The latest on Trump’s Ukraine drama

Former Massachusetts governor and longshot candidate for the GOP nomination for president Bill Weld accused President Trump today of “treason” for pressing Ukraine’s President to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

“The penalty for treason under the US code is death. That’s the only penalty,” Weld added. “The penalty under the Constitution is removal from office and that might look like a pretty good alternative to the President if he could work out a plea deal.”

Weld’s comments come amid mounting scrutiny of Trump after he acknowledged discussing Biden and his son, Hunter, in a July call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The call was part of a whistleblower complaint submitted to the Intelligence Community Inspector General, another person familiar with the situation told CNN.

White House officials are now considering releasing a transcript of the call, multiple sources have told CNN. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

Keep reading about Weld’s comments here.

Three House committees sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today, asking him to produce documents on the Ukraine drama.

The letter was sent on behalf of Rep. Eliot L. Engel, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The committees want to hear from Pompeo by Thursday on “whether he intends to fully comply with these requests or whether subpoenas will be necessary,” according to a statement.

Read the full letter here.

President Trump went on the offensive today, openly accusing former Vice President Joe Biden of being “corrupt.” Meanwhile, Trump himself faces claims that he asked Ukraine’s President Volodmyr Zelensky to investigate the Democratic frontrunner.  

“Joe Biden and his son are corrupt,” Trump said, referring to unfounded claims that Biden’s son was involved in a corruption scheme in Ukraine. 

Trump then claimed — with no proof — that, “If a Republican ever did what Joe Biden did, if a Republican ever said what Joe Biden said, they’d be getting the electric chair right now.” 

The President also denied claims he put pressure on the Ukrainian leader by threatening to withhold US aid, saying, “I did not make a statement that ‘you have to do this or I’m not going to give you aid.’ I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do that.” 

“There was no pressure put on them whatsoever. I put no pressure on them whatsoever. I could have. I think it probably, possibly would have been OK if I did,” he said. 

Trump again was opaque on whether a transcript on his call with the Ukraine president will be released. However, he suggested that he hoped it would be released.

“It was a very nice call. I hope you get to see it and I hope you get to see it soon,” Trump said.

Trump made the comments during a bilateral meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, where the two men signed what Trump called a “joint declaration on advancing defense cooperation.” 

Joe Biden replied to one of President Trump’s tweets about the Ukraine drama and called on the President to release transcripts of his call with Ukraine’s president.

“So release the transcript of the call then,” Biden wrote.

President Trump again was opaque on whether a transcript or information on his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be released.

While Trump was lamenting US support for Ukraine and what he perceives as a lack of support from Europe, Trump said, “When I spoke with, I had a great conversation with the new President of Ukraine and during that conversation, we discussed it. Perhaps you’ll see it, perhaps you won’t see that, it depends on what we want to do.”

He continued: “But we had a great conversation, a very, very — a very nice conversation too, but one of the things we discussed is why isn’t Europe helping Ukraine more? Why is it always the United States? That’s bothered me from day one.”

Later, Trump said that he did not threaten to withhold aid to Ukraine.

Trump again suggested it’s his hope the call’s transcript is released

“It was a very nice call. I hope you get to see it, and I hope you get to see it soon,” he said.

Ukraine was not formally notified of the assistance being put on hold for review, but they were asking about it constantly when the stories were written on the subject, a source familiar with those discussions explained.

Throughout that time, US special representative Kurt Volker and other State Department personnel were telling Ukraine that they judged the assistance would be released, given what they knew about Mike Pompeo and others in Washington being supportive of it. But there was no formal mechanism to tell them it was on hold, or that it has been released. The most formal nod that the Ukrainians got that they were good to go was a Sept. 12 tweet from the US embassy in Kyiv, saying US support remains ironclad.  

In the formal discussions of the assistance review, as far as State working level personnel were involved, former Vice President Joe Biden did not come up. Clearly, there was a tight hold on the political element to any discussions that were occurring, a source familiar said.

Why this matters: On Sunday, Trump said that he did indeed discuss Biden with Ukraine’s president at a time when Kiev was awaiting a $250 million military aid package from the United States. The call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took place on July 25. Congress passed the bill in August and the White House lifted a hold on the money in September.

There is a range of reactions from inside Trump’s circle of advisers and aides as to just how critical the situation may be for the President after his admission that he discussed possible 2020 rival Joe Biden with Ukraine’s president.

