Trump said he was trying to “find out about” the whistleblower Monday, the latest move in an increasingly frenetic counterassault targeting the anonymous intelligence officer and top Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry. The comments came as his allies struggled to coalesce around a clear strategy to respond to a fast-moving and quickly mounting threat to his presidency.

The ad hoc counter-impeachment effort developing around Trump underscores the risk the president faces as Democratic leaders plan to launch a probe aimed at proving that Trump abused his presidential powers in asking Ukraine’s president to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, a leading 2020 Democratic presidential contender, and his family, as well as an unsubstantiated theory that Ukrainians worked with Democrats to interfere in the 2016 election.

The White House has not yet set up anything resembling a “war room” to coordinate its response, and officials spent Monday in meetings trying to determine a path forward. The president’s outside legal team played down the threat of impeachment and dismissed the need for the kind of coordinated war-room-based effort that President Bill Clinton relied on 20 years ago.

Some Republican officials have stumbled in recent days in their attempts to defend Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, and others have pushed the White House to offer more guidance to its defenders by standing up a centralized, organized response effort.

Trump’s reelection campaign has taken a de facto lead role in hitting back against the president’s detractors, but it has not been specifically tasked with a coordinating role, according to a person familiar with the matter who, like others, discussed internal strategy on the condition of anonymity.

On Monday, Trump’s defenders faced new revelations, in a Washington Post story, that Attorney General William P. Barr has held private meetings overseas with foreign intelligence officials, seeking their help with his department’s inquiry into foreign interference in the 2016 election — a probe that Trump hopes will discredit the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia sought to assist his campaign. It was also reported that the president used a recent phone call to ask Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to provide help to this ongoing Justice Department investigation. The Trump-Morrison phone call was first reported by the New York Times.

As he faces mounting accusations of wrongdoing, Trump is leading his own defense effort, largely from his Twitter account. He is using the kind of bluster and bravado that have come to define his presidency.

“The Fake Whistleblower complaint is not holding up,” he said Monday on Twitter, after lamenting “the Greatest Witch Hunt in the history of our Country!”

While the tactical logistics of Trump’s legal and political defense were still being sorted out, there was a sense of agreement among the president’s aides and allies that attacking his detractors would be a key part of the strategy.

“We are not on the defense for impeachment,” said one campaign official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “We are on offense to show the American people this is a coup d’etat by elitist bureaucrats and Democrats.”

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham accused the media of “hysteria” and said Trump had “done nothing wrong” in a phone call in which he encouraged Ukraine’s president to investigate Biden and his son Hunter over the younger Biden’s former position with a Ukranian private gas company — an arrangement that Trump and his allies say was corrupt.

Hunter Biden served for nearly five years on the board of Burisma, whose owner came under scrutiny by Ukrainian prosecutors for possible abuse of power and unlawful enrichment. Hunter Biden was not accused of any wrongdoing in the investigation. As vice president, Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire the top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who Biden and other Western officials said was not sufficiently pursuing corruption cases. At the time, the investigation into Burisma was dormant, according to former Ukrainian and U.S. officials.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, has taken a lead role in pushing Ukraine to investigate Biden as well as the theory that Ukrainians worked with Democrats to undermine Trump’s campaign in 2016. On Monday, the three House committees leading the impeachment effort issued a subpoena demanding that Giuliani turn over all records pertaining to his contacts regarding Ukraine, the Biden family and related matters.

The committees have also subpoenaed information from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was scheduled to leave Monday night for a six-day trip to Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Greece. He is not due to return until Sunday, meaning he will be out of the country when a Thursday deadline passes for the State Department to deliver to the House committees documents related to Trump’s July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Jay Sekulow, Trump’s personal attorney, called the Democrats’ impeachment effort “absurd” and said that his team’s experience in dealing with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s extensive investigation of the Trump White House provided a template for how to handle the impeachment inquiry.

“We just went through a war without a war room, and that was the Mueller probe, and that worked out well,” he said, describing the impeachment probe as more of a “skirmish.”

Trump will be the chief messenger in the response effort, and his allies will probably take cues from him, said Sekulow.

Some Republicans say that’s the problem. In the past few days, Trump has called for the whistleblower to be unmasked, suggested that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) should be arrested for treason and amplified the comment of a supporter who said impeachment could create a “Civil War like fracture” in the United States.

Behind the scenes, the president is sounding out a range of advisers for different options, speaking to friends, outside confidants and Republican lawmakers to get advice about how to proceed, according to a senior administration official.

“There are different ways to bake the cake, depending on what sort of cake you want,” the official said. “Different flavoring, different temperatures, different ingredients yield different types of cake, and the president as the master baker is testing recipes and deciding what type of cake he wants.”

Some Republicans have pushed the White House to set up a more organized approach and have lamented that there’s no clear plan or strategy to follow.

“It’s such a cliche that Trump doesn’t think anyone can defend him the way he can defend himself, but they need to try, because right now it’s just him tweeting about Adam B. Schiff,” said a Republican congressional aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss their view of the White House’s plan.

Trump’s reelection campaign, well capitalized from record fundraising and well-staffed after an early hiring effort, has taken a lead role in defending the president.

While the campaign has not been officially designated as the central engine of Trump’s impeachment response, it has sought to take the mantle as the best-equipped to do so, according to a person familiar with the matter. The campaign, which has been operating since the first day of Trump’s presidency, has the manpower and experience to mount a rapid-response effort complete with video content, talking points and campaign ads, said this person.

