NAACP condemned Trump's words ahead of the visit
Former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and six other Democratic contenders will also present their criminal justice plans at the forum. 
The weekend forum is aimed at tackling the next steps in criminal justice reforms after Trump last year signed bipartisan legislation that instituted a number of changes, including easing harsh minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.
'I hope you will judge my administration based on the tremendous amount we have achieved,' Trump said in his keynote speech. Trump won just eight per cent of the black vote in 2016 and there are few indications that he has turned the tide since.
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[size=34]Judge rules House Democrats can have Mueller grand jury materials including evidence cited in final report – and says they're engaged in 'an official impeachment inquiry'[/size]

• Judge agrees with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Democrat-led committees are running 'an official impeachment inquiry'
  
  
• He says the Justice Department must hand the Judiciary Committee, helmed by Trump nemesis Jerry Nadler, additional materials from the Mueller report
  
  
• The version of the report Congress got was more complete than the public copy but still had many 'redactions' ­– blacked-out portions
  
  
• The DOJ refused to let congressional Democrats see materials related to secret grand jury hearings
  
  
• Now the judge says that's not permitted, and Democrats can also see evidence linked to the redacted materials Mueller included in his report 
  
  

By DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 15:59 EDT, 25 October 2019 | UPDATED: 06:25 EDT, 26 October 2019

     




A federal judge ruled on Friday that House Democrats on an impeachment crusade must have access to the parts of Robert Mueller's Russia report that were kept from them because of grand jury secrecy rules.
And Judge Beryl Howell, the chief jurist in Washington, D.C.'s federal courts, handed President Donald Trump a broader defeat by ruling that Democrats are engaged in 'an official impeachment inquiry.'
A Justice Department official said Friday afternoon that the agency will contest the ruling, likely beginning with an appeal early next week for an injunction that would  block Howell's ruling while a longer appeal plays out. The official predicted a long process that the admininstration would fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Legally cementing the three-committee impeachment probe as an official legislative process, not an informal patchwork of hearings, could be a game-changer. 


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President Donald Trump's efforts to stop a House impeachment got a kick in the gut on Friday with a federal court ruling


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A judge in Washington ruled that House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (pictured) can have everything in the Robert Mueller report that was withheld from Congress because of grand jury secrecy rules


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When Mueller's report cited grand-jury materials, it was blacked out ­– along with footnotes pointing to evidence; Judge Beryl Howell is awarding the evidence to the Democras in Congress too
The White House has refused to obey subpoenas and document requests from House committees engaged in impeachment inquiries, insisting Speaker Nancy Pelosi must first hold a politically fraught floor vote to formally authorize it.

But Howell, a Barack Obamam appointee, declared Friday that '[e]ven in cases of presidential impeachment, a House resolution has never, in fact, been required to begin an impeachment inquiry.' 
'The Speaker of the House of Representatives has announced an official impeachment inquiry, and the House Judiciary Committee, in exercising Congress’s "sole Power of Impeachment" ... is reviewing the evidence set out in the Mueller Report,' Howell wrote. 










She set an October 30 deadline for Trump's Justice Department to hand over '[a]ll portions of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election that were redacted pursuant to' restrictions typically placed on grand jury materials.
Democrats will also get 'any underlying transcripts or exhibits referenced in the portions of the Mueller Report that were redacted' for grand jury secrecy reasons.
New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Trump nemesis who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that Howeel's 'thoughtful ruling recognizes that our impeachment inquiry fully comports with the Constitution and thoroughly rejects the spurious White House claims to the contrary.'
'This grand jury information that the Administration has tried to block the House from seeing will be critical to our work,' he said. 


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Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the Justice Department can't keep secret grand-jury-related materials away from congressional committees that are engaged in an impeachment inquiry


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Page after page of the Mueller report was redacted, much of it to hide federal grand jury information from prying eyes 
[size=18]Hillary praises Elijah for leading impeachment inquiry during eulogy




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Mueller's report, the result of 22 months of secretive interviews and testimony, exists in three versions. The complete report is available only to senior federal law enforcement officials like the FBI director and the attorney general. 
The publicly released version includes more than 2,000 lines ­blacked-out – called 'redactions' ­– amounting to about 12 per cent of the report.
Congress got a near-complete version, with only grand jury materials redacted. Howell's ruling is appealable, but if it stands those final redactions will drop away on Capitol Hill.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7617233/John-Kelly-says-Trump-NOT-center-impeachment-inquiry-chief-staff.html

[size=34]Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly says he warned Trump he would be impeached and admits he regrets resigning as he takes a swipe at 'yes man' successor Mick Mulvaney[/size]

• John Kelly, 69, served as Trump's homeland security secretary before he was hired as White House chief of staff 
  
  
• He was replaced in December last year, when Mick Mulvaney took over in an acting capacity 
  
  
• Kelly told Washington Examiner on Saturday that he regrets his decision to resign as chief of staff 
  
  
• He said he warned Trump not to hire 'yes man' to replace him because it would lead to an impeachment inquiry
  
  
• Democrat-led House is investigating alleged abuse of power by Trump as it relates to his dealings with Ukraine 
  
  
• Political observers say that the House will likely vote on impeachment by Christmas, triggering a trial in the Senate 
  
  

By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 16:26 EDT, 26 October 2019 | UPDATED: 21:20 EDT, 26 October 2019

     




Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said on Saturday that he regrets quitting because President Trump likely would not be facing impeachment if he was still on the job.
Kelly, 69, told a political conference in Georgia on Saturday that he warned the President against hiring a 'yes man' to take his place as chief of staff - an implicit criticism of his successor, Mick Mulvaney.
If Trump failed to follow Kelly's advice, he would be impeached, the retired four-star Marine general claims to have told the President.
'I said, whatever you do - and we were still in the process of trying to find someone to take my place - I said whatever you do, don't hire a 'yes man,' someone who won't tell you the truth - don't do that,' Kelly told the Washington Examiner.

'Because if you do, I believe you will be impeached.'


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Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (seen left with President Trump in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, 2017) says he regrets resigning last year due to the ongoing impeachment inquiry
Kelly continued: 'That was almost 11 months ago, and I have an awful lot of, to say the least, second thoughts about leaving.
'It pains me to see what's going on because I believe if I was still there or someone like me was there, he would not be kind of, all over the place.'
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham responded to Kelly's claims Saturday, saying: 'I worked with John Kelly, and he was totally unequipped to handle the genius of our great President.' 
It appears inevitable that Trump will be impeached by the House of Representatives, which is expected to hold a vote by Christmas.
That vote would then trigger a trial in the Senate. At least 67 senators would need to vote to convict for Trump to be removed from office.
With Republicans having a majority in the upper chamber, Trump's removal from office appears to be unlikely.
Kelly was named by Trump to be homeland security secretary shortly after the President was inaugurated.
Trump then asked Kelly to replace Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff.
Kelly lasted less than 18 months before he was replaced by Mulvaney, who has been in an acting capacity since taking over.
Kelly did not endorse the impeachment inquiry against Trump. Still, he blames White House aides for playing a part in the crisis.


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Kelly said he warned Trump not to replace him with a 'yes man' - an implicit criticism of Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (seen above at the White House on Monday) 
[size=10][size=18]December: Trump says he appreciates John Kelly's service




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'Someone has got to be a guide that tells [the president] that you either have the authority or you don't, or Mr. President, don't do it,' Kelly said.
'Don't hire someone that will just nod and say, 'That's a great idea Mr. President.'
'Because you will be impeached.'



Kelly added: 'The system that should be in place, clearly - the system of advising, bringing in experts in, having these discussions with the president so he can make an informed decision, that clearly is not in place.
'And I feel bad that I left.'
The Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump resumed on Saturday with testimony from a senior State Department official, a day after a federal judge buoyed the probe by dismissing Republican claims that it was illegitimate.


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Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state for Europe, arrives to the Capitol for closed door interview at the Capitol in Washington DC on Saturday
Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, met with the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight committees behind closed doors at the U.S. Capitol.
Democrats claimed victory after a federal district court judge on Friday rejected a claim by Trump and his Republican allies that the process was illegitimate because the full House had not voted to authorize it.
The judge ordered the Trump administration to give the House Judiciary Committee secret material from former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
At the heart of the inquiry is a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading Democratic contender to face Trump in the 2020 election, and his son Hunter, who had been a director of a Ukrainian energy company.


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Rep. Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence Committee returns to a closed session where Reeker was expected to appear on Saturday
The Trump administration was withholding $391million in security assistance for Ukraine at the time, and investigators are looking into whether Trump improperly tied the release of the aid to getting Ukraine's help in probing the Bidens.
William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testified on Tuesday that Trump made the aid contingent on Zelenskiy announcing he would investigate the Bidens and a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, had meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
U.S. election law prohibits candidates from accepting foreign help in an election.
Trump denies wrongdoing. And, backed by his fellow Republicans in Congress, insists he is being treated unfairly. 

[size=34]WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? THE VERY COMPLICATED STEPS INVOLVED IN IMPEACHING DONALD TRUMP[/size]

Nancy Pelosi announcing a formal impeachment investigation is only the start of what will be an epic legal and constitutional clash.
Here is how impeachment goes from here.
1) Investigations step up
Six committees are now tasked by Pelosi with investigating Donald Trump with the intention of deciding whether he should be impeached. They are the House Judiciary, Oversight, Intelligence, Ways and Means, Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees. All of them are now likely to issue a flurry of subpoenas which is certain to lead to a new: 
2) Court battle over subpoenas - which could go to the Supreme Court
The Trump administration has so far resisted subpoenas by claiming executive privilege and is certain to continue to do so. Federal judges are already dealing with litigation over subpoenas for Trump's tax and financial records and many more cases are likely to follow. But the courts have never settled the limits of executive privilege and whether an impeachment inquiry effectively gives Congress more power to overcome it. If Trump fights as hard as he can, it is likely to make its way to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, expect: 
3) More hearings
Democrats know they need to convince the public that Trump needs to be put on trial and the best way to do that is hearings like those which electrified the nation during Watergate. They botched the Mueller hearing but if they produce question and answer sessions with people from Trump-world which cause public outrage, they are on their way to:
4) Drawing up formal articles of impeachment in committee 
The charge sheet for impeachment - the 'articles' - set out what Trump is formally accused of. It has no set format - it can be as long or as short as Congress decides. Three such set of articles have been drawn up - for Andrew Johnson on 1868, Richard Nixon in 1974, and Bill Clinton in 1998. Johnson's were the most extensive at 11, Nixon faced three, and Bill Clinton four but with a series of numbered charges in each article. Once drawn up, the judicial committee votes on them and if approved, sends them to the House for:
5) Full floor vote on impeachment
The constitution says the House needs a simple majority to proceed, but has to vote on each article. Nixon quit before such a vote so Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton are the only precedent. The House passed two out of the three articles against Clinton and all 11 against Johnson. Passing even one article leads to:
6) Senate impeachment trial
Even if the Senate is clearly not in favor of removing the president, it has to stage a trial if the House votes for impeachment. The hearing is in not in front of the full Senate, but 'evidentiary committees' - in theory at least similar to the existing Senate committees. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over it, but the procedures are set by senators. Members of the House prosecute Trump as 'managers,' bringing witnesses and presenting evidence to set out their case against the president. The president can defend himself, or, as Clinton did, use attorneys to cross-examine the witnesses. The committee or committees report to the full Senate. Then it can debate in public or deliberate in private on the guilt or innocence of the president. It holds a single open floor vote which will deliver:
7) The verdict
Impeachment must be by two-thirds of the Senate. Voting for impeachment on any one article is good enough to remove the president from office. There is no appeal. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7619045/Donald-Trump-boasts-al-Baghdadi-strike-bigger-Obamas-hit-Osama-bin-Laden.html

[size=34]'Osama Bin Laden was big, but this is the biggest there is': Donald Trump boasts that the strike on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi eclipses Barack Obama's hit on the 9/11 mastermind as the White House releases photo from the Situation Room[/size]

• Donald Trump boasted that the U.S. military raid on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a bigger triumph than the killing of Osama bin Laden 
  
  
• On Sunday, the president announced al-Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest after he was cornered by U.S.-led forces in a raid of his Idlib, Syria hideout 
  
  
• Trump touted this killing as bigger than that of the 9/11 mastermind 
  
  
• Bin Laden's killing was orchestrated by the Obama administration in 2011
  
  
• On Sunday the White House released a photo of Trump in the Situation Room looking directly into the camera 
  
  

By MARLENE LENTHANG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 11:55 EDT, 27 October 2019 | UPDATED: 15:36 EDT, 27 October 2019

     



President Donald Trump has boasted that the military raid that led to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a bigger triumph than the Obama administration's strike against notorious al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
On Sunday, Trump announced the strike against the shadowy ISIS leader where he was cornered by U.S. Special Ops forces in his hideout in northwest Syria and detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and three of his children. 
'Bin Laden was a big thing, but this is the biggest there is. This is the worst ever,' Trump victoriously said on Sunday. 
'Osama bin Laden was big, but Osama bin Laden became big with the World Trade Center. This is a man who built a whole, as he would like to call it, a country, a caliphate,' he added.  

[size=10][size=18]Trump says al-Baghdadi's death is bigger news than bin Laden's



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On Sunday President Donald Trump boasted that the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a bigger triumph that the killing of Osama bin Laden that took place under Barack Obama's administration. The White House shared this photo from inside the Situation Room during the al-Baghdadi raid in Syria on Sunday.  From left to right: National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, Vice President Mike Pence, Trump, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army General Mark Milley and Brig. General Marcus Evans


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On Sunday Trump announced the strike against the shadowy ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi where he was cornered by U.S. Special Ops forces in his hideout in northwest Syria and detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and three of his children
[size=18]Trump says ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'died like a dog'




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The president couldn't help but draw comparison to his administration's military strike with that of Barack Obama in 2011. 
The killing of bin Laden was lauded as one of the great successes of Obama's time in office as the terrorist leader was the founder of Al-Qaeda and the mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. 
Bin Laden was killed in a Navy SEALs operation where agents raided Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011. 
In his speech Trump pointed out that bin Laden wasn't known to the world until 9/11, and claimed the killing of Al-Baghdadi was a bigger target because he was the man behind the Islamic caliphate. 




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The president couldn't help but draw comparison to his administration's military strike with Barack Obama's hit on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (above) in 2011, claiming the death of al-Baghdadi was a bigger triumph


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This Situation Room photo shows then President Barack Obama alongside VP Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the raid of notorious al-Qaeda leader and terrorist Osama bin Laden's lair in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011
[size=18]President Obama announces death of Bin Laden in 2011




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On Sunday the Trump administration released a photo from inside the Situation Room where the president appeared stone-faced and looked directly into the camera. 
He sat alongside National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, and Brig. Gen. Marcus Evans, the Pentagon's current deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism. 
Trump faced criticism for drawing comparison to the Obama administration. 
'Trump claiming killing Baghdadi was "bigger" than killing bin Laden shows how petty and vile Trump is. He will use any moment he can to tell his base that he's better than the dreaded black President they all hated,' one Twitter user noted. 



Trump faced criticism on Twitter for drawing comparison to the Obama administration


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'Trump boasting that killing Baghdadi was a much bigger accomplishment than killing Osama bin Laden just shows how Trump has so much jealousy and contempt for our nation’s first black President, whom he will never measure up to in a million years,' another Twitter user added. 
'I refuse to listen to him. His Obsession with #PresidentObama is pretty sick. He’s in a contest with himself,' another chimed in. 
Trump also faced criticism for his Situation Room photo where looked square into the camera.
Some accused him of trying to recreate a moving Situation Room photo like that of the bin Laden strike, in which Obama, then Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton watch the strike unfold on a screen with grave expressions on their faces.

He's taking credit? Was he there? Did he fire a single shot? Oh, right. His family doesn't serve. They get bonespurs.

He takes credit for everything he is sickening. I also didn't know that killing a man is a competition this kill was bigger than Obama's Bin Laden.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7624389/Iraq-war-veteran-tell-impeachment-inquiry-heard-Trump-ask-Biden-investigated.html

[size=34]Donald Trump blasts impeachment witness as 'Never Trumper' who he's 'never even heard of' as the Purple Heart vet prepares to tell House panel he heard president urging Ukraine leader in infamous call to investigate Bidens and reported it TWICE[/size]

• A White House national security official heard Trump appeal to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival Joe Biden 
  
  
• Alexander Vindman, an Army lieutenant colonel, will tell the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry that he 'didn't think the call was proper' 
  
  
• He is the first official to publicly state he heard the call but insists he is not the whistle-blower who first raised concerns with the CIA last month 
  
  
• Vindman, who served in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart, said he never had direct contact with the president but was asked to serve on the NSC in 2018
  
  
• Trump vented on Twitter about 'people that I never even heard of' testifying about the call, but then insisted Vindman was a 'Never Trumper'
  
  
• Vindman reported another incident to superiors involving EU ambassador Gordon Sondland
  
  
• Sondland allegedly said Ukraine should 'deliver investigations' into the 2016 election, Bidens, and Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden was on the board
  
  
• Vindman said the remarks were made following a meeting with Oleksandr Danylyuk, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council for Ukraine
  
  
• In a late night Tweet, Trump declared the only crimes in the 'Impeachment Hoax were committed by Shifty Adam Schiff' who 'made up' the phone conversation  
  
  

By DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR  and LEAH MCDONALD FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 23:13 EDT, 28 October 2019 | UPDATED: 10:11 EDT, 29 October 2019

     


A White House national security official will tell investigators Tuesday that he listened to Donald Trump's call with Ukraine's new president Volodymr Zelensky and 'did not think it was proper.'
The president began his day on Twitter swinging at the man, Alexander Vindman, an Army lieutenant colonel who was awarded a Purple Heart in Iraq, saying he had 'never heard of' him but insisting he is a 'Never Trumper.'
Vindman is expected to testify in the House impeachment inquiry that he twice raised concerns over the Trump administration's interest in having Ukraine investigate Joe Biden and his son. 
He will be the first White House official to say he heard the July 25 telephone call between Trump and Zelensky that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

[size=10][size=18]Trump's adviser on European affairs to testify over Ukraine call




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Vindman will testify he is not the anonymous whistle-blower whose complaint about the call launched a now weeks-long chapter in the impeachment saga. 
Trump vented that a transcript of the call makes it clear he did nothing wrong, and that Vindman is an unimportant figure who never crossed paths with him.
'Why are people that I never even heard of testifying about the call. Just READ THE CALL TRANSCRIPT AND THE IMPEACHMENT HOAX IS OVER! Ukrain [sic] said NO PRESSURE,' Trump tweeted.
Calling Vindman a 'Never Trumper' in the hours that followed will create confusion about whether he indeed knows more about him than he let on. 


