@mkraju
According to David Holmes’s opening statement obtained by
@mkraju
and
@jeremyherb
, Holmes could hear Sondland tell Trump on the phone that President Zelensky “loves your ass.”
Trump responded “So, he’s gonna do the investigation?”
“Sondland; “He’s gonna do it."
Three sources confirm to CNN that Kurt Volker has resigned from his State Department post. First broken by the State Press, Arizona State University’s school paper:
NEW: A growing number of Republican leaders are telling CNN Trump must be removed from office before Jan. 20.
"He has to be impeached and removed," said one current Republican elected official.
From
@jamiegangel
and me.
After Elizabeth Warren told an activist last night that her kids "went to public schools," campaign admits Warren sent her son to a private school after the 5th grade.
On CNN just now
@MarkSanford
, considering a primary challenge to
@RealDonaldTrump
, tells
@jaketapper
he hears from people on the ground “a level of weariness with the bully in the schoolyard routine."
My five-year-old just walked into my room, said that there are "only two pieces of coronavirus left" and that it's "almost over," and then turned around and left.
New from me and
@jamiegangel
on Liz Cheney's latest comments, in a behind-the scenes interview with Paul Ryan at the AEI retreat today:
"We can't embrace the notion the election is stolen. It's a poison in the bloodstream of our democracy."
Speaking to CNN from what he said was his room at the Trump International in DC Thursday morning, Giuliani claimed he has a “nice little trail” of text messages between him and Karl Volker, the top US diplomat to Ukraine, showing Volker encouraging him.
Exclusive: Giuliani pushed State Dept. and White House to grant a visa to a former Ukrainian official promising dirt on Democrats.
Reporting from
@mkraju
,
@kylieatwood
,
@FoxReports
@jeremyherb
and me.
Notable call from National Review for Republican senators to buck the president on the national emergency declaration. “If anyone shouldn’t be okay with this, it’s Congress."
During a break about an hour ago, Mike Braun and Mitt Romney were talking on the Senate floor.
Braun: “I think we’ve got another 6 hours.”
Romney: “Oh jeez. No one’s watching!”
Tim Scott later said something to Romney, to which Romney responded, “I’m dying, I’m dying!"
Said farewell to what until yesterday was the
@weeklystandard
office. I owe my career, such that it is, to Fred Barnes, Bill Kristol, Terry Eastland, and Phil Anschutz, who hired me right out of school to do my dream job.
The
@weeklystandard
editors, on the Cohen filings. "The documents are, even for those skeptical of the left’s 'collusion' narrative, deeply incriminating."
By declaring a national emergency, Trump would likely trigger a series of events that would make things extremely difficult for Senate Republicans—which is why they’ve been trying to discourage him any way they can.
Education staffers are telling people it was a "week from hell" after DeVos was pilloried for defending proposed cuts to the Special Olympics they had internally opposed--only to have Trump reverse it and claim credit.
A guy sitting at the bar here in Milford NH takes off his coat as soon as Chris Sununu introduces Nikki Haley to reveal a “Never Nikki” shirt. He also pulls out a Trump hat. He ate at the bar but was taken out of the restaurant.
"That's a decision that the Justice Department is going to have to make," said Liz Cheney. "There are ongoing criminal investigations, and those will play out."
After Donald Trump said “nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11” the day before his NJ golf club hosts the Saudi-backed LIV tour, 9/11 families activist Terry Strada tells
@jaketapper
Trump “knows full well it was the Kingdom.”
A look from
@jamiegangel
and me at the behind-the-scenes lobbying effort by influential Republicans to get GOP senators to vote to convict Trump.
There's even a 9-point memo circulating among Republicans in DC.
It's long been an odd union between Trump and his vice president. Now the Ukraine mess is causing anxiety in Pence world. With reporting from
@PamelaBrownCNN
,
@Acosta
, and me.
If elected, Bernie Sanders would be the first president since Rutherford Hayes whose name ends in the letter “s.” We will need to determine, once and for all, whether the possessive form will be Sanders’s or Sanders’. (The correct answer is the former, fight me.)
