Call records included in an impeachment report released by House Democrats Tuesday show that House Intelligence Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) had a number of contacts in April with Rudy Giuliani and Lev Parnas, an associate of Giuliani's who has since been indicted for campaign finance violations.
Why it matters: The call records constitute some of the only new revelations from the report, which mostly relies on witness testimony that has been released to the public.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, her campaign confirmed to Axios on Tuesday.
"I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life. My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue. I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete."
President Trump said in a press conference on Tuesday that he would like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and "many other people" to testify in a Senate trial if the House votes to approve articles of impeachment.
President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron papered over the cracks in their relationship in a press conference Tuesday in London, but disagreed sharply over Turkey’s role in the NATO alliance.
Why it matters: Macron made waves ahead of this week’s NATO gathering by describing the alliance as unmoored and "brain dead" as a result of the U.S. pulling back and Turkey going rogue — comments Trump described Tuesday morning as “very insulting.” Trump has been agitated with Macron for weeks, Axios’ Jonathan Swan reports.
Polls in key 2020 states show that support for impeaching President Trump is lower than in national impeachment polls, according to an analysis by the Washington Post.
Why it matters: The polls signal that pursuing impeachment could potentially hurt Democrats in states they need to carry to defeat Trump in his bid for a second term.
Ukraine's former deputy foreign minister Olena Zerkal told the New York Times in an interview that Ukraine's government was aware of the Trump administration's decision to freeze military aid in July.
Why it matters: Zerkal’s account is the first acknowledgment from a Ukrainian official that the government knew Trump was withholding security assistance as early as July, supporting a similar revelation from Pentagon official Laura Cooper's public testimony last month.
The Republican baseis fired up by impeachment: It’s driving fundraising to pro-Trump groups, which pump that money back into ads to get the base even more fired up.
Why it matters: The cycle keeps spinning, generating more and more heat. That’s why they’re locked in, unified, defending Trump.
In a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in London on Tuesday, President Trump shot back at Emmanuel Macron for his recent criticism of the alliance, calling the French president's comments "very insulting" and "nasty."
Democratic candidates have spent the last few weeks hosting intimate conversations with black men — mostly in South Carolina — tapping into how these voters think and feel about the 2020 election.
Why it matters: Black voter turnout declined in 2016 for the first time in 20 years. And 13% of black male voters supported Donald Trump — over three times the rate of black women who did the same.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told MSNBC's '"The Rachel Maddow Show" the panel will release the panel's impeachment inquiry report to the public Tuesday. But he added, "That's not the end of our investigation."
What he's saying: "Tomorrow night we'll also have a vote to formally transmit the committee report to Judiciary," he told host Rachel Maddow. He added that "even while Judiciary does its work," his committee would be "continuing to issue subpoenas; we're continuing to learn new information."
Attorney General Bill Barr opposes a finding in the Department of Justice inspector general's Russia probe report that the FBI had enough information in 2016 to begin investigating Trump campaign members, the Washington Post reported Monday.
Why it matters: DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz is due to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Dec. 11 on his highly anticipated report on alleged abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the Russia investigation.
President Trump committed “no quid pro quo, bribery, extortion, or abuse of power,” Republicans on the House committees investigating the Ukraine controversy have concluded in a 110-page report reviewed by Axios ahead of its formal release.
Why it matters: The report provides the basis for Republicans' rejection of Democrats' anticipated articles of impeachment against the president for the remainder of the House proceedings.