The Trump campaign released a television ad Friday that painted Democrats’ impeachment effort as an attempt to “steal” the election. The campaign said it was spending $10 million to air the ad on cable and online.

“The American people see this for what it is: yet another attempt by Democrats to disenfranchise the American people by removing a duly elected president that they disdain,” campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said.

Trump allies are also considering running television ads that target roughly two dozen Democratic House members who won in districts that Trump carried in 2016, to argue that those members are not doing the work of the American people while they’re focused on trying to impeach the president. Marc Short, Vice President Pence’s chief of staff, is one of those supporting this idea.

In addition to attacking Democrats, the president will also need to keep Republicans on board, as GOP lawmakers have been far from united in defending Trump’s call with Zelensky.

Trump’s former homeland security adviser, Thomas Bossert, said Sunday that he was “deeply disturbed” by Trump’s conduct on the call.

“It is a bad day and a bad week for this president and for this country if he is asking for political dirt on an opponent,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said Sunday that it was “beyond repugnant” that Trump had raised the specter of civil war.

And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had to defend his use of White House talking points while answering questions about the call in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”

When asked if Trump’s conduct on the call was “appropriate,” McCarthy dodged the question and said that Trump “did nothing in this phone call that’s impeachable.”

On Monday, Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, posted a video on Twitter of a woman trying to use a broom to push crashing waves back into the ocean, describing the futile effort as the GOP’s “new strategy to address the #WhistleblowerComplaint.”

Republicans are having a difficult time defending the president because the White House summary of Trump’s call with Zelensky, released last week, is so damning, said Lanny Davis, who helped Clinton navigate the impeachment process as a media surrogate.

According to the summary, Trump told Zelensky to do him a “favor” by working with Barr to investigate various allegations, including unsubstantiated claims of corruption by Biden.

“The statement speaks for itself,” said Davis, a lawyer who now specializes in crisis management. “There’s no way to spin it. You can’t spin the sentence, ‘Do me a favor.’ ”

Carol Morello contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-amps-up-attacks-on-whistleblower-as-some-republicans-call-for-more-strategic-response-to-impeachment/2019/09/30/4ef4b5b8-e38e-11e9-b403-f738899982d2_story.html

Former Sen. Jeff FlakeJeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeRepublicans show signs of discomfort in defense of Trump   Cindy McCain: I can see Arizona ‘going Democrat’ in 2020 Flake donates to Democratic sheriff being challenged by Arpaio in Arizona MORE (R-Ariz.) is urging Republican lawmakers to not support President TrumpDonald John TrumpAmash calls McCarthy incompetent, dishonest after ’60 Minutes’ interview GOP lawmaker blasts Trump for quoting pastor warning of civil war over impeachment ’60 Minutes’ correspondent presses McCarthy on impeachment inquiry MORE‘s 2020 reelection campaign amid an impeachment inquiry fueled by Trump’s actions toward Ukraine.

Flake, in a Washington Post op-ed, warned that regardless of the outcome of the impeachment fight, Republicans will have to decide whether, “given what we now know about the president’s actions and behavior, to support his reelection.”

“Obviously, the answer is no,” Flake added.

“My fellow Republicans, it is time to risk your careers in favor of your principles. Whether you believe the president deserves impeachment, you know he does not deserve reelection,” Flake added in the Post op-ed. 

“Trust me when I say that you can go elsewhere for a job. But you cannot go elsewhere for a soul,” Flake continued. 

A few GOP senators have held back from endorsing Trump’s reelection bid. Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsRepublicans show signs of discomfort in defense of Trump   Embracing President Mike Pence might be GOP’s best play GOP battens down the hatches after release of Trump whistleblower complaint MORE (R-Maine), who is up for reelection, said earlier this year that she was “not prepared at this point to make that decision.” Sen Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyGOP lawmaker blasts Trump for quoting pastor warning of civil war over impeachment Republicans show signs of discomfort in defense of Trump   Sizing up Trump’s primary opponents MORE (R-Utah) told CNN earlier this month that he was “not planning on endorsing in the presidential race.” 

Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/463629-flake-urges-gop-to-not-support-trumps-reelection-amid-impeachment-fight

The attorney for the intelligence community whistleblower whose complaint fueled a House inquiry into impeaching President Donald Trump says he has “serious concerns” that Trump’s comments had put his client in danger.

The unidentified whistleblower’s legal team sounded the alarm in a letter, dated Saturday and made public on Sunday, to Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence.

The letter, which was signed by Andrew P. Bakaj, the whistleblower’s lead attorney, pointed to Trump’s call last week for “the person who gave the whistleblower the information” to be publicly identified.

It said the president’s remarks were among the events that “have heightened our concerns that our client’s identity will be disclosed publicly and that, as a result, our client will be put in harm’s way.”

Bakaj acknowledged that it was the whistleblower’s source of information whom Trump’s statement targeted, but he wrote that the distinction “does nothing to assuage our concerns for our client’s safety,” claiming that “certain individuals” had put out a $50,000 bounty for information relating to the whistleblower’s identity, as well.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the impeachment inquiry

The letter offered no further information about the purported bounty. The Washington Examiner, a conservative political website, reported last week that two right-wing activists had offered $50,000 for “credible information corroborating” the whistleblower’s identity.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/whistleblower-s-lawyer-says-trump-endangering-his-client-n1060151

He started his all-night social media onslaught at 10:48 p.m. Sunday by tweeting an attack on Ukraine’s former top prosecutor, who has said there was no reason for an investigation into Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, sitting on the board of a natural gas company.

