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Republicans and President Trump are scrounging for a strategy, surrogates and messaging as the impeachment inquiry picks up speed and evidence of potential abuse of power tied to Ukraine could continue piling up into November.
Heading into next week, Republicans are anxious that the narrative is spinning away from them as polls show an increasing percentage of Americans supportive of either the House inquiry or removal of Trump from office.
With another week of interviews taking place behind closed doors with House investigators, Senate Republicans are airing concerns about the White House’s messaging machine — or lack thereof. As Alexander Bolton reports, GOP senators believe the messaging operation is uncoordinated and suffering from a lack of a war room, which makes it tougher for GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill to respond.
Largely, the rapid response operation is emanating from the president’s Twitter account, creating a scattershot approach that has created problems for the GOP, and Senate Republicans are not the only ones who pine for a more cohesive response.
Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, is back in Washington kicking off a new media venture and broadcasting live, seven days a week, from now until the Senate votes on impeachment amid concerns that the White House response is not robust enough. The former Breitbart CEO believes Democrats are running circles around the GOP in the battle over messaging.
“It’s a master class in disinformation warfare,” Bannon said (The Hill).
Reuters: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): White House working on messaging on impeachment.
The Associated Press: Trump confronts the limits of impeachment defense strategy.
Senate Republicans tried to do their part in the messaging wars on Thursday as Graham announced a resolution condemning the House’s inquiry and calling on the lower chamber to “vote to open a formal impeachment inquiry and provide President Trump with fundamental constitutional protections” before going further into the impeachment inquiry.
The resolution calls on the House to hold a formal vote to start the impeachment inquiry, give Trump “due process” including “the ability to confront his accusers,” adding that the House should give Republicans the ability to issue their own subpoenas.
CNN: In 1998, Graham thought House impeachment depositions were a good idea.
The New York Times: Read the administration’s warning letter to Pentagon witness Laura Cooper, who testified this week to House investigators both voluntarily and under subpoena.
The Washington Post: Democrats say whistleblower’s testimony is unnecessary as other witnesses come forward.
As of Thursday night, Graham’s office has all but seven Senate Republicans on board with the resolutions. The remaining holdouts are: Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), and Johnny Isakson (Ga.) (The Hill). Collins and Gardner are up for reelection and Alexander, Enzi and Isakson are retiring.
The Hill: Saturday and schedule next week for additional witness depositions revealed.
Politico: Impeachment timeline in flux as evidence against Trump piles up.
The New York Times: Guide to House impeachment inquiry witnesses, subpoenas and requests for information.
Additionally, senators are worried that the impeachment battle has effectively shot down any chance to pass anything legislatively heading into an election year.
Roughly a month into the House’s inquiry, lawmakers are trading blame about who is responsible for the fallout. But arguing that both parties could use political wins heading into next year, they’re urging Trump and Democrats to find common ground (The Hill).
The Hill: GOP lawmakers express concerns about Rudy Giuliani’s work in Ukraine.
McClatchy: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: State Dept. will “comply” with law on release of Giuliani communications.
The New York Times: Where is the Justice Department’s investigation headed about the origins of the 2016 Russia election interference probe? Unclear, but it’s now a criminal investigation and the department is investigating itself.
LEADING THE DAY
POLITICS: Former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is doing an about-face and opened the door to supporters to start a super PAC to boost his candidacy as he struggles mightily in fundraising, raising concerns in some Democratic circles.
“In this time of crisis in our politics, it is not surprising that those who are dedicated to defeating Donald Trump are organizing in every way permitted by current law to bring an end to his disastrous presidency. Nothing changes unless we defeat Donald Trump,” said deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield in a statement.
Biden’s team added in a statement to The Hill that the former vice president would continue advocating to end super PACs should he win the general election.
The campaign’s shift attracted attacks from 2020 rivals. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) castigated Biden for what he called an “effort to buy the primary.”
The news comes more than a week after third-quarter fundraising reports emerged showing Biden with $9 million in cash on hand, a figure far behind Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is making a play for the same moderate voters Biden seeks to win over.
The Hill: Sanders campaign hits Biden over “reversal” on super PACs.
Reuters: Sanders promises to use executive order to legalize marijuana.
Politico: Warren and Sanders race to out-left each other — and moderates are terrified.
Meanwhile, “60 Minutes” is set to air on Sunday its recent interview with Biden, during which he tells CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell that none of his children will occupy office space in the White House if he wins (CBS News).
The Trump campaign responded with a statement defending Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump for their work in the administration since 2017.
> Debate: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) qualified for the fifth Democratic debate on Nov. 20 after pulling 3 percent support in a new Quinnipiac poll released on Thursday, making her the ninth candidate to qualify in polling.
The following candidates have qualified in both polling and fundraising: Biden, Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tom Steyer, entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Klobuchar (The Hill).
> Field shrinks: Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) announced Thursday that he is ending his 2020 bid for the Democratic nomination, bringing the field to 18 candidates after Ryan was unable to make much headway with voters or garner support needed to further his campaign.
Ryan has been absent for the past two Democratic debates and was extremely unlikely to make the cut for the fifth debate on Nov. 20. He was also unable to keep up financially, having raised only $425,000 in the third quarter — less than half of his total during the second quarter.
The Associated Press: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) drops her congressional race to focus on her presidential bid.
The Associated Press: Riyadh, Seoul … Wichita? Pompeo seeks refuge in his home state (and is in Kansas today).
In other political news … C-SPAN hosts a conversation at 8 p.m. with former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and former Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C), who are challenging Trump for the GOP nod in 2020. … White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was steamed at a Washington Examiner reporter in a phone conversation about an article she didn’t like.
