Ahead of this week's subpoenas and depositions, new documents obtained by Axios show how Democrats are taking the impeachment inquiry in two tightly focused directions: Ukraine and obstruction of justice.
Why it matters: There are new temptations for Democrats to broaden the scope of their inquiry after developments last week including President Trump's gift to Turkey, new questions about coordination with the Chinese over Hunter Biden, and the dramatic airport arrests of two of Rudy Giuliani's associates with Eastern European backgrounds and their indictments on campaign finance violations.
President Trump's allies still fear a general election matchup against a banged-up Joe Biden more than a run against an invigorated Elizabeth Warren, people close to the president tell Axios.
Driving the news: Warren has surpassed Biden in some primary polls, seemingly helped by the early coverage of Trump's efforts to get Ukraine to investigate conspiracy theories involving Biden and his son Hunter. And a Fox News poll now shows Biden and Warren each would lead Trump, 50% to 40%.
On CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Mayor Pete Buttigieg pushed back on fellow 2020 candidate Beto O'Rourke's proposal to strip religious institutions of their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage, arguing that it would just "deepen the divisions that we're already experiencing."
As the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump barrels on full speed ahead, at least 7 of the 235 Democrats in the House are continuing to hold out or openly criticize their party for pursuing impeachment, according to NBC News.
The big picture: All 7 holdouts represent districts that Trump won in the 2016 presidential election, and most are freshmen lawmakers elected in the 2018 midterms. They consider their seats vulnerable and fear that impeachment will cost their party its House majority in the 2020 elections, despite polls showing that public support for impeaching Trump is rising.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on CBS’ "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine may not need testimony from the whistleblower who filed the complaint that set off the impeachment inquiry.
Why it matters: Schiff said that asking for a testimony could unnecessarily harm the whistleblower by exposing their identity, especially with Trump accusing the official of partisanship and repeatedly calling for them to be unmasked.
As Congress returns from break this week, at least 2 witnesses plan revealing testimonies in off-camera depositions for House investigators.
Driving the news: On Monday, Fiona Hill, former senior director for Europe and Russia on President Trump's National Security Council, plans to testify that Rudy Giuliani and EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland circumvented normal process "to pursue a shadow policy on Ukraine," NBC News reports.
Asked whether it's appropriate for President Trump to suggest China investigate the Biden family, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told CBS' Margaret Brennan:"Of course not. Elections in the U.S. should be decided by Americans, and it's not the business of foreign countries, any foreign countries, to be interfering in our elections."
In an interview with ABC' "This Week" Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed back on the idea that he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are interchangeable candidates within the 2020 Democratic field, arguing that Warren is a "capitalist through her bones" and he is a democratic socialist.
This morning, Axios goes back and puts in order for you the most important things we have learned about President Trump and Ukraine.
Why it matters: There’s just so much new each day. Some consequential revelations get overlooked; some ephemeral developments get overblown.Even people who follow it all fairly diligently can get wildly confused.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that “all transcripts” of depositions related to the impeachment inquiry into President Trump "will eventually be scrubbed for classified information and made available for the American public to see."
Why it matters: Some have criticized House Democrats investigating Trump and Ukraine for conducting all witness depositions behind closed doors and selectively leaking certain excerpts to the media. Himes explained that the depositions are private because witnesses may discuss classified information and also because it's important to prevent Trump allies who are being questioned from coordinating their testimonies.
Hunter Biden, son of the former vice president and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden, will be leaving the board of BHR Equity Investment — a private equity fund backed by Chinese state-owned entities — at the end of the month, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: The younger Biden is leaving the board amid unsubstantiated allegations by President Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani that he made millions of dollars from BHR Equity Investment while his father was in office. Trump has suggested that China should investigate Hunter, setting off claims by Democrats that the president is soliciting foreign election interference.
President Trump told the Value Voters Summit in Washington, D.C., an annual conference of Christian conservatives, that he feels like he's on an "island of one" over his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria. But he said the U.S. has to "bring our great heroes" home.
Why it matters: Trump has faced criticism from some Republicans and religious conservatives concerned that he's "left Kurdish Christians open to Turkey’s military offensive," per the Washington Post. Turkey launched a military offensive soon after the president announced the withdrawal.
Former Defense Secretary James Mattis addressed during an interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press" to air Sunday President Trump's decision to pull troops out of northern Syria, warning "ISIS will resurge."
Secretary of State Pompeo, the intelligence services, the foreign countries that are working with us have it about right that ISIS is not defeated. We have got to keep the pressure on ISIS so they don't recover."