Source Article from https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-rudy-giuliani-impeachment-tweet-trump-ukraine-20190930-5h35a6yzwbd2fcakabjwcbbpmy-story.html

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Source Article from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-30/gop-senators-seek-justice-department-details-on-biden-democrats

Mr. Barr began a review of the Russia investigation this year with the stated goal of determining whether law enforcement or intelligence officials acted inappropriately in their decision during the height of the 2016 presidential campaign to begin investigating whether the Trump campaign was conspiring with Russia’s election interference. But the president has made no secret he sees a larger purpose: to validate his victory and to settle scores with his perceived “deep state” enemies.

The Justice Department said last week that it is exploring the extent to which other countries, including Ukraine, “played a role in the counterintelligence investigation directed at the Trump campaign.” At the very least, Mr. Barr has made it clear that he sees his work treading into sensitive territory: how the law enforcement and intelligence agencies of the United States’ closest allies share information with American officials.

Mr. Mueller’s investigation confirmed that Australia played a central role in the origins of the original F.B.I. investigation, even if his final report does not mention the country by name. It said that information from a “foreign government” prompted the F.B.I. to “open an investigation into whether individuals associated with the Trump campaign were coordinating with the Russian government in its interference activities.”

But like so much about the pre-election period, the episode has been the subject of a counternarrative marbled with conspiracy: that the Obama administration had dispatched the Australian official, Alexander Downer, to spy on the Trump campaign as part of a broader effort to help Mrs. Clinton get elected.

There is no evidence to support this, but the conspiracy has been advanced by some of the president’s allies in Congress, by some Fox News commentators, and in frequent tweets by Mr. Papadopoulos, who was sentenced last year to two weeks in prison for lying to F.B.I. agents in the Russia inquiry who questioned him about any contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian intermediaries.

Mr. Morrison, the Australian prime minister, met Mr. Trump in Washington this month for official meetings and a state dinner at the White House. Mr. Barr attended the dinner.

The attorney general sparked a controversy in April when he said during congressional testimony that “spying” on the Trump campaign had taken place as part of the Russia investigation, and that there was a “failure among a group of leaders at the upper echelons” of the intelligence community. He later announced that he was reviewing the origins of the Russia investigation, and President Trump said, “I am so proud of our attorney general that he is looking into it.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/us/politics/trump-australia-barr-mueller.html

All four inmates have been captured.

CBS News 


All four inmates who escaped from the Gallia County Jail in Ohio early Sunday were recaptured in North Carolina on Monday. Gallia County Sheriff Matt Champlin said Sunday that the four inmates overpowered two female corrections officers with a homemade weapon and made their escape at 12:14 a.m.

According to CBS Columbus affiliate WBNS-TV, the sheriff’s office determined that the inmates had assistance in their escape from at least one person on the outside. The sheriff’s office identified the inmates as:

  • Brynn K. Martin, 40
  • Christopher M. Clemente, 24
  • Troy R. McDaniel Jr., 30
  • Lawrence R. Lee III, 29

Martin, Clemente and McDaniel were taken into custody at about 2 a.m. at a Cary, North Carolina hotel, “thanks to a multi-agency response to information provided by our investigative team,” Champlin said. Champlin released a statement early Monday morning saying “investigators were able to develop information which has led to the successful apprehension of three of the four males who escaped custody.”

The fourth escapee, Lee, was “believed” to have been with the three men caught at the hotel, but he “fled from the officers” who made the arrests in Cary, according to the sheriff. He was captured later Monday in Durham, officials said.

The sheriff’s office released details on what charges each inmate was held for prior to their escape: Martin faced multiple felonies, including charges related to breaking and entering and receiving stolen property; Clemente was indicted on charges related to drug-trafficking; McDaniel failed to appear before a court for “non-support of dependents;” and Lee was charged with two misdemeanors and a felony related to identity fraud, obstruction and assault.

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-inmates-all-4-escaped-ohio-inmates-now-back-in-custody-after-escape-from-gallia-county-jail/

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Monday that Washington would need Russian consent to publish transcripts of phone calls between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Congress is determined to get access to Trump’s calls with Putin and other world leaders, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee’s chairman said on Sunday, citing concerns that the Republican president may have jeopardized national security.

Asked about those comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would be prepared to discuss the issue with Washington if it sent Moscow a signal, but that such disclosures were not normal diplomatic practice.

“Of course their publication is to some extent only possible by mutual agreement of the parties. This is a certain diplomatic practice,” Peskov said.

“To be more specific, perhaps, diplomatic practice in general does not envisage their publication. If there are some signals from the Americans, then we will discuss (them).”

The Democratic-led House last week launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump in the aftermath of a whistleblower complaint alleging that Trump had solicited interference by Ukraine in the 2020 U.S. election for his own political benefit.

The White House released a memo summarizing Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after the allegations set off a U.S. domestic political storm.

Reporting by Tom Balmforth, Katya Golubkova and Polina Devitt; editing by Andrew Osborn

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-whistleblower-kremlin/kremlin-says-disclosure-of-trump-putin-phone-calls-would-need-russian-consent-idUSKBN1WF1ET

“The United States has been very very good to Ukraine,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Zelensky. “I wouldn’t say that it’s reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine.”

And later, the president said, “I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it.”

On Sunday, Mr. Trump said of Mr. Schiff in a Twitter post, “His lies were made in perhaps the most blatant and sinister manner ever seen in the great Chamber.” Mr. Trump continued, “He wrote down and read terrible things, then said it was from the mouth of the President of the United States.”