CNN has learned that multiple GOP senators and donors are asking NRSC chair Rick Scott about why his political consultants are also working with Sean Parnell in the PA Senate primary, according to 3 Republicans with knowledge.
Story w/
@SaraMurray
Rand Paul's recent embrace of Trump seems to have paid off for him. Senate sources tell me today's decision is in large part thanks to Paul's lobbying of the president.
But the State Department has downplayed the idea that State directed Giuliani to speak with Yermak, only acknowledging that Volker put the two men in touch.
Republican Voters Against Trump is launching a $2 million ad buy in Arizona and North Carolina as Trump and Biden campaigns up their own ad spending in several red states Trump won in 2016.
New with
@DavidWright_7
:
Not only did Ian Holm play Bilbo in the Peter Jackson LOTR films, he played Frodo in the excellent BBC radio adaptation from the early 80s. With Bill Nighy as Samwise! RIP.
Bill Kristol is an honorable man of integrity. You, on the other hand, act uncharitably toward those you disagree with and distort the truth about them. I'm proud to be associated with Bill and the Weekly Standard. I'd be ashamed to be associated with you.
I asked
@GlennYoungkin
three times this afternoon if he thinks something like Texas's 6-week abortion ban should be the law of Virginia. Each time he criticized
@TerryMcAuliffe
's position on abortion as extreme but didn't answer the question.
2 years ago today, the Weekly Standard ended. It was a lively magazine that was so much fun to read. The Standard had a distinct voice, fostered strong writing and was a great place for a young reporter to learn about Washington journalism.
Talked to
@CornelWest
outside the United Center a few minutes ago. He said he’s not dropping out and not endorsing Harris. Asked about RFK Jr’s apparent plans to drop out, West said: “That brother, he’s going through some conniptions.”
Trump wouldn’t say Friday whether Rudy Giuliani is still his personal attorney when pressed by
@PamelaBrownCNN
“Well I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to Rudy. I spoke to him yesterday briefly. He’s a very good attorney and he has been my attorney, yeah, sure”
A little new reporting on the Pence-Cheney exchange: the criticism from Cheney shocked and thrilled much of the crowd. The exchange became the talk of the conference, especially among the Trump-skeptical donors and scholars.
More from Cheney: "We can't whitewash what happened on January 6 or perpetuate Trump's big lie. It is a threat to democracy. What he did on January 6 is a line that cannot be crossed."
A cold war is underway within the Republican Party as its members begin to navigate how former President Donald Trump and his legacy fit into the GOP's future.
But also making the rounds with Republicans is the set of talking points, which charges that "it is difficult to find a more anti-conservative outburst by a U.S. president than Donald Trump the last two months."
Over the course of multiple interviews Thursday, Giuliani complained the whistleblower was treated better than him, a guy looking for dirt on Biden.
"I should be as sympathetic as a whistleblower. I did my job and now all these people are torturing me.”
"Put it this way, I am very glad my boss isn't on the ballot this cycle."
New from
@ryanobles
and me on the new concern Republican operatives have for Trump's reelection -- and retaining the Senate majority.
News: Rudy Giuliani tells me some of the documents in the State IG’s briefing to Congress originated with him. He says he “routed” them in late March. Giuliani adds that Pompeo told him he’d be referring the contents for investigation.
When asked if he was concerned about being subpoenaed by the House, Giuliani laughed.
"I consider them a joke. A sad joke. They have no legitimacy. I would think of challenging their subpoena on the grounds that they're not a legitimate committee.”
One of the highest-ranking former Trump administration officials to endorse Biden, Miles Taylor, was chief of staff to DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
With
@JDiamond1
and
@jaketapper
After the session started again, a page brought Joni Ernst a glass of milk, prompting laughter from Martha McSally and Josh Hawley, who were next to her.
Ernst looked up at this reporter in the gallery, held up her glass and gave a thumbs up before taking a sip.
