BY BRIAN BEUTLER, PRIYANKA ARIBINDI

& CROOKED MEDIA

Friday, August 9, 2019

—Sad Trump donor whining :(

BREAKING: IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY UNDERWAY

Well, release a couple doves and put out the good snacks.  An impeachment inquiry is underway in the House of Representatives. 

What happened? House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler did a round of interviews on Thursday in which he acknowledged unequivocally that he is overseeing an impeachment inquiry. 

• "This is formal impeachment proceedings," Nadler told CNN’s Erin Burnett. "We are investigating all the evidence. We gather the evidence and we will at the conclusion of this hopefully by the end ofI the year vote to—vote articles of impeachment to the House floor or we won't."

• Nadler told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that the “end of the year” represents an “approximate time frame.” He said he will hold hearings with witnesses who will testify voluntarily, or can’t resist subpoenas, through September and October, and hopes that by the end of October, the courts will have enforced subpoenas of other witnesses like former White House Counsel Don McGahn.

So… what does this mean? This is progress for sure, but we’re not quite where we need to be yet. 

Progress: Until a few weeks ago, Democratic leaders stood opposed to impeachment. Then last month, when Nadler requested Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury materials from federal court, he argued that, for legal purposes, his committee was engaged in an impeachment inquiry. He did the same thing in clearer terms this week when he asked the court to enforce the subpoena he issued to McGahn. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even signed off on that language. But now Nadler has made a clear political statement above and beyond a claim made to strengthen the committee’s legal hand.

What remains to be done: Basically House Democrats need to unify behind Nadler, and the inquiry needs to play out as a confrontation with Trump across the full spectrum of his abuses. 

The good news on this front: Though he’s most closely focused on the Mueller report, Nadler anticipates a broader inquiry.

• “We’re not limited to the Mueller report—to evidence of collusion with the Russians and obstructions of justice,” Nadler told Burnett. “Those are two key elements obviously, but there’s also the question of unconstitutional and illegal violations of the Emoluments Clause…Michael Cohen was sent to jail for illegal campaign finance use of hush money, and the evidence was the president instructed him to do that, it was for the president’s benefit, that would certainly be something we’re looking at.” 

• A bunch of banks with information about Trump’s financial entanglements with Russia have provided information to other House committees, among other things, and it’s easy to imagine those committees folding their discoveries into Nadler’s investigation.

The bad news? Democrats aren’t united yet and that needs to change quickly. If Democrats are divided, the moral force of Nadler’s proceedings, and their ability to break through the chaos of daily politics, will be diminished by stories about Democrats who oppose impeachment, and, as a result, how Trump’s conduct might not merit impeachment. (And you know what we think about that.) The worst case scenario is one where Democrats, having begun the inquiry, decide not to pass articles of impeachment, essentially signing off on all of Trump’s sins.

Does the idea of those narratives taking hold bother you? Do you want to see Democrats united in using the powers of Congress to expose Trump’s abuses and forcing Republicans to vote on whether they support them? Cool. Us too. And you can help by calling your members and making sure they’re on board.

Over 200 kids were missing from Mississippi schools this week after the ICE raids that resulted in 680 arrests there on Wednesday ignited fear of more arrests and deportations. While the schools claim they’ve reached out to families to offer reassurances that “school is a safe harbor” officials worry that it will take some time before immigrant families in the area feel safe returning to public places. Images and video from the areas show children sobbing and pleading for their parents to be returned after the raids. Heartbreaking and enraging.

Pod Save America is going on tour! Come see Jon, Jon, Tommy, and Dan live in San Jose, CA, on September 26. We know it’s a podcast, but we promise there’s lots to see. 

Get your tickets today → crooked.com/events

The El Paso mass shooter confessed to law enforcement that he was targeting “Mexicans" in his attack. 

President Trump will install Joseph Maguire, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as the acting director of national intelligence after DNI Dan Coats steps down next week. The announcement followed the news that Sue Gordon, the nation’s second-highest ranking intelligence official, would leave with Coats. In a brief hand-written resignation letter, Gordon wrote, “I offer this letter as an act of respect & patriotism, not preference,” indicating that she was pushed out of the role. 

White House officials had the Texas hospital Trump visited on Wednesday call back the two-month-old baby whose parents were murdered in the El Paso massacre Trump helped inspire, so he could grin and flash a thumbs up during a photo-op. The man is broken. All eight of the injured victims at the hospital declined to meet Trump during his visit. 

A draft executive order may put the Federal Communications Commission in charge of regulating how social media platforms curate content on their platforms. Basically, Republicans have fanned manufactured outrage over imaginary right-wing “shadowbans” and want to sic the FCC on Twitter and Facebook whenever conservatives get in trouble for violating the platforms’ so-called standards.

The Trump Organization has relied for nearly two decades on a roving crew of Latin American laborers that includes people who entered the country illegally. So, no immigrants allowed, except if they’re making Trump richer or taking a truly awful job that no American wants like being his wife.

Joe Biden had an unfortunate slip-up in Iowa on Thursday, when he said "poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids." He quickly caught himself, but the incident has fueled concerns about his candidacy.

Scientists have managed to create an artisan vodka from “slightly contaminated rye grain” in Chernobyl, which *checks notes* we won’t be drinking. One problem: The hangover lasts 10,000 years.

Five years ago today a white police officer in Ferguson, MO, shot and killed, Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, igniting 11 consecutive days of Black Lives Matter protests. 

Today, more than half of Ferguson’s City Council members and police officers are black—a striking shift away from the almost entirely white leadership and police force that governed the city in 2014. But some residents think the city still isn’t doing enough to address crime, poverty, and lack of opportunity in largely black neighborhoods. 

Brown’s father has urged St. Louis’s top prosecutor to reopen his office’s investigation into the officer. The new prosecuting attorney, Wesley Bell, is the county’s first black prosecutor. He defeated seven-term incumbent Bob McCulloch before taking office in January. 

After last weekend's mass shootings, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have agreed to consider new background check requirements on gun purchases— proposals that they have opposed in the past. In an interview, McConnell said a measure to expand background checks to all gun purchasers would be “front and center” when the Senate comes back into session next month, and said members would also discuss “red flag” legislation that would make it easier to take guns away from people who have been deemed dangerous to themselves or others. 

We don’t trust McConnell or Trump, and neither should you, but this is still a sign of positive change; they wouldn’t even be pretending to consider these measures without immense public pressure from readers like you.

Keep making those calls → (202) 224-3121

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