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Alexander Vindman, an Army lieutenant colonel (pictured at center, arriving at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday), will tell House investigators he listened to President Donald Trump's call with the new Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky and 'did not think it was proper'


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Vindman is the latest in a line of subpoenaed witnesses who House Democrats hope will provide incriminating evidence against the president


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Alexander Vindman, an Army lieutenant colonel, will tell House investigators Tuesday that he listened to Donald Trump 's call with new Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and 'did not think it was proper. Trump is pictured with Zelensky in September 


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President Trump vented Tuesday morning on Twitter, saying a simple reading of the call transcript combined with Zelensky's own public comments should be enough to override the opinion of a junior official he has 'never even heard of'


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About an hour afte rsaying he had 'never even heard of' Vindman, the president declared that he was a 'Never Trumper' – the name given to Republicans who opposed him beginning with his presidential campaign's launch in 2015
'The Impeachment Hoax is a disgrace. Read the transcript!' Trump added in another message. 
Trump used the same 'never Trumper' moniker to go after career diplomat William Taylor, who said in his own deposition that the was troubled by the administration's push to get Ukraine to make public statements about investigations that would help the president in order to get military aid and a White House meeting.
Zelensky has said he felt no pressure on the call with Trump to take action. The transcript doesn't appear to support Democrats' contention that Trump directly linked U.S. military aid to Ukraine with Zelensky's decision on launching an investigation that could give the president a political advantage in 2020.
Trump followed up his social media outrage with a string of retweets of congressional allies calling the entire impeachment inquiry illegitimate because of its secretive and one-sided beginning. 
In his opening statement, first published by The New York Times, he claimed the National Security Council proposed that Trump call President Zelensky to congratulate him after his party won parliamentary elections. 
He explained: 'On July 25, 2019, the call occurred. I listened in on the call in the Situation Room with colleagues from the NSC and the office of the Vice President. 
'As the transcript is in the public record, we are all aware of what was said. I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government's support of Ukraine.
'I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.'
Burisma Holdings is the Ukrainian energy company where Biden's son Hunter held a lucrative board seat while his father was vice president. 


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Alexander Vindman, (pictured left), an Army lieutenant colonel, is due to testify in the House impeachment inquiry that he twice raised concerns over the Trump administration's interest in having Ukraine investigate Joe Biden


'I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.  
Vindman claimed: 'This would all undermine U.S. national security. Following the call, I again reported my concerns to NSC's lead counsel.'
The New York Times reported that Vindman is due to be interviewed privately on Tuesday by the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Reform Committees.
Vindman served multiple overseas tours, including South Korea and Germany, and was deployed to Iraq for combat operations. He was wounded in an IED attack and was subsequently awarded a Purple Heart. 
He served in United States' embassies in Kiev, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia. In Washington, D.C., he was a politico-military affairs officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 


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Alexander Vindman (left) is seen with twin brother Eugene (right) and photographer Carol Kitman in October 2016 at a ceremony in Washington 


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Alexander Vindman is seen with wife Rachel and their daughter in front of the White House in an image from Rachel's Facebook profile 
In his statement he adds: 'I have a deep appreciation for American values and ideals and the power of freedom. I am a patriot, and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend OUR country, irrespective of party or politics.' 
Vindman is due to tell the committee that he is not the whistle-blower who brought the issue to the CIA and the Committees' attention. He also claimed he never had direct contact or communications with the President. 
'I did convey certain concerns internally to National Security officials in accordance with my decades of experience and training, sense of duty, and obligation to operate within the chain of command.
'As an active duty military officer, the command structure is extremely important to me.' Vindman said there was another incident which he thought was improper and he reported it to the National Security Council's lead counsel.
He claimed that on July 10, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council for Ukraine, visited Washington, D.C. for a meeting with National Security Advisor John Bolton.
He said that Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, and Kurt Volker, who resigned as U.S. special envoy to Ukraine earlier this month, were also in attendance.
In his testimony he claimed the Ukrainians saw this meeting as critically important in order to solidify the support of their most important international partner. 
'Amb. Sondland started to speak about Ukraine delivering specific investigations in order to secure the meeting with the President, at which time Ambassador Bolton cut the meeting short.


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The Trump campaign has alleged that Biden quashed a Ukrainian investigation into Burisma, where Biden's son Hunter served on the board from 2014 until earlier this year, using the threat of withholding U.S. foreign aid. Biden is pictured with son Hunter in 2010 


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Burisma Holdings is the Ukrainian energy company where Biden's son Hunter served as a board member while his father was vice president.
'Following this meeting, there was a scheduled debriefing during which Amb. Sondland emphasized the importance that Ukraine deliver the investigations into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma.
'I stated to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate, that the request to investigate Biden and his son had nothing to do with national security, and that such investigations were not something the NSC was going to get involved in or push. 
'Dr. Hill then entered the room and asserted to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate.'
Vindman is married with one child and has a twin brother named Eugene, who also serves in the military. It is understood he is a lawyer in the National Security Council.
In his statement, Alexander claimed his family fled the Soviet Union when he was three. Upon arriving in New York City in 1979, his father worked multiple jobs to support them while learning English at night.


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Vindman claimed that he reported an incident involving Gordon D. Sondland, United States ambassador to the European Union, to the National Security Council's lead counsel. He claimed Sondman emphasized the importance that Ukraine deliver the investigations into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma at a debriefing which he claimed was 'inappropriate'


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Gordon Sondland (left) is seen with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (center) and Energy Secretary Rick Perry (right, glasses) at the U.S. Mission to the European Union Dinner in June 
The Trump campaign has alleged that Biden quashed a Ukrainian investigation into Burisma, where Biden's son Hunter served on the board from 2014 until earlier this year, using the threat of withholding U.S. foreign aid.
Biden has denied any wrongdoing, and Trump's phone call to the Ukrainian president asking him to look into the matter is at the heart of House Democrats' mounting impeachment probe into Trump.
Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's personal attorney, claimed earlier this month that Ukrainian gas company Burisma paid Joe Biden $900,000 in lobbying fees, citing documents released by a Ukrainian member of parliament.
'Biden, his son and his brother had a 30-year-long scam to make money, millions, selling his public office,' Giuliani said in an interview on Wednesday night with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
The interview with Giuliani was just hours after Biden backed the impeachment of Trump for the first time.
'Senator first, vice president second. Ukraine, just the tip of the iceberg,' Giuliani continued.


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On April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was elected President of Ukraine in a landslide victory 


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Alexander Vindman, raised concerns about comments made by Gordon Sondland when Oleksandr Danylyuk, (left),  the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council for Ukraine, visited Washington D.C. in July. Former U.S. special envoy to the Ukraine Kurt Volker, (right), had also attended the meeting 
[size=18]President Trump goes on rant about impeachment during cabinet meeting




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Giuliani cited new allegations raised at a press conference in Kyiv by Ukrainian MP Andriy Derkach, who claimed he had investigative documents showing that Burisma paid Biden nearly a million dollars in lobbying fees.
In his concluding remarks, Vindman said it is vital that the U.S. and Ukraine remain 'stragetic partners' with a relationship that is rooted in the idea that free citizens should be able to exercise their democratic rights, choose their own destiny, and live in peace.
He adds: 'It has been a great honor to serve the American people and a privilege to work in the White House and on the National Security Council. I hope to continue to serve and advance America' s national security interests.' 
Late on Monday night, Donald Trump fired back on the latest developments, claiming there 'was not whistle-blower' and called branded the controversy an 'impeachment hoax.'
Intelligence Committee Chairman and Democrat Adam Schiff is leading the impeachment proceedings against the president and Trump has been scathing of him in recent Tweets. 
He tweeted: 'There is no underlying crime in that transcript. @ IngrahamAngle 100% correct, and the Whistleblower disappeared after I released the transcript of the call. Where is the Whistleblower? That is why this is now called the Impeachment Hoax! The Do Nothing Dems are Doing Nothing!.
'The only crimes in the Impeachment Hoax were committed by Shifty Adam Schiff, when he totally made up my phone conversation with the Ukrainian President and read it to Congress, together with numerous others on Shifty's side. Schiff should be Impeached, and worse!.'
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced there will be a vote this week on a resolution to affirm the impeachment investigation, set rules for public hearings and outline the potential process for writing articles of impeachment against Trump.


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Late on Monday night, Donald Trump fired back on the latest developments, claiming there 'was not whistle-blower' and called branded the controversy an 'impeachment hoax'


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Pelosi told colleagues Monday in a letter obtained by The Associated Press that the vote will 'eliminate any doubt' about whether the Trump administration must comply with the investigation.
Republicans argue the impeachment probe is not legitimate unless the House takes a vote to authorize it. Pelosi disputes that view as having 'no merit.'
The White House released the bombshell transcript of President Donald Trump's phone call with the president of Ukraine where Trump urges his counterpart to investigate Joe Biden and work directly with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani – and even brings up the DNC's hacked email server.
But the transcript does not show Trump tying the investigation to aid for Ukraine as he spoke to Zelensky, the quid pro quo which some reports had suggested it contained.
The call forms part of the whistle-blower complaint from an unknown intelligence official which alleges a pattern of wrongdoing by the president in his dealings with Ukraine, but which has been blocked from being given to Congress.
In the call, the president mentions political rival Biden by name, seeks an inquiry into a company tied to Biden's surviving son, Hunter, and predicts Ukraine's economy will do 'better and better' - but does not explicitly tie the United States' aid to the country to the investigation he demands.
He urges the president to contact Giuliani, who this summer called off a planned mission to Ukraine after bringing up a Ukrainian energy company where Hunter Biden served on the board.
'There is a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great,' Trump says, according to the transcript.
'Biden went about bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... it sounds horrible to me,' the president told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president assured Trump: 'The next prosecutor general will be 100 per cent my person, my candidate, who will be approved, by the parliament and will start. As a new prosecutor in September.
'He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation.'
[size=18]President Donald Trump calls Adam Schiff a 'corrupt politician'




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[size=34]READ IN FULL: Lt. Col. Alex Vindman's opening statement to impeachment inquiry about Trump-Ukraine call[/size]

Before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform
October 29, 2019
Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, thank you for the opportunity to address the Committees concerning the activities relating to Ukraine and my role in the events under investigation.
Background
I have dedicated my entire professional life to the United States of America. For more than two decades, it has been my honor to serve as an officer in the United States Army. As an infantry officer, I served multiple overseas tours, including South Korea and Germany, and a deployment to Iraq for combat operations. In Iraq, I was wounded in an IED attack and awarded a Purple Heart.

Colonel Alexander S. Vindman is expected to deliver this statement on Tuesday
Since 2008, I have been a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Eurasia. In this role, I have served in the United States' embassies in Kiev, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia. In Washington, D.C., I was a politico-military affairs officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs where I authored the principle strategy for managing competition with Russia. In July 2018, I was asked to serve at the National Security Council.
The privilege of serving my country is not only rooted in my military service, but also in my personal history. I sit here, as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, an immigrant. My family fled the Soviet Union when I was three and a half years old. Upon arriving in New York City in 1979, my father worked multiple jobs to support us, all the while learning English at night. He stressed to us the importance of fully integrating into our adopted country. For many years, life was quite difficult. In spite of our challenging beginnings, my family worked to build its own American dream. I have a deep appreciation for American values and ideals and the power of freedom. I am a patriot, and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend OUR country, irrespective of party or politics.
For over twenty years as an active duty United States military officer and diplomat, I have served this country in a nonpartisan manner, and have done so with the utmost respect and professionalism for both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Introduction
Before recounting my recollection of various events under investigation, I want to clarify a few issues. I am appearing today voluntarily pursuant to a subpoena and will answer all questions to the best of my recollection.
I want the Committees to know I am not the whistleblower who brought this issue to the CIA and the Committees' attention. I do not know who the whistleblower is and I would not feel comfortable to speculate as to the identity of the whistleblower.
Also, as I will detail herein, I did convey certain concerns internally to National Security officials in accordance with my decades of experience and training, sense of duty, and obligation to operate within the chain of command. As an active duty military officer, the command structure is extremely important to me. On many occasions I have been told I should express my views and share my concerns with my chain of command and proper authorities. I believe that any good military officer should and would do the same, thus providing his or her best advice to leadership.
Furthermore, in performing my coordination role as a Director on the National Security Council, I provided readouts of relevant meetings and communications to a very small group of properly cleared national security counterparts with a relevant need-to-know.
My Service on the National Security Council
When I joined the White House's National Security Council ("NSC"), I reported to Dr. Fiona Hill, who in turn reported to John Bolton, the National Security Advisor. My role at the NSC includes developing, coordinating, and executing plans and policies to manage the full range of diplomatic, informational, military, and economic national security issues for the countries in my portfolio, which includes Ukraine.
In my position, I coordinate with a superb cohort of inter-agency partners. I regularly prepare internal memoranda, talking points, and other materials for the National Security Advisor and senior staff.
Most of my interactions relate to national security issues and are therefore especially sensitive. I would urge the Committees to carefully balance the need for information against the impact that disclosure would have on our foreign policy and national security.
I have never had direct contact or communications with the President.
The Geopolitical Importance of Ukraine
Since 2008, Russia has manifested an overtly aggressive foreign policy, leveraging military power and employing hybrid warfare to achieve its objectives of regional hegemony and global influence. Absent a deterrent to dissuade Russia from such aggression, there is an increased risk of further confrontations with the West. In this situation, a strong and independent Ukraine is critical to U.S. national security interests because Ukraine is a frontline state and a bulwark against Russian aggression.
In spite of being under assault from Russia for more than five years, Ukraine has taken major steps towards integrating with the West. The U.S. government policy community's view is that the election of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the promise of reforms to eliminate corruption will lock in Ukraine's Western-leaning trajectory, and allow Ukraine to realize its dream of a vibrant democracy and economic prosperity.
Given this perspective and my commitment to advancing our government's strategic interests, I will now recount several events that occurred.
Relevant Events
When I joined the NSC in July 2018, I began implementing the administration's policy on Ukraine. In the Spring of 2019, I became aware of outside influencers promoting a false narrative of Ukraine inconsistent with the consensus views of the interagency. This narrative was harmful to U.S. government policy. While my interagency colleagues and I were becoming increasingly optimistic on Ukraine's prospects, this alternative narrative undermined U.S. government efforts to expand cooperation with Ukraine.
April 21, 2019: President Trump Calls Ukraine President Zelenskyy
On April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected President of Ukraine in a landslide victory. President Zelenskyy was seen as a unifying figure within the country. He was the first candidate to win a majority in every region of the country, breaking the claims that Ukraine would be subject to a perpetual divide between the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking populations. President Zelenskyy ran on a platform of unity, reform, and anti-corruption, which resonated with the entire country.
In support of U.S. policy objectives to support Ukrainian sovereignty, President Trump called President Zelenskyy on April 21, 2019. I was one of several staff and officers who listened to the call. The call was positive, and President Trump expressed his desire to work with President Zelenskyy and extended an invitation to visit the White House.
May 21, 2019: Inauguration Delegation Goes to Ukraine
On May 21, 2019, I was directed by Ambassador Bolton and Dr. Hill to join the delegation attending President Zelenkskyy's inauguration. When the delegation returned, they provided a debriefing to President Trump and explained their positive assessment of President Zelenskyy and his team. I did not participate in the debriefing.
Oleksandr Danylyuk Visit – July 10, 2019
On July 10, 2019, Oleksandr Danylyuk, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council for Ukraine, visited Washington, D.C. for a meeting with National Security Advisor Bolton. Ambassadors Volker and Sondland also attended, along with Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
The meeting proceeded well until the Ukrainians broached the subject of a meeting between the two presidents. The Ukrainians saw this meeting as critically important in order to solidify the support of their most important international partner. Amb. Sondland started to speak about Ukraine delivering specific investigations in order to secure the meeting with the President, at which time Ambassador Bolton cut the meeting short.
Following this meeting, there was a scheduled debriefing during which Amb. Sondland emphasized the importance that Ukraine deliver the investigations into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma. I stated to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate, that the request to investigate Biden and his son had nothing to do with national security, and that such investigations were not something the NSC was going to get involved in or push. Dr. Hill then entered the room and asserted to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate.
Following the debriefing meeting, I reported my concerns to the NSC's lead counsel. Dr. Hill also reported the incident to the NSC's lead counsel.
Election Call – July 25, 2019
On July 21, 2019, President Zelenskyy's party won Parliamentary elections in a landslide victory. The NSC proposed that President Trump call President Zelenskyy to congratulate him.
On July 25, 2019, the call occurred. I listened in on the call in the Situation Room with colleagues from the NSC and the office of the Vice President. As the transcript is in the public record, we are all aware of what was said.
I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government's support of Ukraine. I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This would all undermine U.S. national security. Following the call, I again reported my concerns to NSC's lead counsel.
Conclusion
The United States and Ukraine are and must remain strategic partners, working together to realize the shared vision of a stable, prosperous, and democratic Ukraine that is integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community. Our partnership is rooted in the idea that free citizens should be able to exercise their democratic rights, choose their own destiny, and live in peace.
It has been a great honor to serve the American people and a privilege to work in the White House and on the National Security Council. I hope to continue to serve and advance America's national security interests.
Thank you again for your consideration, and now I would be happy to answer your questions.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7626635/Federal-judge-blocks-Alabamas-abortion-ban-ACLU-lawsuit.html

[size=34]Federal judge blocks Alabama's abortion ban, keeping the procedure legal in all 50 states as he slams the state's law as 'likely unconstitutional'[/size]

• Legislation making it a felony for doctors to perform abortions in almost all cases was set to take effect in Alabama on November 15 
  
  
• The ACLU and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit over the ban, the strictest passed in the US so far 
  
  
• On Tuesday, a federal judge put a temporary block on the legislation in place 
  
  
• Judge Myron Thompson said he expects the case may well go to the Supreme Court and the law ruled unconstitutional 
  
  

By NATALIE RAHHAL DEPUTY HEALTH EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 11:46 EDT, 29 October 2019 | UPDATED: 12:14 EDT, 29 October 2019

 

 

 

 

 

• [email=?subject=Read%20this:%20Federal%20judge%20blocks%20Alabama%27s%20abortion%20ban,%20keeping%20the%20procedure%20legal%20in%20all%2050%20states%20as%20he%20slams%20the%20state%27s%20law%20as%20%27likely%20unconstitutional%27%C2%A0&body=Federal%20judge%20blocks%20Alabama%27s%20abortion%20ban%2C%20keeping%20the%20procedure%20legal%20in%20all%2050%20states%20as%20he%20slams%20the%20state%27s%20law%20as%20%27likely%20unconstitutional%27%C2%A0%0A%0AFederal%20Judge%20Myron%20Thompson%20on%20Tuesday%20ordered%20a%20preliminary%20injunction%20on%20Alabama%27s%20law%20to%20make%20it%20a%20felony%20for%20doctors%20to%20perform%20almost%20all%20abortions%2C%20anticipating%20the%20bill%20is%20%27unconstitutional.%27%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fhealth%2Farticle-7626635%2FFederal-judge-blocks-Alabamas-abortion-ban-ACLU-lawsuit.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top%0A%0A%0AMost%20Read%20Articles%3A%0A%0AHow%20you%20can%20stop%20a%20cold%20within%20HOURS%20of%20catching%20it%3A%20Our%20handy%20tips%20on%20how%20to%20beat%20the%20sniffles%20this%20winter%C2%A0%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fhealth%2Farticle-7623593%2FOur-handy-tips-beat-sniffles-winter.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0AMedicinal%20cannabis%20does%20NOT%20help%20treat%20depression%2C%20anxiety%20or%20ADHD%2C%20reveals%20review%20of%2083%20scientific%20studies%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fhealth%2Farticle-7621873%2FMedicinal-cannabis-does-NOT-help-treat-depression-anxiety.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0AAspirin%2C%20ibuprofen%20and%20statins%20all%20reduce%20symptoms%20of%20depression%20by%20slashing%20inflammation%2C%20study%20finds%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fhealth%2Farticle-7621869%2FParacetamol-aspirin-statins-curb-symptoms-depression.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0A]e-mail[/email]
   
  
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A federal judge has temporarily stopped Alabama's attempt to effectively ban abortions in its tracks for the time being in a Tuesday order. 
Alabama's Human Life Protection Act, which would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion unless a woman's life was in immediate danger, was slated to take effect on November 15. 
Judge Myron Thompson's order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood, claiming that the legislation is unconstitutional. 
The Judge's block will put the Human Life Protection Act on hold, with the expectation that the suit reaches the Supreme Court, AL.com reported. 

