The counsel for Vice President Mike Pence sent a letter to the chairmen of the House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine on Tuesday informing them that he will not cooperate with a request for documents in their "self-proclaimed" impeachment inquiry.
Why it matters: This is in line with the White House's current stance of blanket noncooperation, which has prompted the House chairmen conducting the investigation to warn that defiance could be used as evidence of obstruction in a future article of impeachment. Some have speculated that Speaker Nancy Pelosi could call the White House's bluff and announce a full House vote authorizing the impeachment inquiry, daring the administration to continue to defy subpoenas and document requests.
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Mayor Pete Buttigieg has gone from playing the adult in the room to starting the food fight, calling out Beto O'Rourke, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders by name this week.
Why it matters: Conversations with various campaign aides suggest he won't be the only one throwing punches tonight at the fourth Democratic debate here.
The House unanimously passed a bill by voice vote on Tuesday condemning Chinese interference in Hong Kong's affairs and supporting the rights of pro-democracy protestors to demonstrate.
Why it matters: It's a bipartisan rebuke of China at a time when both the Trump administration and private businesses — namely, the NBA — are grappling with how to address Beijing's human rights abuses while also maintaining a positive economic relationship.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) raised $3.29 million last quarter, the most raised by a candidate in one quarter in South Carolina’s history and the highest total of any Republican Senate candidate in Q3, his campaign said Tuesday.
The big picture: A Democrat hasn't won a statewide South Carolina race in 13 years, per the New York Times, and Graham's 2020 challenger is seen by some as a long shot. Aside from being a leading critic of Trump's decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, Graham is one of the president's most loyaldefenders, a fact that Democrats hope to use to their advantage, per the Times.
Elizabeth Warren's 2020 campaign will no longer accept contributions that exceed $200 from Big Tech and financial executives in an effort to keep big money out of politics, she announced Tuesday in a Medium post.
The big picture: Warren's decision has sparked debate in some Democratic circles about whether the party's presidential nominee can take on President Trump with funding sourced primarily from small, grassroots contributors.
2020 candidate Beto O'Rourke told Politico that he "cannot fathom" a situation where he would run for public office again if he doesn't win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Why it matters: O'Rourke has long faced pressure from Democratic activists to abandon his low-polling presidential bid — which has seen diminishing fundraising in 2019 — and run for Senate in his home state of Texas. It's worth noting that he similarly ruled out a presidential bid last year, unequivocally telling CBS' "60 Minutes" that he wouldn't be in the 2020 race.
Hunter Biden defended his work in Ukraine during an interview with ABC News that aired Tuesday, but admitted that he probably would not have been named a board member of natural gas company Burisma Holdings in 2014 had his father not been serving as vice president.
The Turkish lira fell to a nearly 5-month low Monday, again pushing toward the psychologically important level of 6 per dollar, as President Trump pushed forward with sanctions against Turkey, increased previously imposed steel tariffs and threatened further penalties.
The state of play: The lira has been the world's weakest major currency so far this month, Reuters reported, having fallen 5% in just 2 weeks. That dip comes at the same time a gauge of broader emerging market currencies has risen more than 1% against the greenback.
Demand Justice, a liberal judicial group, will release a list of 32 suggested Supreme Court nominees for any future Democratic president in an attempt to persuade the 2020 Democratic candidates to do the same, reports the Washington Post.
The big picture: Demand Justice's plan is meant to mimic President Trump’s 2016 release of his list of potential Supreme Court picks to relieve voters who were skeptical about his conservative credentials.
The White House is tense — and some aides are frantic — as Democrats on Capitol Hill tap a gusher of revelations that paint an increasingly vivid portrait of President Trump's unrestrained conduct of foreign policy.
Why it matters: Democrats are moving fast.Letters to potential witnesses reveal the breadth and speed at which the inquiry is unfolding, a stark contrast to the Mueller report which stretched over nearly two years.
The White House tried to limit the testimony of President Trump's former Russia adviser Fiona Hill, which lasted for 10 hours on Monday, lettersobtained by Axios' Margaret Talev show. However, it did not try to block her.
The big picture: Hill received a subpoena from the Democratic-led committees leading the impeachment inquiry. Her lawyer tweeted Monday night that she "cooperated fully with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle" in the House's Ukraine investigation.