Mr. Schiff on Monday did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A former prosecutor with experience impeaching federal judges, Mr. Schiff has taken the lead in the impeachment inquiry regarding the president’s phone call with Ukraine. On Sunday he said the anonymous whistle-blower would testify before the House Intelligence Committee “very soon.”

As for Mr. Trump’s accusations of lying to Congress, Mr. Schiff said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” “Let’s not pretend that this is really what the president is upset with me about.”

Mr. Schiff said Mr. Trump was “furious with me” because as soon as Mr. Schiff learned a whistle-blower complaint had been filed, he publicly called for its release to Congress.

“The president believes that it is his God-given right to shake down foreign leaders for help in his re-election, and he should not be encumbered by the public finding out about it,” Mr. Schiff said Sunday. “That’s what has incensed the president. And I am willing to take the brunt of that.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/us/politics/trump-schiff-treason.html

Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger condemned President Donald Trump on Sunday for quoting Pastor Robert Jeffress’ warning that impeachment might cause a “Civil War-like” fracture in the U.S.

“If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal.’ Pastor Robert Jeffress,@FoxNews,” the president wrote on Sunday evening in a series of tweets.

In response, Kinzinger tweeted: “I have visited nations ravaged by civil war.@realDonaldTrump. I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant.”

The president’s tweet came shortly after Jeffress’ appearance on Fox News, where he spoke about the impeachment inquiry into Trump announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday.

Jeffress, a prominent evangelical pastor of a Texas megachurch who’s also a vocal supporter of Trump, has been accused on numerous occasions of making controversial and offensive remarks. In March, he said Christian followers of Trump have “deeper convictions” than other devotees during an interview on Fox News.

“Even though the evangelical number has dropped as a whole, the number of evangelicals turning out at the ballot box is greater than other groups, and it’s because evangelicals have deeper convictions,” Jeffress said. “They believe in absolute moral and spiritual truth, and they tend to vote those convictions at the ballot box.”

In August, Jeffress condemned a church denomination for sheltering migrants and fighting deportations as the White House cracked down on illegal immigration. “The church has no business in doing that. And look, the Bible is very clear about this,” Jeffress said. “In Romans 13, Paul says, ‘Government is established by God. To resist government is to resist God himself.'”

According to a CBS News poll, released on Sunday morning, a majority of Americans say they support the Democrat-led House’s recently-announced impeachment inquiry, with 55 percent of respondents approving of the impeachment inquiry and 45 percent disapproving of the move.

The weekend poll shows a slight rise in public support for the impeachment proceedings as Trump faces increased public scrutiny after a whistleblower accused the White House of covering up a phone conversation made between the president and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in July, during which the U.S. leader requested his foreign counterpart to look into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

The last impeachment survey, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted on Wednesday, found that 49 percent of Americans approved of the impeachment inquiry, while 49 percent disapproved and five percent said they were unsure.

p:last-of-type::after, .node-type-slideshow .article-body > p:last-of-type::after {
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Source Article from https://www.newsweek.com/gop-congressman-slams-trump-quoting-pastors-warning-civil-war-like-fracture-beyond-repugnant-1461982

CLOSE

The whistleblower’s complaint that sparked an impeachment inquiry into President Trump has been released.
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign urged top TV network executives Sunday to stop booking Rudy Giuliani on their shows, accusing President Donald Trump’s personal attorney of introducing “increasingly unhinged, unfounded and desperate lies into the national conversation.”

In an email sent Sunday obtained by USA TODAY, Biden senior adviser Anita Dunn and deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield wrote that live fact-checking during Giuliani’s appearances is “no longer enough.”

“We are writing today with grave concern that you continue to book Rudy Giuliani on your air to spread false, debunked conspiracy theories on behalf of Donald Trump,” the two wrote. “By giving him your air time, you are allowing him to introduce increasingly unhinged, unfounded and desperate lies into the national conversation.”

“We write to demand that in service to the facts, you no longer book Rudy Giuliani, a surrogate for Donald Trump who has demonstrated that he will knowingly and willingly lie in order to advance his own narrative,” the email continued.

CLOSE

President Donald Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate 2020 presidential challenger Joe Biden is increasingly drawing comparisons to former president Nixon’s Watergate scandal.
USA TODAY

The networks that received the letter included NBC News, CBS News, Fox News and CNN, according to The Daily Beast, which first reported the letter.

Giuliani Sunday morning made the rounds on several Sunday morning shows, including Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, ABC’s This Week and CBS’s Face the Nation. During several of his appearances, Giuliani repeatedly pushed that Biden should be investigated in the ousting of Viktor Shokin, the former General Prosecutor of Ukraine.

Last week, a whistleblower’s complaint was made public that express concern that Trump “used the power of his office” to solicit foreign help to discredit Biden during a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in July. Giuliani is a central figure in the scandal, which has led to the opening of an impeachment inquiry into Trump.

More: Whistleblower attorney expresses ‘serious concerns’ over client safety to acting DNI

From ‘America’s mayor’ to Trump’s pit bull:Rudy Giuliani emerges as central figure in Ukraine firestorm

Dunn and Bedingfield argue in their letter that if Giuliani is booked on a show, then a Biden campaign official should be given the same amount of time on the program. They noted that although networks push back in real-time, it is hard to catch up to Giuliani’s “falsehoods and disinformation.”

“Your obligation is to provide the American people with an informed, fact-based and responsible coverage and debate of critical issues,” they wrote. “Rudy Giuliani has made very clear that his only obligation is to protect Donald Trump, and that he will willingly lie to do so.”