For the time being, the ruling means that abortion remains legal in all 50 US states as established by the landmark Roe v Wade Supreme Court case. 


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A federal judge has temporarily blocked a law making it criminal for doctors to perform almost all abortions in Alabama from taking effect next month. Pictured: protesters rallying against the law in Alabama in May when the Human Life Protection Act was passed in May (file) 
Should Alabama prevail, the now-stalled law would make it the first state in the US where abortion is illegal.  
'The court is persuaded that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the Act violates an individual’s constitutional right to obtain a pre-viability abortion, and thus that it violates her constitutional rights,' said Judge Thompson in his order for a preliminary injunction against the legislation, according to AL.com.
Signed into law on May 15, the Human Life Protection Act is the closest thing the US has seen to a total ban on abortions since the 1973 Roe v Wade Decision. 
Alabama's law would make it a felony, punishable by up to life in prison, for a doctor to perform an abortion at any stage of abortion unless the fetus was likely to be stillborn or die shortly after birth, or if pregnancy put the woman's life in grave danger.

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It does not include exceptions for rape or incest. 
Despite widespread outcry, protests and a fierce debate, the bill passed the Alabama House and Senate handily and was signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey on May 15, the day after it was green-lighted by the Senate. 
As its done against other laws narrowly restricting abortions - including so-called 'heartbeat bans' passed in Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and other states - the ACLU wasted no time in filing suit against Alabama. 
Tuesday's injunction will ensure that the suit can move forward and upward through the court system - including, quite possibly, the Supreme Court - before coming into effect. 
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has long been prepared for that possibility. 
In no uncertain terms, he responded in August to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood suit, announcing that he had every intention of challenging Roe v Wade. 
Judge Thompson's order suggests his skepticism that Marshall and Alabama will succeed - a sentiment shared and echoed by executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, Randal Marshall. 
'As expected, the court has blocked the law and it will not go into effect. Abortion remains legal in Alabama,' he told AL.com. 
'The state’s repeated attempts to push abortion out of reach by enacting unconstitutional laws restricting abortions has already cost taxpayers nearly $2.5 million.' 
'This ill-advised law will cost taxpayers more money.'
Staci Fox, president of Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates said the order is a 'victory for the entire nation.' 
It comes as a Missouri hearing this week weighs the fate of the state's last abortion clinic.  [/size]
Read more:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7626989/Top-Republican-Devin-Nunes-aide-trying-Ukraine-call-whistle-blower.html

[size=34]Top Republican Devin Nunes' aide is trying to 'out' the Ukraine call whistle-blower by getting congressmen to ask about him during behind closed-door impeachment depositions[/size]

• An aide to top Republican Congressman Devin Nunes is accused of working on a way to reveal the name of the whistleblower who sparked impeachment probe 
  
  
• Derek Harvey has given GOP lawmakers the person's name, Daily Beast reported
  
  
• The purpose is to get the whistleblower's name in the witness transcripts, which Adam Schiff has said will be made public at a later date 
  
  
• Republicans denied they were trying to reveal the whistleblower's name 
  
  
• 'Adam Schiff continues to talk about the whistleblower and, by the way, he's the one who knows who he is. But that's not what we're trying to do,' Jim Jordan said
  
  
• But Democrats charged them with trying to do just that 
  
  

By EMILY GOODIN, U.S. POLITCAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:47 EDT, 29 October 2019 | UPDATED: 16:00 EDT, 29 October 2019

     




An aide to top Republican Congressman Devin Nunes is accused of working on a way to reveal the name of the whistleblower who sparked the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump.
Derek Harvey, an aide to Nunes, who is the senior Republican on the House intelligence committee, has given GOP lawmakers the whistleblower's name ahead of witness depositions in the impeachment inquiry, the Daily Beast reported.
The purpose is to get the whistleblower's name in the transcripts of the proceedings. 


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David Harvey, an aide to top Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, is accused of working on a way to reveal the name of the whistleblower who sparked impeachment probe


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Rep. Devon Nunes is the top Republican on the Intelligence panel and a key Trump ally
[size=10][size=18]Republican Devin Nunes is suing Twitter for $250 million




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Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff has pledged to release the transcripts of the interviews at a later date, meaning the whistleblower's name would become public.   
Nunes office did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Republicans denied they were trying to reveal the whistleblower's name during their turns as questioning witnesses in the inquiry.
'Adam Schiff continues to talk about the whistleblower and, by the way, he's the one who knows who he is. But that's not what we're trying to do. We're trying to get information we're entitled to get,' GOP Congressman Jim Jordan told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday.


Asked if he wanted to know the whistleblower's name, Jordan responded: 'The American people want to know. I want to get to the truth.' 
But Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the Republicans at Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman's deposition where trying to get him to reveal the identity of the whistleblower.
Vindman, a National Security Council official overseeing Ukraine policy, said in his opening statement on Tuesday he does not know the whistleblower's identity. 
'I am not the whistleblower who brought this issue to the CIA and the Committees' attention. I do not know who the whistleblower is and I would not feel comfortable to speculate as to the identity of the whistleblower,' he said.
But Wasserman Schultz blasted Republicans for their line of questioning.
'What the Republicans are trying to do very clearly in their questioning is try to front door or back door Lt. Col. Vindman into revealing who the whistleblower is, even though in his testimony he says he doesn't he didn't know,' Wasserman Schultz said.
'They are trying to through the back door and through process of elimination by their questions, they are attempting to get him to reveal that, and they have been unsuccessful,' she added.
[size=18]Trump's adviser on European affairs to testify over Ukraine call




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Rep. Adam Schiff has pledged to make witness transcripts public at a later date


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Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz accused Republicans of trying to reveal the whistleblower's name
[size=18]Mulvaney admits withholding Ukraine aid tied to investigations




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Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch agreed that seemed to be the case but said the efforts were averted.
'I'm not sure what the intent was but the direction of some of their questions might have led to that,' he said, 'but again it was averted.'  
And Jordan accused Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, of subverting their questions.  
'Our counsel was asking questions and Adam Schiff tells the witness not to answer our questions, which is extremely ridiculous and that's why it should be in public,' Jordan charged. 
Republican lawmakers and staff have said the name of the person suspected to be the whistleblower in the closed-door hearings, The Washington Post reported earlier this week.  
They have not accused said person of being the whistleblower but their questions were seen as an attempt 'to unmask the whistleblower,' whose identity is shielded under federal law, several officials told the newspaper.  
Harvey, the Nunes staffer who worked on the National Security Council early in the Trump administration, was passing notes to Republicans when Fiona Hill, a former deputy National Security adviser to the president, was being questioned in the inquiry. 
Harvey is a former U.S. Army officer who worked with retired General David Petraeus during the U.S. troop surge in Iraq.
President Trump has repeatedly pushed for the whistleblower to be unmasked.
'Where's the Whistleblower? Just read the Transcript, everything else is made up garbage by Shifty Schiff and the Never Trumpers!,' he tweeted Tuesday morning.

https://www.wbtv.com/2019/10/29/nc-sen-richard-burr-suggests-taxing-scholarships-athletes-who-cash-likeness/

[size=36]NC Sen. Richard Burr suggests taxing scholarships of college athletes who ‘cash in’ on likeness




Sen. Burr tweeted that if students are going to be able to make money from their likeness while in school, then their scholarships should be treated as income. (Source: @SenatorBurr/Twitter)
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By Andrew Barnett | October 29, 2019 at 4:15 PM EDT - Updated October 29 at 5:21 PM

(WBTV) - North Carolina Senator Richard Burr suggested taxing the scholarships of college athletes who choose to make money off their likeness while in school.
The suggestion came on Twitter, in response to the Associated Press report that the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to clear the way for college athletes to “benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.”
The vote was the first step toward allowing athletes to make money from their fame.
[ NCAA board approves athlete compensation for image, likeness ]
In response, Sen. Burr tweeted that if students are going to be able to make money from their likeness while in school, then their scholarships should be treated as income.
“If college athletes are going to make money off their likenesses while in school, their scholarships should be treated like income. I’ll be introducing legislation that subjects scholarships given to athletes who choose to “cash in” to income taxes,” Sen. Burr’s tweet read.

Richard Burr

@SenatorBurr





[ltr]If college athletes are going to make money off their likenesses while in school, their scholarships should be treated like income. I’ll be introducing legislation that subjects scholarships given to athletes who choose to “cash in” to income taxes. https://twitter.com/AP/status/1189238254266126336 …[/ltr]

The Associated Press

@AP

BREAKING: NCAA will permit athletes to be compensated for their names, images and likenesses, Board of Governors says. http://apne.ws/QJKYR3j 



3,487
3:28 PM - Oct 29, 2019
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17.8K people are talking about this




[/ltr]

Sen. Burr said that he would be introducing legislation, but did not elaborate on when.
The NCAA and its member schools are working to figure out how to allow athletes to profit while still maintaining rules regarding amateurism. The Board of Governors, meeting at Emory University in Atlanta, directed each of the NCAA’s three divisions to create the necessary new rules immediately and have them in place no later than January 2021.
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i read in another article that the scholarships are already taxed.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7627817/I-make-people-not-afraid-black-people-Michelle-Obama-addresses-racism-US.html

[size=34]'I can't make people not afraid of black people': Michelle Obama addresses epidemic of racism and says the best she can do is 'show up every day as a good human to pick away the scab'[/size]

• The former first lady spoke at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago on Tuesday 
  
  
• When her family - and other black families - moved to the city's South Side, the white families moved out, she said
  
  
• The added that 'artificial things' like the color of a person's skin and texture of their hair 'can divide countries' 
  
  
• The 55-year-old compared that experience to the what immigrant families in America now face daily
  
  
• Moving into the White House 'gave America and the world the opportunity to see the truth of who we are as black people', she said
  
  

By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 20:03 EDT, 29 October 2019 | UPDATED: 01:11 EDT, 30 October 2019

     



Michelle Obama says when her family - and other black families - moved to the South Side of Chicago in the 1970s, it was her first experience of 'white flight'.
The former first lady spoke about her childhood and her life's work at the the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago on Tuesday. She has compared her experience to what immigrant families in America now face daily.
She said she wanted to remind white people that they were running from 'us', and that they're still running. She added that 'artificial things', like the color of a person's skin and the texture of their hair, can divide countries.  
'As families like ours — upstanding families like ours who were doing everything we were supposed to do and better. As we moved in, white folks moved out because they were afraid of what our families represented,' she said.

'I always stop there when I talk about this out in the world because I want to remind white folks, ya'll were running from us. This family. This family with all the values you read about, you were running from us.'
The 55-year-old added that her family was no different to immigrant families making a home for themselves in the US - and in particular, she referenced the area of Pilsen in Chicago, where a large number of Mexican immigrants have been settling in.     
[size=10][size=18]Michelle Obama speaks about family at the Obama Foundation Summit




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Former First lady Michelle Obama has spoken out about racism in America, comparing her experience of moving into a white neighborhood in Chicago to the same experience  immigrants now face - all the white people move out


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The Obamas in front of the White House during President Barack Obama's second term in office. Michelle Obama said: 'Being the first black First Family gave America and the world the opportunity to see the truth of who we are as black people'


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Michelle Obama (right) sits on her mother Marian Robinson's lap, while her dad Fraser holds her brother Craig. The family moved to the South Side of Chicago in the 1970s
The 55-year-old explained that because of this experience she had always felt a sense of injustice. Not just because of the racism, but because the families were 'disinvesting' in their community.
'We were a part of creating... history, and a lot of people walked away from it, they disinvested. One by one, they packed their bags and they ran from us, and they left communities in shambles,' she said.
'There were no gang fights, there were no territorial battles but one by one they packed their bags and they ran from us.' 




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Michelle Obama (right) was accompanied by her brother, Craig Robinson (left), as she spoke about growing up on the South Side of Chicago


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Michelle and Craig, pictured together as children, grew up in the city's South Side with friends of all races, but the former first lady said it became clear white people started to move out of their neighborhood when they moved in 
She explained that this was despite the fact the neighborhood at the time was multi-cultural, and that children of all races in the neighborhood were friends.    
'You know when people are running from you,' she said. 
'I can't make people not afraid of black people. I don't know what's going on, I can't explain what's happening in your head - but maybe if I show up every day as a human, a good human, maybe that work will pick away at the scabs of your discrimination.' 


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Former President Barack Obama kisses former first lady Michelle Obama on the cheek as they appear on stage together after the Obama Foundation Summit


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Michelle Obama said that her parents gave her, and her brother, 'unconditional love and a notion that our voices mattered'. She's pictured here with Barack Obama 
Michelle Obama - who was accompanied on stage in front of students and community activists at the Illinois Institute of Technology by her brother Craig Robinson - said that their parents had instilled in them a set of beliefs that helped counter the discrimination they felt.
'What our parents gave us was unconditional love and a notion that our voices mattered and that our opinions counted, and that what we said and thought had meaning,' she said.
And she added that when husband Barack Obama was elected president for the first time, and the family moved into the White House, it allowed people to look past those 'artificial things'.
'Being the first black First Family gave America and the world the opportunity to see the truth of who we are as black people,' she said.
She added that 'you can't worry about the legacy while you're in it. Let your truth speak for itself'. 


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Barack and Michelle Obama hosted the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago because it is where the 'Obama Presidential Center' will be built 


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The couple, pictured on their wedding day, chose the South Side as the venue for the presidential center because it's where Barack 'became a man' and where Michelle grew up


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Barack and Michelle Obama's long history with Chicago extends to their children, Sasha and Malia, being born there 
Michelle and Barack Obama were both speaking at the Illinois Institute of Technology where their three-day summit will feature talks by activists, including Ava DuVernay and singer Mavis Staples. 
The summit is being held in the city as the couple outline their vision for the Obama Presidential Center.  
The center is planned along the lakefront of Chicago's South Side. It's near where Obama started his political career and lived with his family.
The $500 million center is expected to house a public library branch, house multimedia collections and have community programs, among other things.
President Obama, 58, who opened the summit at a dinner on Monday, said the South Side was the right place for the couple's post-White House foundation, and eventual presidential library.  
'It was natural for Michelle and I to say, 'Well, we should do it in this place,' where I became a man and where Michelle grew up, and where our children were born,'' he said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7627631/House-nears-OK-bill-punishing-Turkey-Syria-incursion.html

[size=34]Ilhan Omar REFUSES to vote for U.S. to officially recognize slaughter of Armenians during World War One as 'genocide' saying move ignores slavery and 'Native American genocide'[/size]

• The 'squad' member is one of just two Democrats to vote 'present' on the resolution
  
  
• It passed 405 to 11
  
  
• It asserts that it is U.S. policy to commemorate as genocide the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923
  
  
• She said a 'true acknowledgement of crimes against humanity' would include the transatlantic slave trade and killings of Native Americans
  
  

By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 16:08 EDT, 29 October 2019 | UPDATED: 20:34 EDT, 29 October 2019

     



Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar was one of just two Democrats to vote 'present' on a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turks a century ago.
Omar, who in the past has said the U.S. was 'founded on genocide,' voted present on a measure that passed the House Tuesday by a vote of 405 to 11. Democratic leadership called up the bill following Turkey's invasion of Syria. Sensitivity toward Turkey's strong opposition to the legislation has kept it at bay in the past. 
The invasion angered members of both parties who are seeking protections for ethnic Kurds who fought alongside U.S. troops in the battle against ISIS.  
The Democratic-controlled House voted 405-11 in favor of the resolution, which asserts that it is U.S. policy to commemorate as genocide the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. 


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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was one of just two Democrats voting against a resolution to recognize the Armenian genocide
After casting her vote, Omar said in a statement: 'I also believe accountability for human rights violations—especially ethnic cleansing and genocide—is paramount. But accountability and recognition of genocide should not be used as cudgel in a political fight.'

Then she brought up the slave trade, the mass killing of Native Americans during colonization, and other atrocities.
'It should be done based on academic consensus outside the push and pull of geopolitics,' she continued. 'A true acknowledgement of historical crimes against humanity must include both the heinous genocides of the 20th century, along with earlier mass slaughters like the transatlantic slave trade and Native American genocide, which took the lives of hundreds of millions of indigenous people in this country. For this reason, I voted ‘present’ on final passage of H.Res. 296, the resolution Affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide.'


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'A true acknowledgement of historical crimes against humanity must include both the heinous genocides of the 20th century, along with earlier mass slaughters like the transatlantic slave trade and Native American genocide,' Omar said in a statement


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1915, World War I, The massacre of the Armenian populations in Turkey, an encampment of Armenian refugees on the deck of a French cruiser that rescued them


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Armenian Genocide: Hanging on tripods. Systematic killing of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I, 1915 - 1923. Also known as Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and by Armenians as the Great Crime


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This is the scene in Turkey in 1915 when Armenians were marched long distances and said to have been massacred


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This 1915 file photo, shows Armenian victims of the massacres in Turkey


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The resolution passed by a vote of 405 to 11, with three lawmakers voting present
[size=10][size=18]Armenian-Americans rally in LA mark anniversary of genocide





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Republicans backed the resolution 178 to 11, and Democrats backed it 226 to 0, with only two present votes. The other present votes were Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and  Democratic Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas. 
Omar, who came to the U.S. as an immigrant from Sudan, is a member of the 'squad' who has frequently tangled with President Trump and is a sharp critic of Israel.  
The symbolic but historic vote likely to inflame tensions with Turkey.
Omar also voted against bill meant to punish Turkey for its invasion of northern Syria.   
'Accountability for the invasion of northern Syria is essential. Turkey’s incursion and the ensuing fallout is a humanitarian catastrophe—especially for the Kurdish people,' Omar said. 'But too often our sanctions policies are ill-considered, inhumane and hurt the very people we claim to be helping.'
She said the sanctions being imposed would 'hurt civilians rather than political leaders.' 
'There are positive policies we could pursue—like banning or limiting weapons sales or creating a buffer zone—but pursuing sanctions that have no chance of being signed into law is the wrong response at the wrong time,' she said.  
However the bill passed by the House does hit U.S. weapons sales to Turkey. 
The bipartisan bill punishing Turkey for its invasion of northern Syria and illustrating both parties' dismay with President Donald Trump's retreat from the region sailed easily through the House on Tuesday.
The bill marks both parties' latest show of disapproval for Trump's decision this month to abandon the United States' longtime Kurdish allies against Islamic State fighters by pulling American forces away from northern Syria.
The measure underscores lawmakers' wariness of the cease-fire that Vice President Mike Pence struck with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and of the subsequent agreement between Turkey and Russia splitting control of the territory .
Despite Congress' acrimonious partisan divisions over Democrats' impeachment investigation of Trump, lawmakers approved the Syria sanctions by a lopsided 403-16. Republicans supported the measure by a 12-to-1 margin, joining virtually all Democrats.
Trump has declared victory in the region, saying the U.S. has little at stake in its conflicts. Critics say his moves have bolstered Turkish, Iranian and Russian sway in the area, jeopardized efforts to contain the Islamic State group and reduced U.S. leverage there.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said Trump's moves follow a pattern.


