The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court accused the FBI Tuesday of misleading it in its applications for the surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, and ordered the bureau to explain by Jan. 10 what it plans to do to ensure such abuses do not take place again.
Why it matters: It's a rare public rebuke by a court that has traditionally been veiled in secrecy, underscoring the seriousness of the misconduct uncovered by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is a "healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency," a doctor's report released by his 2020 campaign on Tuesday says.
The big picture: Top candidates Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are each older than 70 years old. They promised on the debate stage in September to release their medical and surgical histories before the primary's first votes are cast.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters Tuesday that he will not act as an "impartial juror" in the likely event of a Senate trial, stating: "This is a political process."
Why it matters: Senators must take the following oath before being sworn in for an impeachment trial: "I solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of [name of person being impeached], now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: so help me God."
A judge has rejected a request by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to revoke bail for Lev Parnas for making false statements about his assets, including a $1 million payment he allegedly received from Russia in September.
The latest: In a filing Tuesday, prosecutors said the money came from a Swiss lawyer to Dmytro Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch fighting extradition to the U.S. on bribery and racketeering charges. Firtash, who is believed to have links to Russian organized crime, is represented in the U.S. by Trump-allied attorneys Joseph DiGenova and Victoria Toensing.
President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN in a phone interview that the president has been "very supportive" of his attempts to dig up damaging information on Democrats in Ukraine, but declined to say whether Trump personally directed his efforts.
The big picture: Giuliani dismissed reports that Attorney General Bill Barr has warned Trump that Giuliani had become a liability, telling CNN: "I haven't heard that from the President. I think he would tell me." Federal prosecutors in New York are currently scrutinizing Giuliani's foreign business dealings, including his ties to two men who assisted his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election.
The Washington Post and ABC released a poll Tuesday that found 49% of those surveyed said President Trump should be impeached and removed from office, and 71% think he should allow senior administration officials to testify in a likely Senate impeachment trial.
Why it matters: The poll shows that Americans — on the eve of the full House vote on impeachment articles — remain strongly divided on impeachment after weeks of public testimony and committee hearings.
The State Department said in a statement Tuesday that the Senate's resolution formally recognizing Turkey's genocide of the Armenian people does not change the Trump administration's position on the issue.
Why it matters: The statement will likely please Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has said that the Senate's resolution will harm U.S.-Turkey relations. Prior to its passage, three separate Republican senators blocked the resolution at the request of the White House.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) dismissed Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) call to have four White House witnesses testify in the Senate's likely impeachment trial, arguing that it's the House's "duty to investigate" and that the Senate will not volunteer its time for a "fishing expedition."
A group of top Republican election strategists announced Tuesday a project to defeat President Trump and those who support his ideology in the 2020 elections in a New York Times op-ed.
The big picture: Called the Lincoln Project, the effort is "aimed at persuading enough disaffected conservatives, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in swing states and districts to help ensure a victory in the Electoral College, and congressional majorities that don’t enable or abet Mr. Trump’s violations of the Constitution."
President Trump is ahead of all Democratic 2020 candidates in a USA Today/Suffolk University poll published Monday.
Why it matters: The poll of 1,000 registered voters was conducted Dec. 10–14 as House Democrats prepared stepped up their case for the president's impeachment. It's a boost for Trump ahead of the impeachment vote, expected Wednesday.
Congress has reached a deal allocating $425 million towards revamping election security just in time for the 2020 presidential election.
The big picture: The funding is part of a spending deal set to be passed this week and sent to President Trump's desk. Negotiators have been working out differences between proposals from the Democrat-led House and the GOP-led Senate.
Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) told the Durham Herald-Sun Monday he won't run for office next year and he's "moving toward" a U.S. Senate bid in 2022, when Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is expected to retire.
Why it matters: State lawmakers passed a new congressional map following a corruption scandal that's left Walker's district in a predominantly Democratic area and he'd likely lose his seat in 2020, per the Raleigh News & Observer.
