By Lisa Desjardins 

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HERE'S THE DEAL
IMPEACHMENT EDITION
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Nov. 1, 2019

Note: We are resending today’s Brief due to a coding glitch which mistakenly resent the opening lines from Wednesday’s edition.

Happy Friday everyone.

Impeachment has entered a new phase. The House of Representatives now has a framework for its process, if not a clear schedule for when each step will happen. And judges in federal court are hearing cases related directly to the probe.

Two days with three witnesses: Tim Morrison, Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson
* Testimony supporting the president. Tim Morrison, a Russia specialist at the National Security Council, testified yesterday that he did not see anything illegal in the president’s July call with Ukraine President Zelensky. And he stated that he did not believe the transcript of the call left out any critical information.
* Potentially damaging to the president. At the same time, Morrison corroborated earlier testimony that Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the E.U., tied aid money for Ukraine to a demand that the country investigate a company associated with Hunter Biden. Morrison said he was worried about the political and diplomatic repercussions if that plan became public.
* Connection to a former congressman. Wednesday, former National Security Council staffer Catherine Croft testified that lobbyist and former Republican Congressman Bob Livingston called her multiple times to push for the removal of U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. (Yovanovitch was later removed.)
* A picture of conflicting policies. Also Wednesday, Christopher Anderson, who held Ms. Croft’s position before her, testified that while career officials wanted to increase support of Ukraine, the president’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, pushed for less engagement with the country.

Trump nominee confirms Guiliani role, seems to counter White House narratives
* John Sullivan, who has been nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Russia, testified at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday. He is currently the deputy secretary of state.
* He told senators that Giuliani campaigned to oust then-ambassador Yovanovich, confirming her testimony earlier this month. Sullivan described Yovanovich as serving “admirably and capably.”
* Sullivan seemed to criticize the president’s request for a Ukrainian investigation into the Biden family, saying, “soliciting investigations into a domestic political opponent—I don't think that would be in accord with our values.”

Report: Key pieces were left out of Ukraine transcript
* The New York Times ([link removed]) and others reported that Alexander Vindman, currently the top Ukraine staffer on the National Security Council, noticed that the White House omitted some notable words in its transcript ([link removed]) of the call between Presidents Trump and Zelensky in July -- including mention of Joe Biden and the energy company paying his son.

House approves impeachment rules
* The House of Representatives passed a resolution ([link removed]) yesterday establishing a framework for an impeachment process. The measure passed largely along partisan lines 232-196, with two Democrats joining Republicans.

Action in court between the White House and Congress
* A federal judge seemed skeptical ([link removed]) yesterday of the Department of Justice’s argument that the president and his White House staff have total immunity from House subpoenas. Judge Kentaji Jackson is determining whether former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify and said she plans to rule in the coming weeks. McGahn is a key witness regarding allegations in the Mueller Report.
* In a separate case, another federal judge set a December date to hear arguments over whether Charles Kupperman, a potential witness in the whistleblower case, should comply with a House subpoena to testify or follow a White House order that they refuse.

President Trump on offense
* The Trump campaign released a new ad ([link removed]) attacking Democrats for launching impeachment and what it called “phony investigations.” The 30-second spot ran during the World Series, a move one Democraticstrategist called “unprecedented” ([link removed]) in the year ahead of an election.
* At the same time, the president pushed Republicans to address the substance ([link removed]) of impeachment instead of just criticizing the process.

New Moments and Documents
* REVIEW: How every member of the House voted on the impeachment procedure resolution ([link removed]) .

* WATCH: House of Representatives’ debate on impeachment procedures ([link removed]) .

* READ: The House impeachment resolution ([link removed]) and rules for the Judiciary Committee process ([link removed]) (under “Hon. James McGovern”).

* WATCH: Nick Schifrin’s interview with House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff ([link removed]) .

* WATCH: House Democrats’ news conference ([link removed]) following impeachment procedures vote.

* WATCH: House Republicans’ news conference ([link removed]) following impeachment procedures vote.

* READ: Opening statement from Tim Morrison ([link removed]) , National Security Council senior director for Europe and Eurasia. (As obtained by CBS.)

* READ: Opening statement from Catherine Croft ([link removed]) , former Ukraine director at the National Security Council.

* READ: Opening statement from Christopher Anderson ([link removed]) , former adviser for Ukraine.

Thank you again for reading. Send your feedback to: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . We will bring you another brief next week.
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