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In this Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 photo, U.S. forces patrol Syrian oil fields. Pentagon is increasing U.S. efforts to protect Syria's oil fields from the extremist group as well as from Syria itself and the country's Russian allies. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
"The president of the United States stokes a crisis and then steps in with some sort of half-measure in a failed attempt to look like some kind of great deal is happening," Engel said. Instead, he said, the result has been "a catastrophe."
Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the committee's top Republican, cast the measure as a way to give Trump "additional congressional support" to reimpose sanctions on Turkey if needed. But he warned that the U.S. "cannot allow Turkey's invasion to hinder in any way" continued U.S. efforts to combat the Islamic State.
"I can think of nothing more dangerous that withdrawing all of our troops from Syria," McCaul added.
Trump has referred repeatedly to pulling all American troops out of Syria. The Pentagon has acknowledged it is keeping U.S. forces in eastern Syria to keep oil from falling into the hands of the Islamic State.
The measure would bar most U.S. weapons sales to Turkey and slap sanctions on foreigners attempting to send the Turks military equipment. It would also block high-ranking Turkish officials from their assets in the U.S. and restrict their travel here. Trump would be given a waiver to not impose those penalties if doing so would help U.S. "national security interests."
The sanctions are to start within weeks of passage and are supposed to stay in effect until Turkey withdraws and stops attacking the Kurds.
Tuesday's vote came as Congress is riven along partisan lines over a Democratic investigation into whether Trump should be impeached because of efforts he made to force Ukraine to investigate his Democratic political opponents.
It also followed Trump's announcement just two days ago of perhaps his highest-profile foreign policy achievement: a raid by U.S. special forces that led to the death Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the long-sought leader of the Islamic State group.
Earlier this month, the House voted 354-60 to approve a nonbinding measure assailing Trump's troop pullback.
Measures have been introduced in the Senate similar to the House legislation imposing sanctions and the separate one criticizing the troop withdrawal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., hasn't brought them to a vote yet.
Russia and Turkey reached an agreement last week dividing control of northeast Syria and halting, at least for now, the Turkish invasion of the area. Ankara, which sees Syrian Kurds as a security threat, sought to push Kurdish forces away from its border.
Russia said Tuesday that tens of thousands of Syrian Kurdish fighters have completed their withdrawal from the area.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7628621/Veteran-tells-Congress-White-House-REMOVED-key-info-President-Trumps-call-Ukraine.html

[size=34]Purple Heart-winning colonel tells Congress during 10-hour testimony that the White House REMOVED words and phrases from the transcript of President Trump's call with Ukraine, and officials then ignored his calls to correct it[/size]

• Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman testified the White House omitted key words and phrases from the transcript of Trump's call with President Zelensky of Ukraine
  
  
• Such omissions allegedly included Trump’s proclamation that there were recordings of former Vice President Joe Biden discussing Ukraine corruption
  
  
• As well as Zelensky directly mentioning the energy company who employed Hunter Biden to its board, Burisma Holdings
  
  
• Though a number of his edits were made, such as individual words, the two cited corrections were never amended for unknown reasons 
  
  
• Vindman, who was listening in on the call from the White House Situation Room, said he was 'concerned' the call could 'undermine U.S. national security'
  
  
• ‘I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications,' he said 
  
  

By LUKE KENTON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:30 EDT, 29 October 2019 | UPDATED: 01:13 EDT, 30 October 2019

     


Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert, told House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that the White House transcript of the July call between President Trump and Ukraine’s president missed key words or crucial phrases that he tried – and failed – to have corrected.
Such omissions, Vindman said, included Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, directly mentioning the energy company who once employed Hunter Biden to its board, Burisma Holdings.
‘He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue,’ the White House’s transcript cites Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying.
However, Vindman insists Zelensky specifically mentioned Burisma, telling investigators he tried to have the White House's transcript changed to include the missing reference but the amendment was never made.

The rough transcript also contains ellipses in three instances where Trump is talking, which again Vindman says he tried to amend. He told investigators the third set of ellipses relates to Trump speaking about alleged recordings of former Vice President Joe Biden boasting about illegal Ukraine funding.
It's believed the Trump's mention of the tapes is most likely referring to comments Biden made in January 2018 that the US held $1 billion in loan guarantees until the nation fired its prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin.  
The comments led Republicans - without evidence - to believe Biden was actively trying to prevent an investigation into his son from being launched. Democrats, meanwhile, say Shokin was lax in his anti-corruption efforts and was simply not fit for purpose. 


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Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert, told House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that the White House transcript of the July call between President Trump and Ukraine’s president was ‘mostly accurate’ but missed key words or crucial phrases that he tried – and failed – to have corrected.


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Such omissions, Vindman said, included Trump’s proclamation that there were recordings of former Vice President Joe Biden discussing Ukrainian corruption, and the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, directly mentioning the energy company who employed Hunter Biden to its board, Burisma Holdings
Though a number of Vindman's suggested edits were made, such as particular wording, the two cited corrections were never amended for reasons currently unknown. 
Dressed in his dark blue Army uniform with military medals displayed proudly across his chest, Vindman didn’t suggest a motive behind the editing process during his more than 10-hour testimony, though his claims will likely prompt investigators to further scrutinize how officials handed the call.
Such lines of inquiry are likely to probe any changes to the transcript, the decision enter it into the White House’s most classified computer system, and whether such actions were purposefully made to conceal the call’s most controversial contents. 
Vindman, who was listening in on the call from the White House Situation Room along with other members of Vice President Pence’s staff, said he was so 'concerned by the call' — and the idea the president’s request could be seen as 'a partisan play' that could 'undermine U.S. national security' — that he reported it to the NSC’s lead counsel.
‘I was concerned by the call,’ Vindman said. ‘I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government's support of Ukraine.’


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Hunter Biden (left) took a post on the board of Ukrainian energy firm, Burisma, after his father became the Obama administration's point man on U.S.-Ukraine relations, and was reportedly paid $50,000-$80,000 each month for several years


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Dressed in his dark blue Army uniform with military medals displayed proudly across his chest, Vindman didn’t suggest a motive behind the editing process during his more than 10-hour testimony earlier today, though his claims will likely prompt investigators to further scrutinize how officials handed the call
[size=10][size=18]'I was concerned by the call' says Vindman during testimony




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The House inquiry is looking into Trump's call, in which he asked Zelenskiy for a ‘favor’ - to investigate Democrats - that the Democrats say was a quid pro quo for military aid and could be an impeachable offense.
With the administration directing staff not to appear, Vindman was the first current White House official to testify before the impeachment panels, after being issued a subpoena.
Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to denounce the probe as a 'sham,' adding: 'Why are people that I never even heard of testifying about the call. Just READ THE CALL TRANSCRIPT AND THE IMPEACHMENT HOAX IS OVER!'
Vindman, who arrived in the United States as a 3-year-old from the former Soviet Union, said that it was his 'sacred duty' to defend the United States.
Some Trump allies, looking for ways to discredit Vindman, questioned the colonel's loyalties because he was born in the region. But the line of attack was rejected by some Republicans, including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who said it was 'shameful' to criticize his patriotism.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called the slams on Vindman 'absurd, disgusting and way off the mark. This is a decorated American soldier, and he should be given the respect that his service to our country demands.'


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‘He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue,’ the White House’s transcript cites Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) as saying. However, Vindman insists Zelensky specifically mentioned Burisma Holdings, telling investigators he tried to have the White House's transcript changed to include the missing reference.


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Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to denounce the probe as a 'sham,' adding: 'Why are people that I never even heard of testifying about the call. Just READ THE CALL TRANSCRIPT AND THE IMPEACHMENT HOAX IS OVER!'
[size=18]Trump's adviser on European affairs to testify over Ukraine call




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The testimony came the day after Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House would vote on a resolution to set rules for public hearings and a possible vote on articles of impeachment.
Thursday's vote would be the first on the impeachment inquiry and aims to nullify complaints from Trump and his allies that the process is illegitimate and unfair.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the resolution merely 'confirms that House Democrats' impeachment has been an illegitimate sham from the start as it lacked any proper authorization by a House vote.'
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he and other GOP lawmakers will review the resolution to see if it passes a 'smell test' of fairness to Trump.
The session Tuesday grew contentious at times as House Republicans continued trying to unmask the still-anonymous whistleblower and call him or her to testify. Vindman said he is not the whistleblower and does not know who it is.
GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio acknowledged Republicans were trying to get Vindman to provide the names of others he spoke to after the July 25 phone call, in an effort to decide whom to call to testify. 'He wouldn't,' Jordan said.


In his prepared remarks, Vindman testified that in spring of this year he became aware of 'outside influencers' promoting a 'false narrative of Ukraine' that undermined U.S. efforts, a reference in particular to Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
He first reported his concerns after a July 10 meeting in which U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland stressed the importance of having Ukraine investigate the 2016 election as well as Burisma, a company linked to the family of Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
Vindman says he told Sondland that 'his statements were inappropriate, that the request to investigate Biden and his son had nothing to do with national security, and that such investigations were not something the NSC was going to get involved in or push.'
That differs from the account of Sondland, a wealthy businessman who donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration and testified before the impeachment investigators that no one from the NSC 'ever expressed any concerns.' Sondland also testified that he did not realize any connection between Biden and Burisma.


+7


Vindman, who was listening in on the call from the White House Situation Room along with other members of Vice President Pence’s staff, said he was so 'concerned by the call' — and the idea the president’s request could be seen as 'a partisan play' that could 'undermine U.S. national security' — that he reported it to the NSC’s lead counsel
For the call between Trump and Zelenskiy, Vindman said he listened in the Situation Room with colleagues from the NSC and Vice President Mike Pence's office. He said he again reported his concerns to the NSC's lead counsel.
He wrote, 'I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This would all undermine U.S. national security.'
Vindman served as the director for European affairs and a Ukraine expert under Fiona Hill, a former official who testified earlier in the impeachment probe. Hill worked for former national security adviser John Bolton.
He told investigators that Ukraine, in trying to become a vibrant democracy integrated with the West, is a bulwark against overt Russian aggression.
Vindman attended Zelenskiy's inauguration with a delegation led by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and he and Hill were both part of a Ukraine briefing with Sondland that others have testified irritated Bolton at the White House.
'I am a patriot, and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend OUR country, irrespective of party or politics,' wrote Vindman, who was wounded in Iraq and awarded a Purple Heart.
'For over twenty years as an active duty United States military officer and diplomat, I have served this country in a nonpartisan manner, and have done so with the utmost respect and professionalism for both Republican and Democratic administrations,' he wrote.

I suspect that what happened in Chicago is the same thing that happened in many communities across the country at that time - "blockbusting". It happened to my aunt and uncle when they bought their first home in Cleveland, Ohio. No more than a year later they started getting letters and visits from real estate agents warning them that there were black families buying into the neighborhood and if they didn't sell soon the value of their home would drop substantially. The whole neighborhood was inundated.

They were constantly under pressure to sell, and watched as one by one their neighbors gave in and sold before their homes "became worthless" (as the realtors insisted they would). My uncle was the lone hold-out on his block, but finally did sell when he got a job offer in another city.

I'm not saying race didn't enter into it. For many I'm sure it did. I'm just saying that there were other factors at play. For most people their home is their biggest financial asset. If you threaten that you create as much, if not more fear, than you do by saying the neighborhood is "changing".

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7629507/Obama-tears-woke-culture-purity-tests-Former-president-says-good-people-flaws.html

[size=34]Obama tears into woke culture and purity tests: Former president says 'good people have flaws' in pointed comments warning of political naivety as the Democrat race heats up[/size]

• Barack Obama was speaking at his annual Obama Foundation summit Tuesday 
  
  
• Obama took a dig at the 'woke culture' and activists being too focused on 'purity'
  
  
• It appeared to be pointed at tactics of Democrat factions in the 2020 race
  
  
• Michelle Obama told attendees, 'I can't make people not afraid of black people'
  
  

By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 05:43 EDT, 30 October 2019 | UPDATED: 05:43 EDT, 30 October 2019

     




Barack Obama yesterday tore into woke culture and notions of purity in an apparent warning to liberal factions amid a tense Democrat race to challenge Trump in 2020. 
Barack was joined by his wife Michelle on Tuesday at their annual Obama Foundation summit in Chicago, where the former first lady also told attendees: 'I can't make people not afraid of black people.'
Barack, speaking separately, said: 'This idea of purity and you're never compromised and you're always politically woke and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly.
'The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws ...

[size=10][size=18]Barack Obama dismisses 'woke' culture and 'purity' tests at summit




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Barack Obama said: 'This idea of purity and you're never compromised and you're always politically woke and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly'


+5


Michelle Obama was joined on stage by her brother and spoke about her childhood and compared her experiences to what immigrants today face
'Like if I tweet or hashtag about how you didn't do something right or used the wrong verb or then, I can sit back and feel good about myself: "Man, you see how woke I was? I called you out."
'You know that's not activism, that's not bringing about change.'
Responding to the comments, Jen Paski, a former Obama aide, told CNN's Don Lemon she believed the comments were pointed at those challenging President Donald Trump in 2020.
'At times the reaction to Donald Trump has been to put out the purity tests that say if you don't meet these bars and are not with me on every issue and don't check every box, you can't be a part of the party.' Paski said.
'If we are launching purity tests and say "You can't be a part of us," we'll have such a small party, we won't be able to win.'
Those comments echo the sentiments of White House hopeful Andrew Yang, who tweeted in June, 'I understand the impulse, but identity politics are a great way to lose elections. We need to bring people together.'  
[size=18]Michelle Obama: 'I can't make people not afraid of black people'




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Michelle Obama spoke separately alongside her brother, Craig Robinson, about their childhood and Michelle compared her experiences to those which immigrants face today. 
She said she wanted to remind white people that they were running from 'us', and that they're still running.
Michelle added that 'artificial things', like the color of a person's skin and the texture of their hair, can divide countries. 
'I can't make people not afraid of black people. I don't know what's going on, I can't explain what's happening in your head - but maybe if I show up every day as a human, a good human, maybe that work will pick away at the scabs of your discrimination.'  
Michelle and Barack Obama were both speaking at the Illinois Institute of Technology where their three-day summit will feature talks by activists, including Ava DuVernay and singer Mavis Staples. 
The summit is being held in the city as the couple outline their vision for the Obama Presidential Center.  


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Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama appear on stage together after the Obama Foundation Summit at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago on Tuesday
[size=18]Michelle Obama speaks about family at the Obama Foundation Summit




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Michelle Obama (right) sits on her mother Marian Robinson's lap, while her dad Fraser holds her brother Craig. The family moved to the South Side of Chicago in the 1970s





The Obamas in front of the White House during President Barack Obama's second term in office. Michelle Obama said: 'Being the first black First Family gave America and the world the opportunity to see the truth of who we are as black people'
The center is planned along the lakefront of Chicago's South Side. It's near where Obama started his political career and lived with his family.
The $500 million center is expected to house a public library branch, house multimedia collections and have community programs, among other things.
President Obama, 58, who opened the summit at a dinner on Monday, said the South Side was the right place for the couple's post-White House foundation, and eventual presidential library.  
'It was natural for Michelle and I to say, "Well, we should do it in this place," where I became a man and where Michelle grew up, and where our children were born,' he said.

Michelle Obama says she "can't explain what's happening in your head". I'm guessing she can.: fear of the unknown, financial pressure, outside influences. I know that many of my uncle's neighbors would have stayed put if they hadn't seen other homes in their neighborhood go up for sale. All it took was one or two houses with for sale signs in their yards for the real estate agents to blitz the area with claims that home prices were dropping like rocks and "you'd better get out before you lose everything."For some race was the issue. For others it was simply financial.

Lizzy,
the driver who takes my kids to school and back every day said yesterday: "i want all muslims to leave Germany because my daughter isn't able to go to our public swimming pool anymore." I asked why. 
Him": "The young men molest young girls." 
Me: "Has this ever happened here? I've never read or heard anything about it." 
Him: "I've read several times on facebook that it happened in other towns, and I'm not risking anything so I banned her from going there." 
Me: "I read every day that pedestrians are injured and killed by cars. Do you ban her from walking anywhere?" 
Him: "You won't tell me what to do!" 
Me: "I wouldn't, I just think you're overreacting because you want to protect your daughter."

Apart from that: When I was young, this happened quite often. Not by migrants or muslims but by Germans...

Carolhathaway - That's one reason I won't go on Facebook. Too much of the "information" on it is false and people don't go to the trouble to check other sources. They just believe what they read there and assume it's true. Mark Zuckerberg has a lot to answer for.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7633773/Mike-Pompeo-says-OBAMA-one-corruptly-withheld-military-aid-Ukraine.html

[size=34]Mike Pompeo says OBAMA was the one who corruptly withheld military aid from Ukraine and insists there was nothing wrong with Donald Trump's controversial call with the Ukrainian president - but critics denounce his comments as a 'conspiracy theory'[/size]

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went on the offensive in interviews Wednesday
  
  
• Defended Trump's controversial phone call with the Ukrainian president
  
  
• Said it was actually Obama who denied military aid to the Ukrainian government
  
  
• Implied that Hunter Biden's dealings influenced the previous administration
  
  
• House is set to vote on Thursday authorizing a formal impeachment inquiry 
  
  

By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 01:15 EDT, 31 October 2019 | UPDATED: 03:33 EDT, 31 October 2019

     





Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has gone on the offensive, defending President Donald Trump and suggesting that it was actually the Obama administration that was malfeasant in Ukraine.
In an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum on Wednesday night, Pompeo said that there was nothing wrong with Trump's July phone call to the Ukrainian president.
'What I know is I was on the call, I listened to the call, I thought the way the President handled it was appropriate,' he said.
The call is now at the center of a House impeachment probe, with Democrats alleging that Trump threatened to withhold military aid if Ukraine did not investigate his political rival Joe Biden. 


+2


In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night, Pompeo said that there was nothing wrong with Trump's July phone call to the Ukrainian president


'This is the administration that provided defensive weapon systems to Ukraine,' Pompeo said of the Trump administration.
'The previous administration... I couldn't tell you why, I couldn't answer if it's because of Hunter Biden that Barack Obama and Vice President Biden didn't give defensive weapon systems to Ukraine,' he continued.
'They'll have to answer for that. Maybe I just don't have the full story,' Pompeo said.
At the heart of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's July 25 call with Trump was a request for the U.S. to sell that country Javelin anti-tank missiles.
After Zelensky suggested he wanted to buy more Javelins, Trump asked him for a 'favor' and then later urged him to investigate Hunter Biden.
The sale of the Javelins was approved by the State Department late last month. 
The Obama administration did refuse to sell Ukraine lethal military hardware, as Pompeo asserted, under the stated justification that such sales would escalate tensions with Russia.


+2


The Obama administration did refuse to sell Ukraine lethal military hardware - which Pompeo suggested had a connection with Joe Biden's son's dealings there
In other interviews, Pompeo repeated his assertion that former President Barack Obama and Vice President Biden may have corruptly withheld aid to Ukraine.
'This is the administration that actually provided defensive weapons systems [to Ukraine]. I could not tell you why the Obama administration chose not to [arm Ukraine]. Was it because of Hunter Biden? I don't know!' he told the New York Post on Wednesday. 
Several commentators rejected Pompeo's premise, with New York Times diplomatic correspondent Edward Wong calling it a 'conspiracy theory.'
'This insinuation makes zero sense. Pompeo, the top US diplomat, doesn't seem to care anymore about trying to establish a reputation as a straight talker,' Wong wrote on Twitter.
NPR's diplomatic correspondent, Michele Kelemen, chimed in: 'The Obama admin did not give weapons to ukraine so as not to fuel the conflict. They made their case, like it or not.'
On Thursday, the House will vote on a resolution to formalize the Democrat's impeachment inquiry, which is expected to pass on partisan lines.
The resolution will give House Intelligence Committee Chairman new powers to oversee the process, and requires him to write a report with recommendations for the Judiciary Committee, which will draft and recommend articles of impeachment. 
[size=18]Hunter Biden defends Ukraine work but regrets fallout for his father




[/size]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7631417/US-ranks-worst-life-expectancy-improvements-high-income-countries.html

[size=34]US ranks among the WORST for life expectancy improvements out of 22 wealthy countries as scientists blame the opioid crisis and 2008 financial crash[/size]

• Life expectancy in US has all but stalled since 2011, international study found
  
  
• It improved by just two weeks for American men and two months for women
  
  
• Only Iceland had a smaller improvement for men out of 22 wealthy countries
  
  

By CONNOR BOYD HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 19:30 EDT, 30 October 2019 | UPDATED: 21:37 EDT, 30 October 2019




Life expectancy improvements have stalled in the US worse than most other wealthy countries, research shows.
Experts say the financial crash in 2008 may have fuelled the trend, along with the current opioid epidemic ravaging the nation.
Since 2011, the average life expectancy in the US improved by just two-and-a-half weeks for an American man and two months for a woman.
Only one country, Iceland, showed smaller gains in life expectancy for males. The US was among the bottom five for females, ahead of only Canada, England and Wales, and Iceland. 