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
INTERNATIONAL: Brexit: More than three years after Britons voted 52 percent to 48 percent to be the first sovereign country to leave the European Union, the future of Brexit remains unclear. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who conceded he will not meet an Oct. 31 deadline, called on Thursday for a general election on Dec. 12 to try to break the impasse. The EU may decide today to grant another extension for the U.K. Parliament to decide how to proceed. Johnson’s call for another election is his third attempt as prime minister to try to force a snap vote (Reuters).
> China: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are set to resume working-level negotiations today with China by phone aimed at completing a “phase 1” deal on trade, which Trump already painted as a success. The president and top advisers have expressed optimism that a subset of differences will be ironed out in advance of the president’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Santiago, Chile, next month at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC). Trump promised Xi in June that the United States would remain quiet about protests in Hong Kong while trade talks continued, two sources told CNN earlier this month. But on Thursday, Vice President Pence used a speech at a Washington think tank to back pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong while slamming China. “Hong Kong is a living example of what can happen when China embraces liberty,” he said (Reuters). Beijing today had a few choice words to describe Pence’s speech: “Arrogant and hypocrisy.”
> Turkey-Syria: Syrian Kurds and Russian forces disagreed on Thursday about the status of a negotiated truce in territory along Turkey’s border with Syria. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkey, which is backed by Moscow, of launching a land offensive targeting three villages in northeast Syria, but Russia said a peace plan was holding. Russia said it will send more military police and heavy equipment to help implement the deal, which prompted Trump this week to lift sanctions against Turkey (Reuters).
> Chile: Stone-throwing protesters on Thursday did battle with police firing tear gas and water cannons in the capital, Santiago, and the port of Valparaiso, as hundreds of demonstrators gathered in city squares around the country. At least 18 people have died since protests began over a 4-cent increase in subway fares and mushroomed into a larger movement over growing inequality in one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries (The Associated Press).
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-release.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-release.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
OPINION
The Senate can hold a fair impeachment trial. We did it in 1999, by former Sens. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.), contributors, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2W9kfOz
Withdrawal of troops must not end US involvement with Syria, by Dana Stroul and Michael Singh, opinion contributors, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2obHGKm
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WHERE AND WHEN
Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features filmmaker Michael Moore, who discusses his support for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Republican Newt Gingrich, who has a new book about China; and Josh Orton, national policy director and senior adviser to Sanders, who talks about marijuana legalization. Watch at 9 a.m. ET at http://digital-release.thehill.com/hilltv, or on YouTube at 10 a.m. at Rising on YouTube.
The House will reconvene Monday at noon. Many lawmakers will be in Baltimore today for the late Rep. Elijah Cummings’s (D-Md.) funeral. Former President Obama will deliver remarks at the service.
The Senate meets at 3 p.m. on Monday and resumes consideration of the fiscal year 2020 appropriations measure that includes Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
The president speaks about criminal justice reform at 2 p.m. at the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum in Columbia, S.C., and returns to Washington this evening.
Pence at 11 a.m. participates in the ceremonial swearing-in of Stephen Akard, the recently confirmed director of the Office of Foreign Missions.
Politicon takes place in Nashville this weekend, creating a packed convention devoted to current political issues and players. The Hill is a media sponsor. Check out the schedule HERE.
ELSEWHERE
➔ State Watch: As many as 50,000 people in California are under evacuation orders that continue today as wind-driven fires rage near Los Angeles, burning six homes (The Associated Press). Ferocious gusts, which are expected to continue this weekend, prompted Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the state’s largest utility, to announce a planned power shutdown Saturday night through Monday, which could impact 2 million people (The Associated Press). Wildfires also burned through 10,000 acres in Sonoma County while hundreds of residents evacuated Wednesday into Thursday. PG&E reported to the state that a jumper on one of its transmission lines broke near the origin of the Sonoma County fire, a potential cause (The Washington Post). The evolving challenge for many California communities: Learning to live with uncontrolled fire (The New York Times).
➔ ⚾ Baseball: The Houston Astros fired Brandon Taubman, their assistant general manager, in the wake of reports that he purposefully directed “inappropriate comments” about closer Roberto Osuna at a group of female reporters. In the process, the Astros admitted “we were wrong” after initially releasing a statement backing Taubman soon after Sports Illustrated reported that he yelled at reporters (ESPN). … Trump announced he plans to attend the World Series if there’s a Game 5 on Sunday night at Nationals Park (The Washington Post).
➔ Science: Tens of millions of voracious sea urchins that have already chomped their way through towering underwater kelp forests in California are spreading north to Oregon, upending the marine ecosystem off the shore to the point that critical species are starving to death. A recent count found 350 million purple sea urchins on one Oregon reef alone — more than a 10,000 percent increase since 2014 (The Associated Press).
THE CLOSER
And finally … A big shout-out to the trivia ninjas who polished off this week’s Morning Report Quiz!
Here’s who knew or guessed the correct answers about the career of Bruce Springsteen: Patrick Kavanagh, Rich Davis, Ann Taliaferro, Jerry Lentz, Allyson Foster, Sharon Flowers, Luther Berg, Sandy Sycafoose, John Ellis, Dan Lybrook and Matt Gorman.
The Boss wrote “Because the Night” and gave the song to Patti Smith to record. The song has been a staple of his live shows for years.
“Born To Run” is the most performed live song in the extensive Springsteen catalog, played north of 1,700 times.
Steven Van Zandt, an E Street Band guitarist, portrayed Silvio Dante on HBO’s “The Sopranos.”
Springsteen’s first wife was Julianne Phillips.
And lastly, Roy Bittan, the longtime E Street Band pianist, was the only holdover in the 1992 tour.