“Giving Rudy Giuliani valuable time on your air to push these lies in the first place is a disservice to your audience and a disservice to journalism,” the letter concluded. “We ask that you no longer book him on your air.”

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/09/30/joe-biden-campaign-urges-tv-networks-not-book-rudy-giuliani/3817708002/

President Donald Trump on Monday attacked the whistleblower at the center of the growing Ukraine scandal and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, after promoting comments from a supportive pastor who told Fox News that impeaching the president would lead to a “Civil War-like fracture in this nation.”

Trump’s comments on Twitter came as he faces an impeachment inquiry in the House over a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which he asked Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s family. The Trump administration, around the same time as that July conversation, placed a hold on hundreds of millions of dollars in Ukrainian military aid, only to release it earlier this month.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the impeachment inquiry

Trump on Monday called the whistleblower complaint at the center of the scandal “fake” and said it was “not holding up,” even though it lined up with a record of the July 25 call between the two presidents that the White House released, was deemed credible by a Trump-appointed intelligence community inspector general, and was authored by a whistleblower who the Trump-appointed acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire told Congress last week had acted in “good faith.”

Then Trump went after Schiff, who he said “illegally made up a FAKE & terrible statement, pretended it to be mine as the most important part of my call to the Ukrainian President, and read it aloud to Congress and the American people.”

“It bore NO relationship to what I said on the call,” Trump added. “Arrest for Treason?”

Though the remarks Trump was referring to, which Schiff made during the hearing with Maguire last week, did not line up verbatim with the detailed summary of the call released by the White House, they did mirror its description. Schiff himself made clear during the hearing that his remarks were “the essence” of what Trump said during the call.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-attacks-whistleblower-schiff-tweets-impeachment-would-cause-civil-war-n1060191

President Trump joins Defense Secretary Esper as he hosts an Armed Forces Welcome Ceremony in honor of Gen. Mark Milley, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. #FoxNews

FOX News operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Radio, FOX News Headlines 24/7, FOXNews.com and the direct-to-consumer streaming service, FOX Nation. FOX News also produces FOX News Sunday on FOX Broadcasting Company and FOX News Edge. A top five-cable network, FNC has been the most watched news channel in the country for 17 consecutive years. According to a 2018 Research Intelligencer study by Brand Keys, FOX News ranks as the second most trusted television brand in the country. Additionally, a Suffolk University/USA Today survey states Fox News is the most trusted source for television news or commentary in the country, while a 2017 Gallup/Knight Foundation survey found that among Americans who could name an objective news source, FOX News is the top-cited outlet. FNC is available in nearly 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape while routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.

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Source Article from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RRoyEIOKuM

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Source Article from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/09/biden-campaign-calls-on-news-executives-stop-booking-rudy-giuliani.html

Independent Rep. Justin AmashJustin AmashAmash calls McCarthy incompetent, dishonest after ’60 Minutes’ interview The Memo: Will impeachment create an even more polarized nation? GOP lawmaker clarifies he doesn’t back impeachment after voicing support for inquiry MORE (Mich.) on Sunday hit Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin Owen McCarthyAmash calls McCarthy incompetent, dishonest after ’60 Minutes’ interview ’60 Minutes’ correspondent presses McCarthy on impeachment inquiry GOP battens down the hatches after release of Trump whistleblower complaint MORE (Calif.) over an interview the Republican House leader did about the impeachment inquiry against President TrumpDonald John TrumpAmash calls McCarthy incompetent, dishonest after ’60 Minutes’ interview GOP lawmaker blasts Trump for quoting pastor warning of civil war over impeachment ’60 Minutes’ correspondent presses McCarthy on impeachment inquiry MORE.

Kevin McCarthy again displays his unique brand of incompetence and dishonesty,” Amash tweeted along with a video of the interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.”

In the interview, McCarthy was pressed by host Scott Pelley on the July 25 phone call between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenAmash calls McCarthy incompetent, dishonest after ’60 Minutes’ interview GOP lawmaker blasts Trump for quoting pastor warning of civil war over impeachment ’60 Minutes’ correspondent presses McCarthy on impeachment inquiry MORE and his son Hunter Biden, according to a partial transcript released by the White House.

Amash left the Republican Party on July 4 after coming out in support of impeachment following the release of former special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) Swan MuellerFox News legal analyst says Trump call with Ukraine leader could be ‘more serious’ than what Mueller ‘dragged up’ Lewandowski says Mueller report was ‘very clear’ in proving ‘there was no obstruction,’ despite having ‘never’ read it Fox’s Cavuto roasts Trump over criticism of network MORE‘s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Mueller laid out 10 potential cases of obstruction of justice by Trump, and Amash determined that at least some of them reached the threshold for impeachment.

Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/house/463593-amash-calls-mccarthy-incompetent-dishonest-after-60-minutes-interview

Significantly, five of the diplomats say, the build-up includes elements of the People’s Armed Police (PAP), a mainland paramilitary anti-riot and internal security force under a separate command from the PLA. While Reuters was unable to determine the size of the PAP contingent, envoys say the bulk of the troops in Hong Kong are from the PLA.

PAP forces would be likely to spearhead any crackdown if Beijing decides to intervene, according to foreign envoys and security analysts. These paramilitary troops are specially trained in non-lethal tactics and methods of riot suppression and crowd control. 

The envoys declined to say how exactly they determined that the recent troop movement was a reinforcement or how they arrived at their troop estimates. Reuters reporters visited the areas surrounding multiple PLA bases in Hong Kong and observed significantly increased movements by troops and armored vehicles at the facilities.