It means that today, the average boy born in the US will live until they are just over 76 and a girl lives to roughly 81.


+1



Life expectancy improvements since 2011 in the US have stalled worse than the majority of other high-income countries. Here, the worst 10 for men (blue) and women (pink) are shown
The worrying findings were revealed in the first international study to compare life expectancy and mortality rates from 1970 to 2016 across 22 wealthy countries.
These include Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and countries in western Europe including France, Italy and Switzerland. 


The researchers believe the stalling life expectancy rates in the US are partly due to the financial crash of 2008.
They also point to the ongoing opioid epidemic which claims around 50,000 lives a year. 

NHS waiting lists are at an all-time high

A damning report has shown more than 4.41million patients were stuck on waiting lists in England in August - up by 250,000 from last year.  
And 662,053 people have waited more than 18 weeks for routine treatments, such as joint replacements - the highest since records began.
Health leaders have condemned the figures and said they show the NHS could face its worst winter ever with Brexit, harsh weather conditions and flu on the horizon.  
NHS bosses said trusts up and down the country are working ‘incredibly hard’ to prepare for the winter and make sure patients are kept safe. 
But the Royal College of Nursing fears more and more patients are going to be treated in corridors as pressure gets piled on the health service. 
And the Royal College of Surgeons warned the upcoming winter pressure, Brexit and the NHS pension crisis will create a ‘perfect storm’ for hospitals this winter. 
Experts called for 'swift and far-reaching' Government action to get the NHS braced for winter.  
The waiting times refer to patients who are waiting for routine but important operations such as joint replacements.
Those included in the 4.41million are the ones who have been referred for surgery by a specialist but have not yet had the procedure.
That figure is up by 250,000 from the same time last year and 1.1million from August 2017. 



But the research was even bleaker for England and Wales, where the risk of death in 25 to 50-year-old men and women is now 20 to 40 per cent higher than the average across the 22 other countries.
The analysis, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Max Planck Institute in Germany, showed death rates had risen in every age group in the British countries except for young boys. 
The study, published in the journal Lancet Public Health, says life expectancy may have been affected by cuts to the NHS and a flu outbreak, which killed 44,000 people in 2014 and 2015. 
While male life expectancies have largely risen in line with other countries, women have lagged behind, being ranked 20th out of the 22 countries in 2016. 
That is likely to be because British women started smoking earlier in the 20th century than those in other countries, and became heavier smokers.
Life expectancy may also have been affected by the north-south divide in England, which means younger adults further up the country are more likely to die from alcohol and drug abuse.
The study concludes that the rise in deaths among working-age people, which began in the mid-2000s, needs 'urgent attention'.
Lead author Professor David Leon from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said: 'These trends represent a real reversal of the situation in England and Wales in the 1970s and 1980s, when this working-age group had lower mortality than seen elsewhere, almost certainly in part because in this period the UK as a whole had notably low mortality from external causes such as injuries, poisonings and violence.
'Further work is urgently required to understand what the reasons are for this reversal since 2000, and how far it may be due to adverse trends in injuries, violence and alcohol or drug-related deaths.'
Professor Leon added: 'Today the world is facing major challenges, from climate change to the disruption of long-established aspects of international collaboration and cooperation, many of which may have a negative impact on future health progress.'
[size=18]Research shows that walking everyday can increase life expectancy




[/size]

HOW LIFE EXPECTANCY HAS IMPROVED FOR MEN SINCE 2011 (IN YEARS)

[list=mol-bullets-with-font]
[*]Norway 1.62
[*]Japan 1.56
[*]Luxembourg 1.41
[*]Ireland 1.30
[*]Denmark 1.25
[*]Switzerland 1.25
[*]Finland 1.23
[*]New Zealand 1.20
[*]Austria 1.07
[*]Spain 1.01
[*]Italy 1.01
[*]Belgium 1.00
[*]France 0.89
[*]Australia 0.83
[*]Portugal 0.81
[*]Sweden 0.78
[*]Netherlands 0.68
[*]Germany W 0.62
[*]Canada 0.45
[*]Scotland 0.42
[*]England & Wales 0.37
[*]USA -0.05
[*]Iceland -0.17
[/list]

 

HOW LIFE EXPECTANCY HAS IMPROVED FOR WOMEN SINCE 2011 (IN YEARS)

[list=mol-bullets-with-font]
[*]Luxembourg 1.57
[*]Japan 1.28
[*]New Zealand 1.17
[*]Denmark 0.96
[*]Belgium 0.79
[*]Norway 0.72
[*]Spain 0.70
[*]Ireland 0.70
[*]Australia 0.61
[*]Italy 0.60
[*]Finland 0.56
[*]Switzerland 0.54
[*]Portugal 0.54
[*]Austria 0.49
[*]Sweden 0.42
[*]Germany W 0.40
[*]France 0.30
[*]Netherlands 0.26
[*]Scotland 0.24
[*]USA 0.18
[*]Canada 0.16
[*]England & Wales 0.11
[*]Iceland 
[/list]

Back the Facebook point: Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole - Zuckerberg truly doesn't care that he passed 90 million+ peoples' details around the world to help elections. He simply relies on his 'community' to tell Facebook if something is wrong and doesn't want to invest in staff. And he doesn't seem to care about them either. Watch Katie Porter interviewing him last week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ciuK_-4_gE

Says it all

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7634995/Democrats-ready-ram-phase-Donald-Trump-impeachment-inquiry.html

[size=34]Democrats overwhelmingly back impeachment of Donald Trump in first House vote as they set rules for televised inquiry - as president fumes 'Witch Hunt' and Republicans accuse Speaker of 'Soviet-style' show trial[/size]

• House Democrats approved an impeachment inquiry into the president 
  
  
• 'What is at stake is our democracy. What are we fighting for? Defending our democracy for the people,' Speaker Pelosi said 
  
  
• The vote was 232 in favor with 196 voting no
  
  
• 'The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!,' Trump tweeted afterward
  
  
• Trump spent morning tweeting and retweeting words from his supporters
  
  
• He called on Republicans to stand together and back him
  
  
• The resolution outlines how the impeachment investigation will proceed and what rights the president will have during it
  
  
• Republicans complained about the lack of 'due process' for Trump and charged Democrats with trying to overturn the 2016 election 
  
  
• White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said the administration is considering bringing aboard additional staff to combat the impeachment inquiry
  
  
• The vote comes as Tim Morrison, who was Trump's top adviser for Russian and European affairs, testifies behind closed doors in the impeachment inquiry
  
  

By EMILY GOODIN, U.S POLITICAL REPORTER and DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR  and GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR and NIKKI SCHWAB, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 08:57 EDT, 31 October 2019 | UPDATED: 12:54 EDT, 31 October 2019

     





A divided House of Representatives voted on Thursday to begin the next stage of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, taking the investigation from behind closed doors to Americans' television screens with a series of public hearings.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers took to the House floor to engage in a bitter debate over the impeachment process before voting largely along party lines on the resolution.
Democrats focused on their constitutional duty; they talked about following the law and protecting national security interests. 
Republicans railed against the process, echoing a White House argument there is no due process for the president and no Republican in-put into the proceedings, and accused their colleagues across the aisle of trying to overturn the 2016 election. 

The contentious debate is likely a preview of the public hearings to come.
Thursday's vote was 232 in favor with 196 lawmakers voting no.  
'The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!,' Trump tweeted after the vote was finished, using his favorite phrase to describe any investigation into him.
There were two Democratic defections - Congressmen Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin Peterson of Minnesota. Both hold swing districts that Trump carried in the 2016 election. Trump carried Peterson's district by over 30 points.  
Rep. Justin Amash, a Republican who became an Independent, voted in favor of the resolution.
Four lawmakers did not vote. Three Republicans - Jody Hice of Georgia, John Rose of Tennessee, and William Timmons of South Carolina - and one Democrat: Donald McEachin of Virginia.


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Speaker Nancy Pelosi gavels the vote on the impeachment resolution to a close
[size=10][size=18]House approves rules for formalizing impeachment probe




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Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over the vote and gaveled it to a close, announcing the final total. 
She kept her words on the matter short: 'On this vote the yeas are 232, the nays are 196. The resolution is adopted without objection.' 
Democrats launched the formal impeachment inquiry in September after a whistleblower revealed concerns that President Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe and Hunter Bidens, his political enemies, during a July 25 phone call. 
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and called the call 'perfect.'
The weeks-long inquiry accumulated into Thursday's five-minute vote. The House chamber was crowded with lawmakers as it took place. They chatted with each other on their respective sides of aisle.
After it was over, Democrats moved on to the next vote on the schedule while Republicans yelled in protest. 'Order, order,' they yelled, 'we have rules.' 
But Democrats, who control the chamber, moved on. 
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, as soon as the vote was over, charged House Democrats with an 'obsession' with impeaching the president.
'The President has done nothing wrong, and the Democrats know it. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats’ unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment proceeding does not hurt President Trump; it hurts the American people,' she said in a statement.  
[size=18]Nancy Pelosi defends Democrats' impeachment rules plans




[/size]





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President Trump spent the morning before the House votes on an impeachment resolution into him tweeting and retweeting words from his supporters






[size=18]Devin Nunes says House Democrats are 'acting like a cult'





[/size]













Trump spent Thursday morning tweeting and retweeting words from his supporters, calling on Republicans to stand by him in the upcoming vote.
'The Impeachment Hoax is hurting our Stock Market. The Do Nothing Democrats don’t care!,' he wrote shortly before the House started voting on the resolution against him. 
Earlier he called on Republicans to stand by him during the proceedings.  
'Now is the time for Republicans to stand together and defend the leader of their party against these smears,' Trump tweeted, quoting conservative talk host Laura Ingraham. 
Pelosi, meanwhile, gaveled the House into order on Thursday morning as lawmakers took to the floor to debate the resolution.
Democrats talked about following the law and protecting national security interests. Republicans railed against the process, echoing a White House argument there is no due process for the president and no Republican in-put into the proceedings.  
'It's not a fair process. It's not a transparent process. It's not an open process. But instead it's limited and a closed process with a pre-ordained outcome,' argued Republican Rep. Tom Cole said on the House floor Thursday morning.  
Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence panel, compared Democrats pursuing impeachment to a ‘cult,’ and their inquiry to a ‘show trial.’
‘They have always intended to transform the Intelligence committee into the impeachment committee,’ said Nunes, a California Republican who was himself accused of politicizing the Intelligence panel during the Mueller investigation.
‘Every one of their actions from the staff they hired to the Trump conspiracy theories they investigate … indicates this has been their plan from day one,’ he said on the House floor.
He accused Democrats of harboring a ‘bizarre obsession with overturning the results of the last presidential election.’
'What we're seeing among Democrats on the Intelligence Committees, down in the [secure Capitol facility] right now, is like a cult. These are a group of people loyally following their leader as he bounces from one outlandish conspiracy theory to another. And the media are the cult followers, permanently stationed outside the committee spaces, pretending to take everything seriously, because they too support the goal of removing the president from office,' Nunes said.
Pelosi, like many of her colleagues, delivered floor remarks in front of a poster of an American flag where lawmakers often place visual aids.
The Speaker, who only occasionally speaks on legislation or procedures on the floor of the House, began her remarks by reading the preamble to the Constitution. 
'What is at stake is our democracy. What are we fighting for? Defending our democracy for the people,' she said. 
'The genius of the Constitution, a separation of powers. Three coequal branches of government to be a check and balance on each other,' Pelosi told colleagues.
'Sadly this is not any cause for any glee or comfort. This is something that is very solemn that is something prayerful.' Addressing arguments that the House was authorizing something that has already begun, she said: 'We had to gather so much information to take us to this next step.'
'I doubt anybody in this place … comes to Congress to take the oath of office … to impeach the president of the United States, unless his actions are jeopardizing our honoring our oath of office,' said Pelosi, who earlier this month walked out of a meeting with President Trump after it grew heated.
 'Let us honor our oath of office. Let us defend our democracy. Let us have a good vote today and have clarity, clarity as to how we proceed,' she said.  


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Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor with a poster of a flag


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Rep. Steve Scalise, the Number Two Republican in the House, called the proceedings 'Soviet-style'
'At the end of the day, this resolution isn't about Donald Trump. It isn't about any of us. It's about our Constitution. It's about our country. And so I urge my colleagues to not just think about the political pressures of the moment. These will pass. Please consider the heavy responsibility you have today, to this institution, the Constitution, and our country,' said Rules Committee Chairman Rep. Jim McGovern on the House floor Thursday morning.
''I never wanted our country to reach this point. I do not take any pleasure in the need for this resolution. We are not here in some partisan exercise. We are here because the facts compel us to be here. There is serious evidence that President Trump may have violated the Constitution. This is about protecting our national security and safeguarding our elections,' he added. 
'I support this resolution because it lays the groundwork for open hearings. The House and the American public must see all of the evidence for themselves,' said Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler in his floor speech.
Nadler's committee will hold some of those public hearings. 
'I support this resolution because I know we must overcome this difficult moment for the Nation. This resolution is necessary to ensure that our constitutional order remains intact for future generations,' he added. 'I support this resolution because we simply have no choice.'


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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler spoke in support of the resolution; his committee will hold some of the public hearings


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House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy charged Democrats with trying to overturn the 2016 election
[size=18]Pelosi says 'our democracy is at stake' in impeachment inquiry




Loade[/size]


Republicans complained Democrats were trying to overturn the 2016 election.
House minority whip Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana tried to turn the table on Democrats, who have spent years focusing on Russian election interference and Trump campaign contacts with Russians. 
He spoke next to a blow-up posture of the Kremlin, and accused the Democrats of conducting a Soviet-style inquiry. 
'If the chair chooses, at his whim, they can literally kick out the president's legal counsel. This is unprecedented. It's not only unprecedented, this is Soviet-style rules. Maybe in the Soviet Union, you'd do things like this, where only you make the rules, where you reject the ability of the person you are accusing to even be in the room to question what's going on, for anybody else to call witnesses,' said Scalise.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy blasted Democrats for 'not working for the American people.'
'This Congress has more subpoenas than laws,' he said in his floor speech.
'Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they cannot beat him at the ballot,' McCarthy complained. 'This impeachment is not only an attempt to undo the last election. It is an attempt to undo the last one as well.'
For both sides the vote will become a political weapon in 2020 with Republicans targeting Democrats who represent House districts that Trump won in 2016 and Democrats using it as a rallying cry for their base.

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Tim Morrison, who was Trump's top adviser for Russian and European affairs, arrives on Capitol Hill Thursday to testify


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White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said  the administration is considering bringing aboard additional staff to combat the impeachment inquiry
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Thursday morning the administration is considering bringing aboard additional staff to combat the impeachment inquiry.
'Possibly and if we do it's because our portfolios are already over flowing,'  she told reporters in the White House drive way. 'So possibly. Stephanie Grisham is the press secretary and communications director the president and to the first lady. She's got a pretty busy portfolio already.'
She added that any additions would be temporary and single-focused on the impeach issue, comparing it to how the administration brought on small teams of extra staff to handle other key issues, such as Supreme Court nominations. 
'So if it's something intense, but single focused albeit temporary, there's an argument for bringing a few extra hands and minds on to the team. So I would analogize it to Kavanaugh Part II for example,' she said. 'You have a short window and somebody who is single-focused on just that which is, frankly, something the rest of us can't do.'
She was quick to add: 'It's not a war room. The president has made it pretty clear he doesn't need a war room.' 
The vote comes as Tim Morrison, who was Trump's top adviser for Russian and European affairs, arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday morning to testify in the inquiry.
Morrison recently left his White House post and Democrats will seek details from him on an allegation that president linked nearly $400 million in U.S. military aid to the Ukraine to officials there undertaking an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden, along with probing an unproven theory that it was the Ukrainians who hacked the Democratic National Committee's email server and blamed the Russians.
Trump has maintained he's done nothing wrong.  
The House resolution includes a package of rules for how the Intelligence Committee - now leading the investigation closed-door testimony from witness - would transition to public hearings. 
It also details how Intelligence panel Chair Adam Schiff will have most of the power in the process - deciding who will testify in front of the cameras and for how long - before issuing a public report and handing the matter over to the House Judiciary Committee, which will compose any formal articles of impeachment against the president. 
Republicans and the White House are objecting to how that process is laid out. 
Under the resolution, GOP lawmakers can only issue subpoenas for witnesses if the entire panel approved them - in effect giving Democrats veto power over their requests. Democrats argue this was the same procedure Republicans used when they had the majority during Bill Clinton's impeachment process in the 1990s.


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Speaker Nancy Pelosi will bring a resolution to a vote that outlines how the investigation will proceed and what rights the president will have during it


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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff will play a lead role in the public hearing phase of the investigation
Additionally, there is no role for President Trump's lawyers when the Intelligence panel holds its public hearings - a time when the cable news networks will run wall-to-wall coverage and viewership is expected to be high.
Trump's lawyers aren't allowed into the process into the Judiciary committee phase but what rights they will have - such as the ability to question witnesses - are not outlined in the resolution. 
The White House blasted the rules as 'an illegitimate sham' that lacks 'any due process' for President Trump.
'The White House is barred from participating at all, until after Chairman Schiff conducts two rounds of one-sided hearings to generate a biased report for the Judiciary Committee. Even then, the White House's rights remain undefined, unclear, and uncertain – because those rules still haven’t been written,' White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham argued in a statement earlier this week on the resolution.  
By the time the president gets to participate, most of the drama will have played out on television screens across the country.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blasted the procedure as denying the president his 'basic due process rights.' 
'It does not confer on President Trump the most basic rights of due process,' McConnell complained in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday. 
Meanwhile, Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in the Ukraine whose closed-door testimony in the impeachment inquiry against Trump shocked Democrats with its details, is willing to testify in public when the hearings move to that stage. 
No request has been made for his public testimony, CNN reports, but he is likely to be on the Democrats' list when the time comes. 