#milkwatch2020
The
@weeklystandard
is a writer's magazine—not just a place for writers to flourish relatively freely, but a place where editors appreciate, foster, and partner with writers. A truly blessed and wonderful place to work.
Notable comment from
@Mike_Pence
tonight at conservative youth conference in Houston.
“I want to encourage anyone here who hasn’t gotten the shot who’s eligible to go get it. And if you’re not sure about it, go ask your doctor and get the very best advice that you can.”
Why is it that Rogue One, which I'm rewatching now, captures the feel of the original Star Wars trilogy better than any of the other movies? What went right in the production process that didn't in the other ones?
A crowd in Richmond waiting for
@NikkiHaley
event, beginning momentarily. Haley will also be in Tysons Corner in NoVa tonight. Virginia is a Super Tuesday state.
After 2020 and the fallout from Brad Raffensperger's public feud with Donald Trump, Republicans in Georgia told me Raffensperger had no shot to being renominated in 2022.
Tonight, he's currently on top and hovering just above 50%.
Trump's ACTUAL quote was "Milwaukee has certainly had its share of visitors. The French missionaries and explorers were going there as early as the late 1600s to trade with the Native Americans. Actually, it's pronounced 'milly-wah-kay,' which is Algonquin for 'the good land.'"
You can watch it on CNN right now,
@Mike_Pence
is defending his role on Jan. 6 2021.
Just now: "I heard this week that President Trump said I had the right to overturn the election. President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election."
It’s the eve of the impeachment trial, but Mitch McConnell’s not losing sleep over procedural questions. His main concern, and I cannot stress this enough, is keeping the majority in 2020.
New from me on the efforts to keep the Senate Republican:
@weeklystandard
I owe Steve Hayes for his leadership and his mentorship. I owe Richard Starr for giving me a shot and supporting me. I owe so many at the Standard for great friendships, including godparents for my two sons. I owe this magazine as a reader and as an employee. I miss it already.
!!
"Mr. Trump is at even greater risk in the next-largest red state in the South: Georgia. In the latest Republican polling, Mr. Trump has fallen several points behind Mr. Biden in the state..."
!!
A year ago today, the Weekly Standard ended. There was no other magazine like it. I miss it as much as a reader as I do as an employee.
All great things must end, but we still have the memories and (in my basement) the print archives!
New from me: Republicans across the country are looking to Georgia's newly reelected Gov.
@BrianKempGA
for inspiration on how to take on Donald Trump and win.
“If you don't take the bait, you've got a pretty good chance of winning."
REP. BUCK tells me : "I have not signed the letter. I'm not going to sign the letter. I am not in favor of electing Jim Jordan speaker."
He said it was a "misunderstanding" because he "helped draft a letter during the last speaker vote."
A tense moment in a closed-door meeting between House Republicans and a US Chamber lobbyist. Departures of some important Chamber people, including its top tax lobbyist just last week.
Read
@mkraju
,
@arogDC
and me on the GOP/business community break-up.
The contact tracing effort from the White House is pretty lackadaisical. Rudy Giuliani, who tested negative, informed the few people he says he came in contact with they could be exposed. No one at the White House told him to report back.
First elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1986, reelected in 1992, and then switched parties the day after the 1994 midterm elections, when Republicans won a narrow Senate majority.
GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, who is 86: “Today I announce that I will not seek a seventh term in the United State Senate in 2022. For everything, there is a season.”
As Trump readies summer rallies and speeches, allies worry he's stuck in the past
New reporting from
@GabbyOrr_
,
@DanaBashCNN
, and me on Trump’s fixation on relitigating 2020 as he kicks off a busy summer of public appearances.
“Mr. Trump, who does not enjoy extensive travel, agreed to the West Coast swing if he could stay at his hotel in Las Vegas, people familiar with the planning said.”
I wrote two weeks ago about how the trade war threatens the economy in the heart of Trump Country, the American South, where lots of car manufacturing is done.
Nikki Haley: “Many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace Trump, privately dread him. They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be…
I feel no need to kiss the ring. I have no fear of Trump's retribution. I'm not looking for anything from him.”