One Trump adviser was candid about the potential legal peril for the President.

A separate source close to the White House said Trump’s team is treating the Ukraine story like the President’s taxes: That is, a problem but one that can potentially be fought out in the media and in the courts, if needed.

The source familiar with the matter said some on Trump’s internal White House legal team are currently leaning against releasing the transcript from the call.

But a White House official brushed off concerns about Trump’s interactions with Ukraine’s president, calling it “Mueller 2.”

“We’ve seen this movie before,” the official said.

An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview published today that Ukraine would not open or close investigations “on command,” amid questions in Washington over whether President Trump pressured the country to investigate Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden.

Andriy Yermak, a lawyer and top aide to Zelensky, addressed his contacts with US officials in an interview published today on the Ukrainian news site LB.ua. Yermak said he decided to get in touch with Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, when he read that the former New York City mayor canceled a trip to Ukraine in May to push for that country to investigate Biden.

Yermak said he visited Washington this summer and met with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, informing lawmakers of his plans to meet with Giuliani and introduce the new Ukrainian president’s policy goals. 

“Most importantly, we have a new team, a new president, we are simple guys,” he characterized his pitch to Giuliani. “We do not need intermediaries for a meeting. Here is my phone number, you can always call me and come over.

“And anyway, I’m a fan of what he did for New York as mayor. I know that Giuliani is friends with [Kiev Mayor Vitaly] Klitschko, it would be nice for him to come to Kiev and share his experience,” Yermak continued.

On the matter of pushing Ukraine investigations, Yermak said he told Giuliani: “We can guarantee that during our tenure investigations will occur transparently, there are not going to be any on-call commands to open or close the investigations. These are the fundamental principles and foundations of President Zelensky’s program with which we went to the polls.”

Yermak added: “So, Giuliani and I talked on the phone, and after that we personally met in Madrid. I repeated to him the same points. He noted that it was important for him to hear that the new Ukrainian government would preach the principles of openness and legality, will fight corruption, and set as its goal to make Ukraine successful.” 

President Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, according to a person familiar with the situation.

If that’s true, it’s a big deal: Presidents are expected to act in the interests of all Americans and not to use their vast discretion in foreign policy to pursue political vendettas or subvert US democracy. The Founders saw the presidency as a public trust, meaning that its incumbents should not put their personal interests over the national interest.

The Ukraine story is so significant because it may have the potential to fall into such grave constitutional territory and could represent an abuse of presidential power.

Trump and his team seemed at odds yesterday over whether to publish the transcript of his conversations with Zelensky. And they went on offense in typical fashion, bending facts and spinning conspiracy theories, obfuscation and hypocrisy.

What Trump has said: Trump insisted that he said “absolutely nothing wrong” in the call with the Ukrainian president. “It was perfect,” he said.

Trump often gives the impression that he believes he is not constrained by norms on the limits of power observed by past presidents. In July for instance, he said, falsely, that Article 2 of the Constitution “allows me to do whatever I want as President.”

Past scrapes like the 2016 Russian election meddling scandal — and multiple controversies ranging from his insulting behavior toward the late Sen. John McCain to his payments to women who claimed they had affairs with him – have failed to bring him down. His emergence from each may have taught him a lesson.

Former Ohio governor John Kasich called on Republicans in Congress to push the Trump administration to turn over the whistleblower complaint to the House Intelligence Committee.

“I am waiting for one or two Republicans to strongly say that this is wrong, but let’s investigate, maybe there’s some excuse out here that we don’t know. I’m fine with that. But we need to know what happened,” Kasich said in an interview with CNN.

“You have to make sure you’re not putting your party and your own little hide ahead of what is correct in this case,” Kasich said. “All you should be calling for is for all of this to be sent to the intelligence committee. That’s what the law says and that is what you should be advocating.”

On the whistleblower’s credibility, Kasich said:

Kasich said he is “very, very, very concerned” and accused Republicans of “hiding.” Kasich also appeared to challenge lawmakers to act more forcefully in getting the administration to release the whistleblower information.

“If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Go do something else,” Kasich said.

Former Vice President Al Gore said there should be an impeachment investigation around the whistleblower report and President Trump’s conversations with Ukraine’s president.

Gore continued: “Were it to be true, and not addressed, it would normalize the most obscene and outrageous behavior, threaten the rule of law and the promise of democracy and self governance. That much is at stake.”