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Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blasted House Democrats' impeachment resolution on the Senate floor on Wednesday


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Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in the Ukraine, is wiling to testify in public
Taylor testified last week that he was told that American military aid to the Ukraine was contingent on Kiev putting out a statement they were investigating the Bidens and the 2016 election. 
Democrats believe he could be a star witness.
He's rock solid, detailed notetaker and unimpeachable,' Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN. 'Fifty years given to his country -- it doesn't get much more 'Top Gun' than that.'  
Taylor testified behind closed doors last week that Trump refused to release U.S. security aid or meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky until Zelensky agreed to investigate the president's political rivals.  
Trump wanted a public commitment from the Ukraine they would investigate Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian gas company with Hunter Biden on its board, Taylor - a Vietnam veteran and career State Department official  - told Congress, and said the president wanted Ukraine 'put in a box.'
Trump and his allies have pushed an unproven theory Joe Biden, as vice president, demanded the Ukraine remove a prosecutor to the benefit of the company.
The president also pushed an unproven conspiracy theory that an email server belonging to the Democratic National Committee was hacked by Ukrainians during the 2016 election and they made it look as it were the Russians - a story, that if true, would indicate he won the 2016 contest without Russian interference. 


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Bolton was in meetings with EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland on Ukraine policy
Taylor said he was told that Trump had made clear that military aid to help keep Ukraine safe from Russia would only be made available if Zelensky went public to order 'investigations,' otherwise there was a 'stalemate.' 
And Taylor testified that Sondland told another diplomat: 'President Trump did insist that President Zelensky go to a microphone and say that he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference, and that President Zelensky should want to do this himself.' 
The bombshell testimony rocked Washington D.C. and left the White House reeling - after Trump had started the day by calling impeachment 'a lynching.'
As Democratic lawmakers trickled out of the hearing, they called they evidence 'damning,' while Republicans had little to say.
Taylor called the involvement of Rudy Giuliani in a 'parallel' foreign policy 'highly irregular'; confirmed that John Bolton had called linking military aid to Ukraine to a Biden probe a 'drug deal'; implicated Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo and Mick Mulvaney in the scheme; and painted EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland as part of Giuliani's scheme as well as an error-prone official lax on security and an unreliable witness - who one Republican conceded is likely to be recalled to the probe.
He recalled a phone call with Sondland, whom the president put in charge of Ukrainian affairs despite that country not being an EU member. 
'During that phone call, Amb. Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelensky to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election,' Taylor said in his statement.
He added Sondland told him 'everything' - meaning U.S. military aid and a White House meeting - was contingent on the Ukraine publicly agreeing to the probe.
'Amb. Sondland also told me that he now recognized that he had made a mistake by earlier telling the Ukrainian officials to whom he spoke that a White House meeting with President Zelensky was dependent on a public announcement of investigations — in fact, Amb. Sondland said, 'everything' was dependent on such an announcement, including security assistance,' Taylor said.
'He said that President Trump wanted President Zelensky 'in a public box' by making a public statement about ordering such investigations,'' he noted.
Taylor is considered the biggest threat to Trump to come before lawmakers. 
He left his retirement to take up the top U.S. post in the Ukraine after Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was fired by Trump. He has no ties to the administration and no diplomatic career to worry about given his senior statesman status. He has worked in administrations for both political parties.  
ADVERTISEMENT

[size=48]Donald Trump Said That Melania Wouldn't Cry 'Her Eyes Out' If He Was in a Tragedy: Report[/size]

"Not many wives would react that way to tragedy. I know mine wouldn't"
By Adam Carlson 
October 31, 2019 01:24 PM
FB[url=https://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Donald Trump Said That Melania Wouldn%27t Cry %27Her Eyes Out%27 If He Was in a Tragedy%3A Report]Twitter[/url]
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Speaking Tuesday at a Republican fundraiser, President Donald Trump reportedly cracked — kind of, sort of — that First Lady Melania Trump would not be overcome with grief if he was in a tragedy.
According to Politico, the president was referring to Rep. Steve Scalise, who was wounded in a mass shooting in 2017, when he said: “[Scalise’s spouse] cried her eyes out when I met her at the hospital that fateful day … I mean, not many wives would react that way to tragedy. I know mine wouldn’t.”
President Trump, 73, made the remark while speaking for about an hour at a fundraiser for Take Back the House 2020, the joint fundraising committee of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, according to Politico, which described Trump as “unscripted, unfiltered and totally in his element.”
(A White House spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on Trump’s statement about the first lady.)

RELATED: Donald Trump and an ‘Upset’ Melania ‘Had Words’ While at Dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Witness Says
He reportedly discussed various GOP lawmakers at the dinner, at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. — a mingling of business and politics that has raised ethics concerns throughout his presidency.
The fundraiser, attended by some 115 House Republicans, was expected to raise more than $13 million.
North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, Trump said, had “the best name,” according to Politico: “If I had that name, I would have been president 10 years ago.” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a Trump critic, had the worst name.
Trump also praised the family of Pennsylvania Rep. John Joyce: his “handsome” son and “looker” wife.
Indiana Rep. Greg Pence, brother of Vice President Mike Pence, got a joking shout-out. “I know a guy who looks like you,” Trump said, per Politico. “How did you get that good of a seat in here ya cheap-o?”

And Trump took a swipe at his former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who could once again run for an Alabama Senate seat: “Who is gonna win Alabama? Don’t tell me Sessions.”
Curiosity about the Trump marriage has flared in the past, as when he tried and failed to hold his wife’s hand in front of the press or when other women accused him of being unfaithful.
In March, a witness told PEOPLE they saw the Trumps having a disagreement at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. “Melania was upset and they had words with each other over something,” the source said. (The White House disputed this.)
RELATED: Did Melania Swat Trump’s Hand Again? Twitter Sure Thinks So
Mrs. Trump said in an interview last year that she was not fazed by the affair allegations.
“It is not a concern and focus of mine,” she told ABC News. “I’m a mother and a first lady and I have much more important things to think about and to do. I know people like to speculate and the media like to speculate about our marriage.”
“It’s not always pleasant, of course,” Mrs. Trump said. “But I know what is right and what is wrong and what is true or not true.”
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe during the 2016 campaign, Mrs. Trump said she and the president “have a great relationship. We are own people. I’m my own person. He’s his own person. And I think that’s very important.”
“I don’t want to change him,” she said then. “He doesn’t want to change me.”

• By Adam Carlson@adam_a_carlson
  
  

I'm guessing that by this point their marriage is more like a business arrangement than a love match - if it ever was one. I don't imagine she'd be too upset if some "tragedy" befell him. More likely relieved.

Yes Lizzy it is a deal she lives the rich life and he does what he pleases. Sadly, for her that includes embarrassing her on a regular basis.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7637539/Lifelong-New-Yorker-Donald-Trump-declares-FLORIDA-resident.html

[size=34]Lifelong New Yorker Donald Trump and wife Melania declare themselves FLORIDA residents and change their primary address from Fifth Avenue to Mar-a-Lago because he 'pays millions in taxes' and 'few have been treated worse' by the city and state[/size]

• Trump quietly filed documents in September making Palm Beach his residence
  
  
• He is a lifelong New Yorker but has rarely visited the city since taking office
  
  
• Florida has no state income tax, and the move is reportedly for tax purposes 
  
  
• New York's Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo responds: 'Good riddance' 
  
  

By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:04 EDT, 31 October 2019 | UPDATED: 03:57 EDT, 1 November 2019




President Donald Trump and his wife have filed paperwork to change their official residence from New York City to Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump quietly filed documents in September with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court changing his primary residence from Trump Tower to Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Palm Beach.
The president acknowledged the change in a series of tweets on Thursday, saying: '1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence.'
'I cherish New York, and the people of New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state,' he continued.


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Donald and Melania Trump quietly filed documents in September with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court changing their primary residence from Trump Tower to Mar-a-Lago


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'Few have been treated worse. I hated having to make this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned,' Trump continued.
'As President, I will always be there to help New York and the great people of New York. It will always have a special place in my heart!' Trump wrote.
New York's top elected Democrats responded to the announcement with satisfaction.
'Don't let the door hit you on the way out or whatever,' tweeted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
'Good riddance,' wrote Governor Andrew Cuomo. 'He's all yours Florida.'
Cuomo went on to claim that Trump did not even pay taxes in New York already. 


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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo responded to the news saying 'Good riddance'


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In an identical filing, First Lady Melania Trump also changed her residence to Palm Beach.
The documents reviewed by DailyMail.com describe Mar-a-Lago at the Trumps' 'predominant and principal home' and state that they intend to reside there permanently.
Attachments to the filings list 'other places of abode' as Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey golf club and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which is the address of the White House.

Trump's 'other places of abode'

The declaration of domicile listed two alternate addresses:
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington DC: The White House
900 Lamington Road, Bedminster, New Jersey: Trump National Golf Club



Trump, born in Queens, is a lifelong New Yorker but has rarely returned to his penthouse in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue since taking office in January 2017.
He often spends weekends away from the White House at Mar-a-Lago, however.
White House officials refused to say why Trump had changed his official residence, but a person close to the president told the Times that it was primary for tax purposes. 
That person also said that Trump was infuriated by a lawsuit filed by Manhattan Distric Attorney Cyrus Vance, seeking to publicly release the president's tax returns. 
Florida is noted as one of the states with no state income tax. 


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The documents each describe Mar-a-Lago (above) at the Trumps' 'predominant and principal home' and state that they intend to reside there permanently


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The documents list 721 Fifth Avenue, the address of Trump Tower, as Trump's former address

[size=34]What are the tax benefits of moving to Florida? [/size]

Florida is one of the nine U.S. states that has no state income tax.
New York state, on the other hand, has a top tax rate of nearly 9% and New York City has an additional top rate of nearly 4%.
Prior to 2017, New York residents could deduct their state and city taxes on federal tax returns — but that all changed in 2017, when the Republican tax reform eliminated many of those deductions.
Since the tax change passed, wealthy New Yorkers have been fleeing the city, many of them heading for Florida. 



New York state has seen a notable exodus of the ultra-rich since Republicans passed a tax bill in 2017 eliminating federal tax deductions for certain state and local taxes.
New York State’s top tax rate is nearly 9% and New York City’s top rate is nearly 4%. 
Under New York law, anyone who spends more than 184 days a year in the state has to pay New York taxes.  
Since becoming president, Mr. Trump has spent 99 days at Mar-a-Lago compared with 20 days at Trump Tower, according to NBC News. 


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Trump filed these documents in September declaring his primary residence in Florida
It is unclear how much money Trump would save through the move without seeing his recent tax returns, which he has consistently refused to release. 
In addition to taxes, Trump may also be considering Florida's key importance to his 2020 reelection campaign.
In 2016, he won the swing state with a 1.2-point margin over Democrat Hillary Clinton, and his campaign strategists consider it an important battleground in 2020.
This summer, Trump kicked off his 2020 campaign with a rally in Orlando. 
[size=18]Trump motorcade returns to Mar-a-Lago after a day at the golf course




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Gov. Cuomo said it best. "Good riddance." Now drumpf can sit in his fortress with the rest of his redneck friends and mock climate change and feed on their hatred of anyone not like themselves. It won't be long before it's under water. When it is, he'd better not come back here!

Yep. Tax avoidance of course - not that he ever paid any!

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/ny-governor-cuomo-and-nyc-mayor-de-blasio-brutally-mock-trumps-announced-move-to-florida/

[size=46]NY Governor Cuomo and NYC Mayor de Blasio Brutally Mock Trump’s Announced Move to Florida

By Colby HallNov 1st, 2019, 7:41 am
452 comments[/size]
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The New York Times reported Thursday evening that President Donald Trump intends to move his official state of residency from his native New York, to Florida, where he often spends many weekends at his Mar a Lago club.
Writing for the Times, Maggie Haberman [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/us/politics/trump-new-york-florida-primary-residence.html?action=click&module=Top stories&pgtype=Homepage]opened her report[/url]:
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He came of age in Queens, built Trump Tower, starred in “The Apprentice,” bankrupted his businesses six times, and drew cheering crowds and angry protesters to Fifth Avenue after his election. Through it all, President Trump — rich, bombastic and to many Americans the epitome of a New Yorker — was intertwined with the city he called his lifelong home.
No longer.
In late September, Mr. Trump changed his primary residence from Manhattan to Palm Beach, Fla., according to documents filed with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Melania Trump, the first lady, also changed her residence to Palm Beach in an identical document.
Each of the Trumps filed a “declaration of domicile” saying that the Mar-a-Lago Club, Mr. Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, will be their permanent residence.

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President Trump confirmed the report Thursday on Twitter:

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Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump





[ltr]1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House, is the place I have come to love and will stay for, hopefully, another 5 years as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, but my family and I will be making Palm Beach, Florida, our Permanent Residence. I cherish New York, and the people of.....[/ltr]


92.3K
9:32 PM - Oct 31, 2019
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Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump




Replying to @realDonaldTrump

[ltr]....New York, and always will, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year, I have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. Few have been treated worse. I hated having to make....[/ltr]


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9:32 PM - Oct 31, 2019
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Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump




Replying to @realDonaldTrump

[ltr]....this decision, but in the end it will be best for all concerned. As President, I will always be there to help New York and the great people of New York. It will always have a special place in my heart![/ltr]


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Governor Andrew Cuomo took the news of Trump’s ostensible relo gambit in stride, saying “good riddance” and hitting the questionable tax revenue the state saw from him on twitter:

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Andrew Cuomo

@NYGovCuomo





[ltr]Good riddance.

It’s not like @realDonaldTrump paid taxes here anyway...

He’s all yours, Florida. https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1190053604037668864 …[/ltr]

The New York Times

@nytimes

President Trump doesn't want to be a New Yorker anymore. He filed residency paperwork for Florida, a favorite of the wealthy for tax reasons.https://nyti.ms/2WtQKXI 



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8:13 PM - Oct 31, 2019
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also got into the political pile-on via Twitter.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio

@NYCMayor





[ltr]Don’t let the door hit you on the way out or whatever. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/us/politics/trump-new-york-florida-primary-residence.html …[/ltr]

Trump, Lifelong New Yorker, Declares Himself a Resident of Florida

The president filed a “declaration of domicile” last month saying that his property in Palm Beach will be his permanent residence.
nytimes.com



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Mayor Bill de Blasio

@NYCMayor





[ltr]Our deepest condolences to the good people of Florida as Trump attempts to outrun his past (and near future). https://twitter.com/complex/status/1190109478336774144?s=21 …[/ltr]

Complex

@Complex

Trump relocates and becomes a Florida resident.

He says New York politicians have "treated him very badly."http://cmplx.co/vmGPYZ6 







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As you can see above, Mayor de Blasio first commented on the source material NY Times report but then followed by quote-tweeting a Complex magazine aggregation. Bill de Blasio, hypebeast?[/size][/size]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7638425/Nancy-Pelosi-says-no-one-law-interview-House-passed-impeachment-resolution.html

[size=34]Nancy Pelosi tells Stephen Colbert that 'no one is above the law' in first interview after the House passed the impeachment resolution and says she 'prayed' for America when she first learnt details of Trump's Ukraine call[/size]

• Nancy Pelosi appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after House vote
  
  
• In her first interview since impeachment resolution she said she 'prayed' for US
  
  
• Pelosi also said 'no one is above the law' as the inquiry moves to the next phase 
  
  
• She said Trump 'jeopardized the integrity of our elections' with Ukraine dealings
  
  

By CHRIS DYER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 05:30 EDT, 1 November 2019 | UPDATED: 09:45 EDT, 1 November 2019

     



Nancy Pelosi said 'no one is above the law' in her first interview since the House voted to move into the next phase of the impeachment inquiry.
The House Speaker appeared on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show last night to answer questions on the Democrat moves to remove President Trump from the White House.
Earlier Congress passed an impeachment resolution by 232 to 196, which went along party lines, to formally investigate Trump's alleged threat to withhold military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country's president to investigate a political rival. 
Pelosi said President Trump 'jeopardized the integrity of our elections' and national security 'to the benefit of the Russian' during a July phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he is accused of offering a 'quid pro quo' so that authorities in Ukraine would investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

She was greeted onto the stage last night by cheers from the audience, as the band played Carole King's 'I Feel the Earth Move'.
Colbert started the interview by thanking Pelosi 'for being on our silly show', as this was 'truly an historic day' and that 'I know you've had a busy one'. 
[size=10][size=18]Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Donald Trump: 'No one is above the law'




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Nancy Pelosi gave her first interview since the House passed the impeachment inquiry to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show


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President Donald Trump is facing an impeachment inquiry over his dealing with Ukraine. He is pictured (above) speaking during a Medal of Honor ceremony on Wednesday 
Pelosi began by saying that 'this is a sad day for our country', before adding: 'We do this prayerfully, and with great seriousness. 
'Nobody goes to Congress to impeach a president and you've had your fun with the policy and the personality and the rest, and that's about the election. The patriotism, the Constitution, is really what impeachment is about.'
When asked 'are we done, is the president impeached?' as a result of yesterday's vote, Pelosi replied that the impeachment resolution was merely a 'continuation' of the inquiry the House has been conducting and was done to 'set for the rules of procedure'.
She also thanked Colbert for his 'patriotism' and went on to say that the next stage would be 'spelling out the president's rights, due process for him how a majority and a minority will have equal time to question witnesses'.
So far the impeachment inquiry has operated behind closed doors, but the next stage will see lawmakers from both sides of the House have access to documents and be able to question witnesses appearing in Congress. 
Pelosi told Colbert that how the impeachment inquiry is handled is a test of politicians' ability to uphold the Constitution. 


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Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed Trump had 'undermined our national security to the benefit of the Russians' during an appearance on The Late Show


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Pelosi Stephen Colbert for his 'patriotism' and went on to described how the next stage of impeachment would be 'spelling out the president's rights'
She added: 'This is about the Constitution and how we go forward with this and no decision has been made to impeach, that's what the inquiry is about.
'But how we go forward is a test for us to do so worthy of the Constitution and worthy of our founder's sacrifice when they established this Constitution.'
Her reply drew more cheers from the audience, as Colbert added that people want to see that 'actions have consequences'.


In response Pelosi said: 'The most important thing for the American people to realize is that no one is above the law. No one, not the president of the United States, or not.' 
Colbert went on to ask Pelosi what her first reaction was when she heard about the now-infamous call between President Zelensky and Donald Trump on July 25.
'I pray for the United States of America', Pelosi replied, before adding: 'Really, because, it's very sad. We don't want to impeach a president. 
'We don't want the reality that a president has done something that is in violation of the Constitution. 


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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presiding over a vote by the House of Representatives on a resolution formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump yesterday 
[size=18]House of Representatives approves rules for Trump impeachment inquiry





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'But it was more about, so much had happened before, and I had not been, shall we say, enthusiastic about the divisiveness that would occur from an impeachment.
'I had said then, he's not worth impeaching because it's even going to divide this country further than he has already divided it. But this was something that you could not ignore. 
'In one conversation, he undermined our national security by withholding military assistance to a country that had been voted on by the Congress of the United States, to the benefit of the Russians.
'At the same time, he jeopardized the integrity of our elections, the heart of our democracy, and in doing so, in my view, he possibly violated his oath of office to protect, defend and preserve the Constitution of the United States.'
When asked what her doubt could be over Trump's actions, Pelosi said that it was an investigation where 'people say the smoking gun came out first', referring to the July phone call.  
Yesterday Pelosi presided over a House vote along party lines to formalize the impeachment inquiry into Trump, setting up the next stage of dramatic and ultra-partisan televised hearings in the probe. 
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7640187/Pastor-labeled-Trumps-enemies-demonic-network-work-INSIDE-White-House.html

[size=34]'Jesus WASN'T a fan of rich people!' Donald Trump upsets West Wing Christians by hiring spiritual adviser who preaches 'prosperity gospel' and called his political enemies a 'demonic network' after planning to build MEGACHURCH with him[/size]

• Paula White is a televangelist who has been close to Donald Trump since at least 2002, and says she planned in 2006 to build a megachurch with him
  
  
• He has now hired her to work inside the White House, making some Christians in the West Wing uneasy because of her 'Prosperity Gospel' teachings
  
  
• Prosperity Gospel says giving money to church causes brings health and wealth
  
  
• White delivered the invocation at Trump's inauguration, and later at the launch rally for his re-election campaign
  
  
• She called for the defeat of a 'demonic network' of the president's political foes
  
  
• White House aides complain that 'Jesus was born poor' and 'died poor,' and 'wasn't a fan of rich people'
  
  
• One joked about the Gospel teaching that 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God'
  
  

By DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 13:48 EDT, 1 November 2019 | UPDATED: 15:44 EDT, 1 November 2019

     



A Florida televangelist who claimed at Donald Trump's 2020 re-election launch event that his opponents were a 'demonic network' has taken a job in his White House, bringing the closest thing the president has to a spiritual mentor – and one of America's foremost promoters of the divisive 'Prosperity Gospel' – under his roof.
Paula White's new credentials don't sit well with some in the West Wing. DailyMail.com spoke to seven self-described born-again Christians who are longtime aides, including two in senior positions. They described the decision in terms ranging from 'troubling' to 'mind-blowing.'
The Prosperity Gospel is an evangelical niche teaching that promotes donations to religious causes as a route to material wealth and physical health. 
Its preachers are polarizing figures in modern Christianity, but White's status near the top of their ranks didn't deter Trump from inviting her to deliver the invocation at his 2017 inauguration. 