China’s Ministry of National Defense, the State Council Information Office, and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to questions from Reuters. In early September, a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said China would “not sit idly by” if the situation in the city continued to deteriorate and posed a threat to “the country’s sovereignty.”

The office of Carrie Lam and the PLA garrison in Hong Kong also did not respond to questions. A Hong Kong police spokesperson told Reuters the police force was “capable of maintaining law and order and determined to restore public safety in Hong Kong.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a meeting with international navy delegates to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PLA in the port city of Qingdao in April. REUTERS/Jason Lee

The PAP is a key element in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s drive to reinforce the ruling Communist Party’s control over the nation of 1.4 billion people while building a potent military that can supplant the United States as Asia’s dominant power. The PAP has up to one million troops, according to an April research paper from the U.S.’s National Defense University – about half the size of China’s standing military. The paramilitary’s primary duty is to defend against potential enemies within – countering domestic upheaval and protecting top leaders. In recent years, it has contained unrest in Xinjiang and Tibet. Elements of this force are also trained for counter-terrorism, securing key infrastructure, disaster relief and international peacekeeping.

After installing himself as commander-in-chief and reshaping the regular military, Xi turned attention to the PAP. His first move was to take personal control. In early 2018, the PAP was brought under direct command of the Central Military Commission, the top military decision-making body that Xi chairs. Previously, the PAP had come under the split command of the commission and the State Council, China’s top government administrative body.

This put Xi at the apex of Beijing’s military and paramilitary forces, further concentrating power in his hands. With the eruption of the protests in Hong Kong, however, Xi now faces the biggest popular challenge to his rule.

News of the reinforcements in Hong Kong comes as city officials are bracing for more demonstrations on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Intense clashes between protesters and police rocked the city over the weekend ahead of the celebrations.

In her private remarks in August, city Chief Executive Lam played down the possibility that Beijing might deploy the PLA. Foreign envoys and security analysts said they too believe China’s strong preference is not to use troops.

Still, they said, the troop build-up shows Beijing wants to be ready to act if the Hong Kong government and its 30,000-strong police force lose control of the city. Lam herself expressed concern about the force’s ability to keep control. On some days, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets. She said the police are “outnumbered” by the protesters, making enforcement “extremely difficult.”

“Apart from the 30,000 men and women in the force we have nothing,” she told the gathering of businesspeople. “Really. We have nothing. I have nothing.”

Enforcing Xi’s ‘Red Line’

Until now, the PAP’s presence in Hong Kong has been limited to a small advance detachment nestled discreetly within existing PLA facilities, according to one of the diplomats. The new deployment marks the first significant entry of the PAP into Hong Kong. It wasn’t mentioned in official accounts of the rotation nor in the state-controlled press.

The combined deployment of the PLA and the PAP follows months of official statements denouncing the protests and dramatic signaling to Hong Kongers. This included news reports and footage showing anti-riot drills by both the PLA and the PAP, released by the military on social media. Last month, hundreds of PAP troops conducted extensive exercises in a football stadium in Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong. Troops in the area could also be deployed to Hong Kong if the crisis deepened, foreign diplomats said.

The protests and street violence in Hong Kong erupted in early June, over a bill – since scrapped – that would have paved the way for people to be extradited to the mainland. The unrest came two years after Xi defined a “red line” for Hong Kong. He used the phrase in a 2017 speech in the city, warning that domestic threats to national sovereignty will not be tolerated.

Chinese security forces are better equipped to handle civil unrest than they were a generation ago. In 1989, it was the PLA that was sent in to smash student protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. It used the tools of war – battle tanks, armored vehicles and infantry.

In Hong Kong, the reinforcement includes equipment tailor-made for quelling urban violence with non-lethal force – including water cannon vehicles and trucks used to lay barbed-wire barricades. Additional transport helicopters have been moved into the city. Reuters reporters have seen these flying frequently around Hong Kong and its hinterlands, the New Territories, an observation confirmed by foreign envoys and security analysts monitoring developments here.

Anti-government protesters are sprayed with a water cannon by local police during a demonstration near the government complex in Hong Kong in mid-September. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Other trucks, bearing military number plates, have been seen pre-loaded with street fortifications, at times moving about the city. Reuters reporters have tracked increased activity at many of the PLA’s 17 facilities across Hong Kong Island, its neighboring city of Kowloon and the rural New Territories. Most of these facilities were inherited by the PLA under agreement with the departing British forces during the 1997 handover.

Fatigues and other laundry can be seen hanging from the balconies of buildings that had lain dormant for years. Army buses and jeeps are parked in once abandoned lots.

A petrol bomb is thrown during a clash between pro-democracy protesters and Hong Kong riot police in the district of Tsuen Wan last month. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Some foreign analysts say China’s reinforced military presence was bigger than expected and appears to have been well-prepared. They say the size of the force means it is now far beyond the symbolic role traditionally played by the local garrison.

“They do seem to have an active contingency plan to deal with something like a total breakdown in order by the Hong Kong police,” said Alexander Neill, a Singapore-based security analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “I would think it would take something like that or some other worst-case scenario for them to deploy. But they are clearly more ready than before, and are leaving nothing to chance.”

So far, the expanded Chinese forces remain firmly within their barracks – a continuation of what has been an unobtrusive presence since the handover.

In 1997, trucks full of white-gloved PLA soldiers, some carrying flowers, rolled into Hong Kong within hours of Britain’s handover of its colony to Chinese rule. The sight sparked anxiety among politicians, activists and the public that still lingers. Beyond the occasional so-called open day, when the public gets access to the PLA barracks, the troops rarely interact with ordinary Hong Kongers.

