WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, October 3, 2019

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1/ Trump urged China to investigate Joe Biden and his son despite already facing impeachment for using the office of the presidency to press Ukraine to investigate a political rival. Trump said he hadn't directly asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to investigate the Bidens, but it's "certainly something we could start thinking about." Trump, Pence, and Attorney General William Barr have now solicited help from Ukraine, Australia, Italy, Britain, and China for assistance in discrediting Trump's political opponents. Trump also doubled down on pressuring the Ukrainian president, saying that "if it were me, I would recommend that [Ukraine] start an investigation into the Bidens." Trump's efforts to persuade Ukraine to investigate Biden in a July phone call set off the impeachment inquiry by House Democrats, who are looking at whether Trump abused the power of his office for political gain. (New York Times / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / CNN / NBC News / Axios / CNBC / Associated Press / Washington Post)

• House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff: Trump's call for China to investigate the Bidens is "repugnant" and "ought to be condemned by every member" of Congress. (Axios)

• Ukraine's former President said Biden never asked him to open or close any criminal cases. Petro Poroshenko refuted Trump's claims that Biden abused his power to pressure Kiev to dismiss a federal prosecutor who was investigating a natural gas company of which Biden's son was a board member. "The former vice president, at least in personal conversations, didn’t raise any requests to open or close any concrete cases," Poroshenko said. (Bloomberg / The Hill)

• Pence claimed that he did not discuss Biden during a September meeting with the Ukrainian President. Pence instead suggested that the unfounded allegations against Biden and his son should be investigated. (Reuters / CNN)

• ???? Day 986: Trump repeatedly involved Pence in his efforts to pressure the Ukraine president at a time when Volodymyr Zelensky was seeking recognition and support from Washington. In May, Tru...

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