Speaking to the Washington Examiner on Friday about her forthcoming autobiography, 'Something Greater,' White said she and Trump made plans in 2006 to build a megachurch together.
'He wanted to build a house of God,' she said Friday. 'He said, "Let's do this, let's build this before we're too old".'


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Trump and White, a televangelist, have been close for 18-years, and now she's working for the White House – a state of affairs that makes many Christians in the West Wing uncomfortable


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White, Donald Trump's personal spiritual adviser, said during her invocation at his re-election campaign launch in June that the president has a 'demonic network' of political opponents aligned against him


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White said last week while promoting her autobiography that she visits the White House several times a week, and now she appears to have an office there
White claimed Trump hired an architect and wanted her to take the project over once it was built, but a divorce from her second husband a year later sidelined everything.
She is now married to Jonathan Cain, the keyboardist from the rock band Journey.
Trump, she said, is a quiet Christian who 'doesn't know "Christian-ese".'
But he proposed 'a crystal cathedral for God,' similar to televangelist Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral in Los Angeles. Schuller, then an active preacher, died in 2015.
Trump's lack of command with Christian vernacular showed up duringhte 2016 campaign when he stumbled in a Liberty University speech with a reference to 'two Corinthians,' a novice's misreading of the New Testament book '2 Corinthians,' usually spoken aloud as 'Second Corinthians.' 
White told the New York Post last Saturday that she is still close to Trump and sometimes visits the White House several times a week.
The famously braggadocios Trump, she claimed, has a vulnerable side and 'does not by any means think he's the perfect person.'
And she has 'never seen the base more energized than it is now,' she boasted.
A White House official said Friday that White will connect the administration with religious groups, mostly Christian in nature, as part of the Office of Public Liaison. 
[size=10][size=18]Pastor Paula White delivers opening prayer at Trump's rally




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Paula White's third husband is Jonathan Cain, the keyboard player from the rock band Journey; she's pictured in July 2017 holding her granddaughter Asher, then 1 year old
White's role in the government, the official said, is largely about communicating 'deliverables' that evangelical voters care about.
Those include statements about 'religious liberty,' policy dictates that marginalize abortion rights, and efforts to unshackle pastors from the tax consequences of politicking – all garden-variety red meat for Republicans wooing the Bible belt.
On Friday, for instance, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a regulatory change designed to protect adoption agencies that refuse to place children with same-sex couples. 
'Thanks to President Trump,' Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said hours later, 'charities will be free to care for needy children and operate according to their religious beliefs and the reality that children do best in a home with a married mom and dad.'
The intersection of religious and LGBT politics would be politically nuclear for most administrations, but it's the Prosperity Gospel that has some in the West Wing worrying.


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Paula White delivered the prayer at the start of Trump's inauguration ceremony in January 2017


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White spoke during a dinner for evangelical leadership in the State Dining Room of the White House on August 27, 2018


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'Jesus was born poor. Jesus died poor. Jesus wasn't a fan of rich people!' said a second White House official, self-described as a Presbyterian like the president.
'Every time you read about rich people in the Gospel, Jesus is citing them as examples of what not to do.'
A third White House official responded to a text message about White with snark: 'I left my tiny camel in my other pants.'


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White, who writes under the name Paula White-Cain, is promoting her autobiography
The Gospel of Matthew includes the story of Jesus telling his disciples that entering heaven is nearly impossible for the wealthy.
'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,' reads chapter 19, verse 24.
A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. 
Trump enjoyed a whopping 65-point margin of victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 among white evangelical Christians. White, who he has known since at least 2002, will try to 'keep them on the reservation,' the official said. 
The New York Times first reported White's hiring on Thursday.
White said in June at an Orlando, Florida Trump rally that she believed in the 'power of unity,' and then proposed that thousands in attendance pray for the defeat of the president's enemies.
'I need you to really go with me here,' she prayed. 'Let every evil veil of deception of the enemy be removed from people's eyes.'
'So right now, let every demonic network who has aligned itself against the purpose, against the calling of President Trump, let it be broken, let it be torn down in the name of Jesus!' she continued. 'Let the counsel of the wicked be spoiled right now.'
The Prosperity Gospel had its beginnings in revival tents where itinerant preachers boasted that financial success and physical healing awaited people who dug deep into their pockets to support God's ministry.
The faith-healing evangelist Oral Roberts oversaw a ministry that eventually surpassed $110 million in total annual income and expanded to include a Tulsa, Oklahoma university bearing his name.
His chauffeur and pilot, Kenneth Copeland, was an Oral Roberts University student when they met. He followed in his teacher's footsteps, planting a ministry whose success led others like Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker to take up the cause.


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Televangelist Kenneth Copeland, one of the original Prosperity Gospel preachers, reportedly has a net worth above $300 million; he insists that he has distributed approximately $25 million to help the poor – something he can only do because he is rich


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Rev. Creflo Dollar is a famed 'Prosperity Gospel' preacher who has become enormously wealthy by persuading Christians to give heavily to his ministry on the belief that it would make them rich


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Faith healer Oral Roberts is pictured at a 'crusade' meeting; he was among the first mainstream pastors to preach what evolved into the 'Prosperity Gospel' 
Paula White is among the best-known heirs to their tradition. Others include Joel Osteen and the coincidentally named Creflo Dollar.
Dollar reportedly owns two Rolls-Royces, a Gulfstream III jet and at least three million-dollar homes. He has declined to disclose how much he personally earns from his Georgia-based World Changers Church International.
The Senate Finance Committee opened an investigation into White and five other prosperity preachers in 2017 over their spending. The inquiry ended in 2011 with no charges or penalties.  
White said in a 2017 profile that she connected with Trump after he randomly called her to praise her televised sermons. He told her at the time that she had the '"it" factor,' she said. 
White stepped down from her role as pastor of the City of Destiny megachurch in Apopka, Florida in May. She said she wanted to focus on opening a Christian university and planting 3,000 churches around the country.
Now, however, she's planting Trumpism.
'I declare that President Trump will overcome every strategy from hell and every strategy of the enemy,' she prayed aloud at thee June rally, 'and he will fulfill his calling and his destiny.' 
White said 'no weapon' would be able to be 'formed' against the president, and that it was the will of Jesus Christ that Trump was in office and would win again in 2020.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7641289/Donald-Trump-blasts-House-Democrats-says-inquiry-attack-democracy-itself.html

[size=34]'Impeachment is a dirty word!' Donald Trump blasts 'radical' Democrats for their inquiry, says 'poor and pathetic' Beto 'quit like a dog' and calls the Ukrainian President a 'nice guy' he had a 'perfect phone call' with at wild rally[/size]

• Trump addressed supporters on Friday night at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi
  
  
• Marked his first campaign rally since House Democrats voted to formalize impeachment probe 
  
  
• Trump is in Mississippi to support the Republican candidate for governor in Tuesday's election
  
  
• Said that Beto O'Rourke 'quit like a dog,' adding, 'Beto, that poor b*****d — poor, pathetic guy'
  
  
• Returned again and again to the Ukraine controversy and staunchly defended his phone call 
  
  
• Trump dismissed the notion that he needed Ukraine's help to beat 'Sleepy Joe Biden' 
  
  

By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:03 EDT, 1 November 2019 | UPDATED: 22:57 EDT, 1 November 2019

     



President Donald Trump has fired back House Democrats at a raucous campaign rally one day after the vote to formalize impeachment proceedings.
Trump's remarks came at a rally on Friday night at the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi, where he threw his support to the Republican in Tuesday's election for governor there. 
'While we're creating jobs and killing terrorists, the Democrat party has gone completely insane,' Trump said in opening remarks touting Friday's blockbuster jobs report and the death last weekend of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 
'They've been plotting to overthrow the election since I won,' Trump continued. 'They actually spied on my campaign.'

'Now corrupt politicians Nancy Pelosi and 'Shifty' Adam Schiff, and the media are continuing with the deranged impeachment witch hunt,' he said. 'The word impeachment, to me it's a dirty word, not a good word.'
'The American people are fed up with Democrat lies, hoaxes and extremism,' said Trump. The Democrats, he said, 'have created an angry majority that will vote many do-nothing Democrats out of office in 2020.' 
[size=10][size=18]Trump rails against impeachment probe at Mississippi rally




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President Donald Trump arrives at a rally at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi on Friday


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President Donald Trump takes the stage at a rally at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi on Friday


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'The word impeachment, to me it's a dirty word, not a good word,' Trump said at the raucous campaign rally 





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Members of the audience listens as President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo, Mississippi


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U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a campaign rally in Tupelo, Mississippi on Friday


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Trump also slammed Beto O'Rourke, who dropped out of the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination hours earlier
Trump went on to defend his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, which is at the heart of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry. 
'So I made this call, had this wonderful call and the transcript proves it was perfect,' Trump said. 'It was totally appropriate.'
Trump said that Zelensky was a 'good guy' and a 'nice guy and hopefully going to root out corruption because Ukraine has tremendous corruption problems.'
He is accused of abusing his office by withholding military aid to pressure Ukraine into opening a corruption probe against one of his 2020 election rivals, Joe Biden. 
Trump dismissed the notion that he needed Ukraine's help to beat Biden.
'Let's see, I've got a guy named Sleepy Joe Biden, how do I beat this guy?' Trump said sarcastically. 'Gee, I guess there's only one way, let's call up Ukraine for help.' 


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Trump gestures as he speaks during a Keep America Great campaign rally in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Friday


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Trump blasted Democrats and defended his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky


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Children hold up placards as Trump delivers remarks during a Keep America Great campaign rally in Tupelo, Mississippi
Biden, he said, is 'dropping like a rock.'
Trump returned again and again to the Ukraine scandal swirling around him.
'Now I'm an honest person anyway, but do you think when I'm making a call to a newly elected president of a country that I would say something improper when I know so many people are listening on the line?' said Trump.
Trump said Biden's son Hunter received 'a payoff' for his position on a Ukrainian energy company board. And he scoffed that Hunter Biden knows less about energy than a youngster standing near the stage at the rally.
'Experience with energy, he knew less about it than this young — How old are you? Six? This young beautiful person in front. And this young 6 year old is smarter. So I think I'd basically go with her,' Trump said.
Trump called on Republicans to rally around him.
'Make no mistake, they are coming after the Republican Party and me because I´m fighting for you,' he said.


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Trump returned again and again to the Ukraine scandal swirling around him as he addressed the energized crowd


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Trump was in Mississippi to endorse Republican Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, who is seen speaking at the rally


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Members of the audience listens as President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo
People packed into the arena, many after waiting hours to get in. The capacity crowd was reported at 15,000.
The rally in Tupelo was Trump's first since the Democratic-led House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly, but along sharply divided party lines, to put the impeachment probe on a formal track.
That vote Thursday set in motion a likely unstoppable surge toward Trump becoming only the third American president to be impeached.
'The Democrats are crazed, they're lunatics,' Trump told reporters before leaving the White House on the Marine One helicopter. 'You can't impeach a president who has the greatest economy in the history of our nation.' 


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Trump leaves his plane next to Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves as he arrives for a campaign rally in Mississippi


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The president is endorsing Republican Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, who faces Democrat Jim Hood for governor


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Attendees at a Keep America Great Rally in Tupelo, Mississippi recite the Pledge of Allegiance
Trump is visiting Mississippi to try to shore up Republican support ahead of the state's toughest governor's race in nearly a generation, with two established politicians competing for the open seat.
The president is endorsing Republican Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, who faces  Democrat Jim Hood, the state attorney general, in Tuesday's general election.
Trump skipped a pair of Asia summits this weekend in suburban Bangkok in favor of campaigning in Mississippi on Friday night and attending a UFC fight on Saturday in Manhattan.
The president is instead dispatching National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and the East Asia summit.


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Supporters of Donald Trump line up to see the President during a 'Keep America Great' campaign rally on Friday


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Supporters line up outside the arena ahead of the rally. Trump is campaigning in Mississippi ahead of the state's gubernatorial election where Republican candidate Tate Reeves is in a close race with Democrat Jim Hood

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7641627/Anti-cop-protesters-Brooklyn-block-traffic-vandalize-bus-say-Dont-let-pigs-touch-us.html

[size=34]Chaos in Brooklyn as 1,000 anti-cop protesters storm subway stations yelling 'don't let these pigs touch us' after a spate of violent arrests and the city's vow to add even MORE officers to crackdown on anyone not paying the $2.75 fare[/size]

• Nearly 1,000 protesters took to the streets in Brooklyn Friday night to demonstrate NYPD excessive force and fare evasion crack down plans 
  
  
• The demonstrators waved anti-police signs, shouted obscenities, vandalized a bus and cop car, and jumped subway turnstiles 
  
  
• The protest was sparked by two headline-grabbing incidents involving black teens on October 25
  
  
• Protesters also demonstrated against plans to hire more cops to police the transit system for fare evaders 
  
  

By MAXINE SHEN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 01:16 EDT, 2 November 2019 | UPDATED: 07:16 EDT, 2 November 2019

     


Nearly a thousand protesters took to the streets of Brooklyn to demonstrate against the NYPD after a spate of violent arrests on the subway and over its plans to put more officers on the beat to catch anyone who skips paying the fare.  
The protesters started gathering in Downtown Brooklyn near Barclays Center at about 7pm Friday, with their signs reflecting the dual nature of the march. 
While flashier banners bore slogans such as 'Don't let these pigs touch us,' 'F**k the police,' 'Punch that cop' and 'NYPD out of MTA,' other signs read 'Free transit,' 'Poverty is not a crime' and 'Our subways need more $ for elevators, not for cops.' 
Their grievances stem from two issues. One, alleged police brutality against New Yorkers including a group of teenagers who officers were seen fighting with in a recent viral video. 

The other issue is that police have vowed to create 500 additional jobs specifically for officers to monitor the subway network and arrest anyone who jumps the barriers rather than pay the $2.75 fee. 
Over the last month. several videos have emerged of NYPD cops violently arresting subway riders  


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About a thousand protesters gathered in Downtown Brooklyn Friday night to protest recent NYPD actions seen as being use of excessive force and planned crack down on fare evasion


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The protesters started gathering at about 7pm and unfurled signs including this one, referencing a recent subway brawl between officers and teenagers at a Brooklyn station


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Protesters were said to have demonstrated for about two hours before disbanding 

Ryan Knight @ProudResister





[ltr]After a disturbing video was released showing the NYPD brutally punching black teens in a violent subway brawl protestors are chanting: “NYPD how do you spell racist?” #BlackLivesMatter [/ltr]









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8:48 PM - Nov 1, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy

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250 people are talking about this


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A shot of the mass of people who were seen marching in Brooklyn, blocking traffic for hours
The demonstration was said to have been brought on in part by two headline-grabbing incidents involving the NYPD that occurred on October 25 at different Brooklyn subway stations, which drew accusations of excessive force by police
A video of the first incident showed at least 10 police officers storming onto a stopped subway car and tackling an apparently unarmed black man inside, sparking accusations of excessive force.  
The 19-year-old, who had his hands up and was seated at the time of the incident, was thought to have had a gun, but did not. He was later charged with theft of services. 
The second incident involved two groups of teenagers who were said to have been fighting on the platform. In the course of breaking up the fight, a police officer was caught on camera punching two black teens. 
One of the teens was 15-year-old Benjamin Marshall, who was punched in the face. His lawyer said Tuesday that his family intends to file a $5million lawsuit against the officer and the NYPD, according to the New York Daily News. 
Marshall 'was the straw that broke the camel’s back,' one protester told the New York Post Friday. 'I mean, it’s monstrous. My f**king tax dollars are going to this? It doesn’t make sense.' 
Protesters also complained about Gov. Andrew Cuomo's recent decision to add 500 new officers to NYPD's force to patrol the transit system and root out fare evaders.   
[size=18]Brooklyn protest targets NYPD and New York subway




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Protesters were also seen waving signs targeting new plans to add 500 more police officers to the force to police the transit system for fare evaders 


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Police said the protest was not violent and that nobody was arrested, however a bus and a police car were vandalized with anti-police graffiti


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Protesters also made their way underground, some jumping turnstiles, where they would gather in front of barricades and shout at nearby police


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A protester is seen holding a sign as the demonstrators took over a subway platform 


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Protesters reacted to the decision to pay salaries for 500 new police officers who would be on the look out for people who skipped paying the $2.75 subway fare 


Over the course of the two-hour protest, participants blocked traffic, shouted obscenities at nearby officers, jumped the subway turnstile en masse and committed acts of vandalization. 
One group of protesters was seen surrounding a MTA bus, vandalizing it with stickers and writing anti-police graffiti on it, while passengers were aboard, according to the New York Post. 
Passengers told the newspaper that the demonstrators were 'banging on the bus' and that one 'kid with a white mask and a hoodie' used a marker to scrawl graffiti - 'F**k NYPD' and 'NYPD KKK' - on the bus. 
'I’m not gonna lie, it was scary,' a passenger said after getting off the bus.  


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An anti-police sign referencing police excessive force used against people of color


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Protesters seen here marching on Friday night in the middle of the street and holding signs


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A NYPD car was vandalized during the protest. The phrase 'NYPDKKK' is seen on the window


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Protesters held signs related to recent viral videos showing police officers using what was believed to be excessive force while arresting teenage black men, including punching them
[size=18]Explosive brawl between cops and teens in Brooklyn subway station




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Benjamin Marshall, 15 (in white), was seen in viral video being punched in the face by a police officer (left). He was also seen being forced to the ground and arrested






Videos taken during the protest showed people chanting 'Shut this racist system down' on the street, while those inside a subway station were seen standing behind a barricade and shouting 'How do you spell racist? N-Y-P-D' while holding up their middle fingers at police officers standing a few feet away. 
Meanwhile, one woman could be heard yelling 'Hop that s**t!' as dozens of people were seen jumping over subway turnstiles. 
One demonstrator said they were there to protest the city's decision to 'Hire more cops. Beat people up who can't afford to pay the fare' as a response to increasing poverty in the city, NY1 reported.   