Unlike forces on the mainland, soldiers within the Hong Kong garrison are not usually accompanied by their families. They are rarely allowed to socialize outside their bases; for news, they are given access to China’s state media.

“They live like monks,” said one Hong Kong-based mainland security specialist familiar with local PLA forces. “It is a vastly different deployment to anything on the mainland – almost akin to something they might experience on peacekeeping duties in Africa.”

“The PAP can be seen as a blunt instrument with the key function of suppressing domestic unrest.”

Trevor Hollingsbee, a retired British defense ministry intelligence analyst and former Hong Kong security official

The local Chinese security presence must be squared with handover guarantees that Hong Kong’s autonomy would remain for at least 50 years – including broad freedoms and an independent judiciary, which don’t exist in the rest of China.

Under the city’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, defense and foreign affairs are the sole responsibility of the Communist Party leadership in Beijing. The document states that the PLA garrison “shall not interfere in local affairs,” but Hong Kong can request the garrison’s assistance to maintain public order. And garrison members must abide by local laws.

Chinese law, meanwhile, allows for the standing committee of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, to deploy the garrison if a state of war or emergency is declared for Hong Kong. The law cites “turmoil” that threatens national security and is “beyond the control of the (Hong Kong) government.”

One presence, two forces

The PLA garrison is commanded by Major-General Chen Daoxiang, who is shadowed by a political commissar, Major-General Cai Yongzhong. But neither officer, nor territory leader Lam, would have the authority to deploy the security forces. Any military clampdown on China’s freest and most international city would only be ordered by Xi’s powerful Central Military Commission, say local officials and foreign diplomats.

In June, garrison commander Chen told a visiting Pentagon official that Chinese troops would not interfere in the city’s affairs, according to people briefed on the discussion. U.S. officials at the time said they read the comment as an early signal that Beijing intended to keep them in their barracks.

PLA soldiers take part in a performance during an open day at Stonecutters Island Naval Base in Hong Kong in June. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Less is known about the command structure of the PAP forces in Hong Kong. Few residents of the city are even aware of their presence within existing PLA facilities.

From the early years of its revolutionary struggle against the Nationalists, the Chinese Communist Party fielded a range of paramilitary forces to guard the leadership and key headquarters. These forces assumed an internal security role after the Communists took power in 1949. The PAP was formed in 1982, as the paramount leader of the time, Deng Xiaoping, modernized and downsized the military after the Cultural Revolution. The PAP absorbed thousands of regular army troops.

Still, the PAP was poorly trained and equipped, with a fragmented command, when the 1989 Tiananmen protests threatened the party’s grip. China’s leaders had to call on army units to crush the protests with tanks and machine guns. The scenes of bloodshed on the streets of the Chinese capital were a blow to the party’s reputation. In the aftermath, the leadership reequipped and retrained the PAP in crowd-control operations.

Chinese soldiers and tanks guard the Gate of Heavenly Peace and the portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square in 1989, during the crushing of student protests by the military. REUTERS/Richard Ellis

Security analysts say the PAP’s budget has grown as the force has modernized, but figures are undisclosed. The government stopped revealing full domestic security spending numbers in 2014 – after the internal security budget had topped the fast-growing regular military budget for the previous three years.

In the restive region of Xinjiang, the PAP has been used heavily to counter what China describes as a terrorist threat from Uighurs, an ethnic Muslim minority. As many as a million Uighurs and Muslims from other ethnic groups have been incarcerated in prison camps, according to the United Nations. China counters that the facilities are vocational training centers to help stamp out religious extremism and teach new work skills.

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-army-hongkong/

Tragedy as man, 28, jumps 800ft to his death off the popular Grand Canyon Skywalk tourist attraction

  • A man, 28, jumped to his death from the Grand Canyon Skywalk on Saturday
  • The horseshoe-shaped glass walkway juts out about 70 feet over the canyon 
  • Signs warn not to get too close to the edge and risk a 500- to 800-foot fall 
  • Rescuers now are searching for the body of the man who had taken the jump 

A 28-year-old man jumped off a skywalk attraction at the Grand Canyon and fell 500- to 800-feet to his death, say rescuers who are now searching for his body. 

Authorities said the man had climbed over a safety barrier at the Grand Canyon Skywalk on Saturday. The man’s name was not released. 

He had been a tourist who visiting to the popular attraction on the Hualapai reservation outside Grand Canyon National Park and jumped around 4.30pm.

A 28-year-old man jumped off a skywalk at the Grand Canyon (pictured above) and fell 500- to 800-feet to his death, say rescuers who are now searching for his body

Authorities said the man had climbed over a safety barrier at the Grand Canyon Skywalk on Saturday. Skywalk, opened in 2007, is picture above

The horseshoe-shaped glass walkway (shown above) juts about 70 feet over the canyon overlooking the Colorado River

A Grand Canyon West spokesman says a body recovery effort began Sunday morning.

Skywalk opened in 2007. 

The horseshoe-shaped glass walkway juts about 70 feet over the canyon overlooking the Colorado River.

Signs warn tourists not to venture too close to the edge as a vertical drop from the Skywalk is between 500 feet and 800 feet.

A Chinese tourist fell to his death in March when he stumbled while trying to take a photo close to Skywalk.

A helicopter ended up air lifting the body of the Hong Kong man from 1,000 feet below the rim at Grand Canyon West.

 

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Source Article from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7518461/Rescue-personnel-search-body-man-28-jumped-death-Grand-Canyon.html

A Somali official confirmed reports of an attack on a U.S. base in the country on Monday. Yusuf Abdourahman, a security official with the Lower Shabelle regional administration, told The Associated Press that a suicide car bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives at the gate of a military airstrip that serves as a base for U.S. and Somali forces.

He said a burst of gunfire could be heard across the base after the bombing, suggesting an ongoing attack on the facility.

Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The U.S. military uses Belidogle airstrip in the Lower Shabelle region as a base where it launches drones that attack al-Shabab and trains Somali troops. AFRICOM confirmed a strike by U.S. drones about two weeks ago in support of Somali forces who came under attack by al-Shabab militants while on patrol in Lower Juba province.

How drones could save lives in Somalia’s battle against al-Shabab

There was no information immediately provided by the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) on the incident at Belidogle.

Al-Shabab, which often exaggerates its battlefield operations, claimed in a statement posted online that the attack began with multiple explosives-laden trucks, which it said had allowed a group of militants to get into the base where they “engaged American troops.”

There were reports of a second attack on European Union peacekeepers in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. A Reuters journalist reported seeing a seriously damaged armored vehicle with a small Italian flag on it after an explosion that apparently targeted an EU convoy. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Al-Shabab was behind the brazen assault on a shopping and hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya, in January that left more than 20 people dead, including one American man.

Kenya cracks down on Al-Shabaab terror group

Kenyan intelligence officials told CBS News that the al-Shabab cell in Kenya behind that attack had been scouting the upmarket dusitD2 hotel complex for at least two years.  

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/somalia-attack-al-shabab-us-base-belidogle-airstrip-lower-shabelle-region-today-2019-09-30/

Montana’s governor declared a “winter storm emergency” tonight after the state was slammed by more than 3 feet of heavy, wet snow. Governor Steve Bullock declared the emergency as storm watches and warnings were posted across the region.

This early-occurring winter storm blasted the city of Great Falls with more than a foot of snow in September. The snow has covered streets and made driving difficult.

“My recommendation is to stay off the road if you can,” said Sergeant Wade Palen of the Montana Highway Patrol. “The biggest challenges are overnight. The roads will freeze again so they’ll become more ice covered.”

Pedestrians make their way along a snow covered street lined with trees that still have their leaves during a fall snowstorm in Helena, Montana, on Sunday, September 29, 2019.

AP


Closer to the mountains, snow now measured in feet is piled high outside homes. With high winds, trees have been knocked down. At one point, thousands lost power.

“When is the last time you’ve seen a September like this? i have never seen a September snow like this,” said National weather service meteorologist  Don Britton.

Britton has lived in Great Falls for more than 40 years. He says this storm is a record breaker.

“That one set back in 1934? That was broken,” he said. “That was a three-day record of over 13 inches of snow. We’ve already had over 14 inches of snow in two days, so that record is pretty much obliterated.”

The snowstorm also hit parts of Idaho.

And in Spokane, Washington, the storm marked the first time the city recorded snow on this date since officials began keeping records in 1881. Forecasters expect the winter weather to continue through the night.

“Hunker down, stay warm, and try to avoid travel,” Britton advised.

The storm is expected to move out of the area by early tomorrow morning. Some schools will be closed Monday, but all of this snow is expected to melt by the end of the week, and everyone here can get back to fall.

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/montana-governor-declares-winter-storm-emergency-as-state-hit-with-snow-storm-road-closures-2019-09-29/

President Trump on Sunday said he wants to meet the whistleblower who filed a complaint about his July phone call with the Ukrainian president and to have House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., questioned for “fraud and treason.”

“Like every American, I deserve to meet my accuser, especially when this accuser, the so-called ‘Whistleblower,’ represented a perfect conversation with a foreign leader in a totally inaccurate and fraudulent way,” Trump tweeted. “Then Schiff made up what I actually said by lying to Congress.”

BIDEN SEEKS TO BAR GIULIANI FROM TV NEWS, AFTER TRUMP LAWYER ALLEGES POSSIBLE BIDEN CORRUPTION

He continued: “His lies were made in perhaps the most blatant and sinister manner ever seen in the great Chamber. He wrote down and read terrible things, then said it was from the mouth of the President of the United States. I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.”

Trump last week released a transcript of the call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, which along with the complaint, detailed how he urged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. The incident has set off a formal impeachment inquiry.

But Schiff opened Thursday’s hearing on Capitol Hill with Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire with an exaggerated reading of the phone call, which he later walked back as a “parody.”

Trump on Friday blasted Schiff for the fictional summary and demanded his immediate resignation.

PELOSI ‘ABUSING’ HER ROLE AS HOUSE SPEAKER WITH IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY, FAILING TO GIVE TRUMP DUE PROCESS, COLLINS SAYA

In the series of tweets on Sunday, Trump not only doubled down on meeting his accusers, both the whistleblower and the person who supplied the information, but also questioned whether he was being spied on.

“In addition, I want to meet not only my accuser, who presented SECOND & THIRD HAND INFORMATION, but also the person who illegally gave this information, which was largely incorrect, to the ‘Whistleblower,’” Trump tweeted. “Was this person SPYING on the U.S. President? Big Consequences!”

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However, Schiff appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” earlier Sunday saying that precautions have been taken to protect the whistleblower’s identity amid the criticism from Trump and his allies.

“We are taking all the precautions we can to protect the whistleblower’s identity,” Schiff added. “With President Trump’s threats, you can imagine the security concerns here.”

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-whistleblower-schiff-fraud-treason