The protest coincided with a series of President Trump's tweets, which referenced the fact that New York City 'great police are being disrespected' because the city doesn't 'have their backs'
Police said that the protest was peaceful and that there were no arrests made, however it was noted that at least one police vehicle was vandalized with the words 'NYPD KKK,' according to Pix 11.  
The protest started just as President Trump took to Twitter to condemn his now-former hometown after declaring that he was moving his family to Florida. 
Among his many tweets, Trump wrote: 'NYC is getting dirty & unsafe again, as our great police are being disrespected, even with water dumped on them, because a Mayor and Governor just don’t "have their backs." New York’s Finest must be cherished, respected and loved.'
[size=18]NYPD cops storm subway car and tackle unarmed man to the ground




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Strange there's nothing about this in the news today, at least as far as I can see. Seems like the majority are teenagers having a blast blowing off steam. To be honest, I find it hard to sympathize with a bunch of kids who expect their bad behavior should be ignored. Brawling on the subway platform, fare-beating, vandalism... none of this should be accepted.

Lizzy, I don't know if you saw last week a young man was arrested on a train. Someone reported that he had a gun so ten cops showed up. He was told to put his hands up he did so and they all jumped on him. Now he had no gun he had simply not paid his fare. I think this whole fare beating is the mta and the police's fault. They know this goes on yet have done nothing about it. When I was young there would be police officers in the subway. People will do what they allowed to do the city should have done something a long time ago.

Annemarie - I agree they should have done something a long time ago to stop these kinds of problems on the subways. I, too, remember when there were police officers  in subway stations, on subway platforms and even on subway trains. It didn't occur to us to do some of the things these kids think they should get away with and we didn't have to deal with the random violence that happens so often now.

Apparently several people reported that the young man had a gun. I wonder what the reaction would have been if he did and the police didn't respond.

I was really shocked when I was in NYC to see the lack of cctv cameras, Oyster cards for automated entry (and staff), when a young thing said to me on the day Trump was elected that infrastructure problems like the subway would never be like the UK's (she had just been here) now that Dumpf  was in power. In fact she said NYC was probably going backwards!

Pan we have been going  backwards for years.

[size=34]Smugglers in Mexico are SAWING through sections of Trump's 'virtually impenetrable' border wall using popular power tools that cost less than $100[/size]

•  The Trump's border wall is being breached by smugglers who are sawing through parts of the barrier
  
  
• The smuggling gangs from Mexico are using popular power tools like a reciprocating saw to saw through steel and concrete bollards in just minutes
  
  
• Power tools like a reciprocating saw can cost less than $100 at hardware stores
  
  
• Breaches have reportedly happened in popular smuggling areas like San Diego 
  
  
• Smugglers are reportedly transporting drugs and people through their man-made gaps in the wall 
  
  
• Trump initially called for a concrete wall, but border agents suggested a bollard system instead 
  
  
• In the past, Trump has called designs for his border wall 'virtually impenetrable' 
  
  
• The nearly $10 billion project, paid for with taxpayer money, has completed 76 miles so far 
  
  

By LAUREN EDMONDS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 11:07 EDT, 2 November 2019 | UPDATED: 11:08 EDT, 2 November 2019

     



Smuggling gangs in Mexico have continuously sawed through President Trump’s controversial border wall using every day power tools, according the U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the incidents.
The security breaches, made with a popular cordless reciprocating saw that can sell for less than $100, has been used to open gaps large enough for people and drug loads to filter through.  
When fitted with 'specialized' blades, the tool can break through one of the wall's steel and concrete bollards in just minutes. 
The Washington Post reports that after slicing through a bollard, smugglers will push the steel out of the way, allowing an adult to fit through the opened space. 


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Smuggling gangs from Mexico are bypassing Trump's border wall by sawing through the structure with popular power tools like a reciprocating saw
Kevin Trumble, a materials engineering professor at Purdue University, and Srinivasan Chandrasekar, an industrial engineering professor at Purdue, both said a skilled person with a reciprocating saw could cut through the bollard.

A severed bollard can allegedly be moved out of the way with a simple car jack.
Chandrasekar said: 'You could use another device, like an abrasive saw, that would go even faster, but they create sparks because they operate at a high speed.'
They estimate that it would take an operator between 15 to 20 minutes to cut through the bollard, and even less if the operator is working with a team.  
Smuggling crews have adapted other ways to scale the wall, like building ladders to hop overtop into popular smuggling areas like San Diego. 


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Pictured: a reciprocating saw similar to the one smuggling gangs are using to slice through steel and concrete bollards at the barrier 
Criminal organizations in Mexico, which generate billions of dollars in revenue, have personal motivations to refit their operations to bypass new border obstacles and law enforcement methods. 
Similarly, President Trump has a large incentive to prove this border wall can stop smugglers who've snuck through using simple hardware appliances. 
The border wall was a focal point that Trump used to vitalize his base throughout his presidency. 
Trump's campaign promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, but thus far the almost $10 billion budget has come from taxpayer money from U.S funding sources like the Defense Department. 
He's called the barrier 'virtually impenetrable' and compared it as the 'Rolls-Royce' that people will not be able to pass. 
[size=10][size=18]Trump showcases the completed section of the border wall




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The federal government has not publicly revealed the extent of the border wall's breaches and it is not clear how many incidents have occurred. 
One senior official admitted it was 'a few instances', but the wall had 'significantly increased security and deterrence.'
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reportedly beefed up security at the San Diego and El Centro areas in California.  
Officials maintain that new bollard systems are far better than previous models. 
Ronald Vitiello, the former U.S. Border Patrol chief who was the director of ICE until April, referred to the smuggling crew breaches as 'poking and prodding.'
He said: 'The cartels will continue to innovate, and they’re not just going to leave San Diego because the wall gets better. That’s life on the border.'


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President Trump initially wanted a concrete wall, but Homeland Security officials suggested a bollard system wall because agents could see through to the other side (pictured) 

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Vitiello helped oversee the development of barrier prototypes in 2017 and said the administration could have added better security features if Democrats in Congress had given more funding. 
'The bollards are not the most evolved design; they are the most evolved that we could pay for. We never said they would be an end-all, be-all,' he said. 
Some of the damage happened in areas where construction crews have not completed installing electronic sensors, making those locations more vulnerable. 
Officials says one of the main advantages of utilizing the bollard system - which reaches between 18 to 30 feet - is that damaged pieces can easily be fixed or replaced.  
Unfortunately, smugglers in San Diego have seemed to tap into that line of thinking and are returning severed bollards to their original positions in hopes that it will go unnoticed. 
Ideally, those cut bollards could be reused for smuggling. 


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Trump's (pictured) campaign promised that Mexico would pay for the border wall, but the nearly $10 billion project is being funded by taxpayer money 
Agents say they now drive along the base of the wall and look for small defects, testing the structure by kicking the bollards with their boots. 
If any damage is detected, welders are sent out to seal the damage before smugglers return. 
However, smugglers have learned to cut through the welds because the metal is softer and the bollard has already been compromised. 
They have also attempted to fool agents by using a a type of putty resembling the weld to make the bollard appear untouched. 
Additionally, smuggling gangs have relied on makeshift ladders to breach the border wall, risking injury or death if they fall.
The tallest barriers are around the height of a three-story building. 


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In the past, President Trump (pictured) called his border wall design 'virtually impenetrable' and compared it to a 'Rolls-Royce' 
Some of the smugglers reportedly use lightweight ladders made of metal rebar to detour the 'anti-climb panels' at the barrier's top. 
These rebar ladders are ideal because the metal rods are cheap and slim enough to fit between the four-inch-wide gaps between bollards, allowing smugglers to use it for the secondary row of fencing. 
Trump originally requested a concrete wall be set in place, but Homeland Security officials suggested using the bollard system because it  allowed agents to see through to the other side. 
CBP officials have repeatedly said that no single structure can block the border on its own. 
Instead, they pushed for a 'border wall system' that combines surveillance technology, physical barrier and agents to intercept border-crossers.
Chris Harris, a retired Border Patrol agent in San Diego, said: 'There’s no one silver bullet, and we’ve done our best to try to explain that. You’re always going to have to have boots on the ground. That’s why there are armed police officers at Fort Knox.' 
Agents say that smugglers have more difficulties cutting through newer versions of the barrier and that the open gap only allows one person, rather than a large group, to pass at a time. 


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The border wall (pictured) is still under construction with 76 miles completed and 450 scheduled to be finished by the end of next year 
Now, as CBP is adding double-layer barriers in high breach areas, smugglers are targeting areas where the first and secondary walls are closest. 
One crew will saw through a bollard while another crew will keep lookout for U.S. agents in case they need to escape back into Mexico. 
Once the agents leave, they can resume again.  
'What happens any time some barrier is thrown up in front of a business is they adapt, and that’s all they’re trying to do,' Joshua Holmes, a Border Patrol agent in San Diego said.  
In 2017, the Trump administration commissioned a set of border wall prototypes that were tested for a variety of breaches, including reciprocating saws.
At the time, border agents determined the bollards could not be cut without using 'multiple power tools.' 
[size=18]Trump touts new 'faster, less expensive' border wall construction




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KPBS obtained redacted copies of test results using the Freedom of Information Act and found that all the designs evaluated in 2017 were vulnerable to breaching. 
The current version of the barrier is installing six-inch diameter square bollards with a three-sixteenths inch steel exterior and a core of 5,000 pound concrete that is paired with metal rebar rods. 
So far, the Trump administration has completed 76 miles of the wall in places similar to San Diego where older versions have been replaced. 
CBP says that 158 miles of barrier is currently under construction and 276 miles are in the 'preconstruction' phase. 
450 miles of the barrier is expected to be completed by the end of next year. 
The Washington Post reports that only 2 percent of the barrier planned for the barrier wall in Texas, where 166 miles of barrier is expected to go, has been completed. 
That barrier is on private land and the federal government has yet to acquire it. 
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7640077/Pelosi-expects-Trump-impeachment-hearings-Nov-Bloomberg-interview.html

[size=34]'What works in San Francisco does not necessarily work in Michigan': Nancy Pelosi warns 2020 Dems that they must think country-wide in campaign promises  if they are to beat Trump[/size]

• Speaker says 'I would assume' there will be a televised hearing this month
  
  
• Prediction comes day after House divided along partisan lines to vote through next stage of impeachment inquiry
  
  
• Pelosi also told Bloomberg she wanted the case against Donald Trump to be 'ironclad'; president tweeted loyalists' support including calling it a 'scam'
  
  
• First witness could be Purple Heart Army officer Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman 
  
  
• He testified that he heard Trump's call to Ukraine's president and registered 'concerns' with the National Security Council's top attorney
  
  
• Vindman's identical twin, Lt. Col. Eugene Vindman, is a National Security Council attorney and may be called to give evidence too 
  
  

By REUTERS and CHRIS DYER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and EMILY GOODIN, U.S. POLITCAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 12:23 EDT, 1 November 2019 | UPDATED: 13:11 EDT, 2 November 2019

     


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday that she is concerned Democratic candidates' liberal ideas which prove a winner in one part of the country do not work in another and could cost them the election.
She said that proposals such as Medicare for All, pushed by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and a wealth tax, often get support from liberal areas like her district in San Francisco but are not supported in Midwestern states that voted Republican Donald Trump into the White House in 2016. 
'What works in San Francisco does not necessarily work in Michigan,' Pelosi said at a roundtable with Bloomberg News. 
'What works in Michigan works in San Francisco — talking about workers' rights and sharing prosperity.

'Remember November. You must win the Electoral College.'
She also said she expected public hearings in the impeachment inquiry of Trump to begin this month.
'I would assume there would be public hearing in November,' the top House Democrat said in an interview with Bloomberg. Any case that is made to impeach the president, she said, 'has to be ironclad.'


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Nancy Pelosi told Bloomberg the closed-door depositions of witnesses will continue as long as they are 'productive.'


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Vindman is the latest in a line of subpoenaed witnesses who House Democrats hope will provide incriminating evidence against the president
In the first formal test of support for the impeachment investigation, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday voted almost entirely along party lines - 232 to 196 - to move the probe forward in Congress.
Pelosi launched the inquiry into Trump's attempt to have Ukraine investigate a domestic political rival in September. The probe focuses on a July 25 telephone call in which Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president, and his son Hunter.
Current and former Trump administration officials have testified behind closed doors that the White House went outside normal diplomatic channels to pressure Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate the Bidens.
Trump tweeted a series of loyalists' support for him Friday morning. 
Pelosi told Bloomberg the closed-door depositions of witnesses will continue as long as they are 'productive.' 
The Speaker's prediction of televised hearings this month came after she said 'no one is above the law' in her first interview since the House voted to move into the next phase of the impeachment inquiry.
Pelosi appeared on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show Thursday night to answer questions on the Democrat moves to remove President Trump from the White House.
Earlier Congress passed an impeachment resolution by 232 to 196, which went along party lines, to formally investigate Trump's alleged threat to withhold military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country's president to investigate a political rival. 
Pelosi said President Trump 'jeopardized the integrity of our elections' and national security 'to the benefit of the Russian' during a July phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he is accused of offering a 'quid pro quo' so that authorities in Ukraine would investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
One of the first public witnesses may be Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Purple Heart officer who sits on the National Security Council and who is reported to have expressed willingness to testify publicly.
Vindman, in his closed-door testimony to lawmakers, shared his concerns about Trump's July 25 phone call with the president of the Ukraine, saying he did not think it was 'proper' to ask a foreign leader to investigate a U.S. citizen.
His identical twin, Army Lt. Col. Eugene Vindman, also works for the National Security Council as a lawyer handling ethic issues and witnessed the decision to move the call's transcript to a top secret server, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Officials on the House committees conducting the impeachment probe have contacted Lt. Col. Eugene Vindman's lawyer, although no decision has been made about his testifying.  
Alexander told lawmakers he brought his brother in as a witness to his conversation with NSC general counsel John Eisenberg.
After he relayed his concerns, Eisenberg and his deputy Michael Ellis discussed what to do with the call transcript given its 'sensitive nature.' 
Eisenberg suggested storing it on the top secret server, the Journal reported.
Eisenberg and Ellis - a former Jeopardy! contestant - are now part of the impeachment probe's focus.
In September, the White House admitted it moved the transcript of the call to a more secure server after the transfer was flagged in a whistle-blower's report on the conversation. 
But the president's administration blamed the move on lawyers from the National Security Council.




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My side: Donald Trump tweeted the support of a series of loyalists Friday morning, including conservative radio hosts Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh
'NSC lawyers directed that the classified document be handled appropriately,' a senior White House official told CNN.
But the admission didn't address two questions surrounding the move: why was the call transferred to a more secure server and have transcripts of calls Trump's had with other world leaders received similar treatment?  
Transcripts, readouts and memos on the president's calls with his counter parts are stored on classified computer system.
But the whistle-blower's complaint on the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky claimed the information on that call was transferred to an even more restrictive system designed to protect sensitive government secrets.
The complaint details how the contents of the call were stored – saying senior White House officials intervened to 'lock down' all records related to the call, including the transcript, which the White House has released.
The contents of the call were put on a computer system managed directly by the National Security Council (NSC) Directorate for Intelligence Programs.
It is a 'standalone' computer system 'reserved for codeword-level intelligence information, such as cover action,' according to the whistle-blower. Codeword intelligence is the highest classification level.
The whistle-blower's complaint led to the formal impeachment inquiry into Trump.  
Vindman, in his testimony this week, told lawmakers he was on the phone call with Trump and Zelensky and 'did not think it was proper' - potentially a huge boost to the Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
He also noted he made hand-written minor revisions on a hard copy of the transcript but noticed those were not included in the transcript of the call the White House released. There have been reports the transcript is incomplete. 
Vindman was awarded a Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq and arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning in uniform with his medal visible.
The White House him not to testify, prompting the House Intelligence Committee to issue a subpoena directing him to give evidence. 


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Alexander and Eugene Vindman twins were in a meeting with NSC General Counsel John Eisenberg about Trump's call with the president of the Ukraine


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I'll take impeachment inquiry for an unknown amount Alex: Michael Ellis is now a senior White House attorney but in 2013 appeared on Jeopardy! and took home $18,401
Trump took to Twitter to attack Lt. Col. Vindman the morning of his testimony, calling him an unimportant figure who never crossed paths with him.
'Why are people that I never even heard of testifying about the call. Just READ THE CALL TRANSCRIPT AND THE IMPEACHMENT HOAX IS OVER! Ukrain [sic] said NO PRESSURE,' Trump tweeted. 
In his opening statement, Vindman claimed the National Security Council proposed that Trump call President Zelensky to congratulate him after his party won parliamentary elections. 
He explained: 'On July 25, 2019, the call occurred. I listened in on the call in the Situation Room with colleagues from the NSC and the office of the Vice President. 
'As the transcript is in the public record, we are all aware of what was said. I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government's support of Ukraine.
'I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.'
Burisma Holdings is the Ukrainian energy company where Biden's son Hunter held a board seat while his father was vice president.   
'I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.  
Vindman claimed: 'This would all undermine U.S. national security. Following the call, I again reported my concerns to NSC's lead counsel.' 
Vindman served multiple overseas tours, including South Korea and Germany, and was deployed to Iraq for combat operations. He was wounded in an IED attack and was subsequently awarded a Purple Heart. 
He served in United States' embassies in Kiev, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia. In Washington, D.C., he was a politico-military affairs officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before his appointment to the NSC. 
In his statement he adds: 'I have a deep appreciation for American values and ideals and the power of freedom. I am a patriot, and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend OUR country, irrespective of party or politics.' 
Vindman is due to tell the committee that he is not the whistle-blower who brought the issue to the CIA and the Committees' attention. He also claimed he never had direct contact or communications with the President. 
'I did convey certain concerns internally to National Security officials in accordance with my decades of experience and training, sense of duty, and obligation to operate within the chain of command.
'As an active duty military officer, the command structure is extremely important to me.' Vindman said there was another incident which he thought was improper and he reported it to the National Security Council's lead counsel.
He claimed that on July 10, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council for Ukraine, visited Washington, D.C. for a meeting with National Security Advisor John Bolton.
He said that Gordon Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, and Kurt Volker, who resigned as U.S. special envoy to Ukraine earlier this month, were also in attendance.


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The Trump campaign has alleged that Biden quashed a Ukrainian investigation into Burisma, where Biden's son Hunter served on the board from 2014 until earlier this year, using the threat of withholding U.S. foreign aid. Biden is pictured with son Hunter in 2010 


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Vindman claimed that he reported an incident involving Gordon D. Sondland, United States ambassador to the European Union, to the National Security Council's lead counsel. He claimed Sondman emphasized the importance that Ukraine deliver the investigations into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma at a debriefing which he claimed was 'inappropriate'


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On April 21, 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was elected President of Ukraine in a landslide victory 


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Alexander Vindman, raised concerns about comments made by Gordon Sondland when Oleksandr Danylyuk, (left),  the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council for Ukraine, visited Washington D.C. in July. Former U.S. special envoy to the Ukraine Kurt Volker, (right), had also attended the meeting
[size=18]President Trump goes on rant about impeachment during cabinet meeting




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In his testimony he claimed the Ukrainians saw this meeting as critically important in order to solidify the support of their most important international partner. 
'Amb. Sondland started to speak about Ukraine delivering specific investigations in order to secure the meeting with the President, at which time Ambassador Bolton cut the meeting short.
'Following this meeting, there was a scheduled debriefing during which Amb. Sondland emphasized the importance that Ukraine deliver the investigations into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma.
'I stated to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate, that the request to investigate Biden and his son had nothing to do with national security, and that such investigations were not something the NSC was going to get involved in or push. 
'Dr. Hill then entered the room and asserted to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate.'