The interview will air later this week.

President Trump in a pair of new tweets questioned who is the “so-called ‘whistleblower’” and whether he is “on our Country’s side.”

Trump also quotes ally Rep. Devin Nunes on Fox and Friends. Here are the tweets:

President Trump has arrived inside at the United Nations General Assembly, where he talked about Joe Biden and what he called a “Democratic witch hunt.”

“The one who’s got the problem is Biden, because if you look at what Biden did, Biden did what they would like to have me do except there’s one problem: I didn’t do it,” Trump said.

More context: Trump on Sunday acknowledged that he discussed former Vice President Joe Biden in a July call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. CNN previously reported Trump pressed Zelensky in the call to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, according to a person familiar with the situation. That call was also part of a whistleblower complaint submitted to the Intelligence Community Inspector General, another person familiar with the situation told CNN. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

House Democrats this morning say that they are close to a “tipping point” on impeachment in the wake of the Trump administration’s blocking the whistleblower complaint and the President’s admission of discussing the Bidens in his phone call with the Ukrainian leader. 

Democrats, both freshmen from Trump districts and moderates who have resisted calls for impeachment, are telling their colleagues privately they are prepared to announce their support for impeachment proceedings. This is especially true if the controversy continues to grow — namely if there’s evidence that Trump sought to withhold military aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigating the Bidens, according to Democratic sources involved in the conversations. 

That could change the calculus for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has in part resisted moving forward on impeachment because she has sought to protect vulnerable Democrats in GOP-leaning districts who could face voter backlash over impeachment. But if those members come out in support of impeachment proceedings, Pelosi is bound to shift her positioning as well, according to Democrats close to the speaker.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat on the House Oversight and Foreign Affairs panels, told CNN this morning: “I think we’re reaching a tipping point both within our base and within our caucus.”

Rep. Vicente Gonzales, a Texas Democrat who has been cautious on impeachment, told CNN that his view on impeachment is shifting as well, saying, “I don’t think we will have a choice” but to impeach if the controversy expands.

White House officials are considering releasing a transcript of President Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, multiple sources tell CNN.

However, some senior administration officials, like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, are against the idea because of the precedent releasing it could set with future foreign leaders — and because putting it out could give Congress ammunition to demand transcripts of Trump’s calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

White House officials were soliciting opinions from outside advisers over the weekend about whether they should release the transcript of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president, as well as how advisers think the White House should message it if the transcript was “embarrassing.”

A person familiar with the discussions said the White House Counsel’s Office is currently involved in evaluating whether the transcript should be released and in what form. The person saying the release could happen “soon.”

President Trump said he had a “perfect” phone call with the president of Ukraine and added that he’s not taking impeachment threats from the Democrats seriously.

A reporter at the United Nations General Assembly just asked Trump how seriously he’s taking the impeachment talk.

Some context: Weighing in on the Ukraine controversy on Sunday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said that impeachment “may be the only remedy” to Trump’s refusal to make public the complaint and phone call transcript.

Bill Weld, who is running against President Trump for the GOP 2020 nomination, said the President’s call to Ukraine is “treason, pure and simple.”

In an interview with MSNBC, Weld was asked about the report that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his potential Democratic general election opponent Joe Biden. 

Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo at Cabinet meeting at the White House

Trump and his top aides appear split on whether or not it’s a good idea to release the transcript of the call in question between him and the Ukrainian president.

Trump says release the transcript: Trump was asked by reporters Sunday about releasing the transcript of the July 25 call and responded: “I hope they can put it out.”

Some of his top administration officials think it’s a bad idea.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there’s no evidence such an action “would be appropriate” at this time.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also weighed in, telling CNN Sunday that he thinks releasing the transcript “would be a terrible precedent,” arguing that “conversations between world leaders are meant to be confidential.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, a close ally of hers, were in close contact throughout the weekend talking about the Ukraine whistleblower story and coordinating strategy, a leadership aide confirmed to CNN. This as you saw both make key moves today.

Schiff — who had not supported impeachment so far — signaled a shift in his opinion on CNN’s “State of the Union” telling Jake Tapper:

Then, Pelosi on Sunday put out the unusual letter to all members of the House giving a Thursday deadline for the Director of National Intelligence to allow the whistleblower complaint regarding the President’s phone call with the Ukrainian President to be given to the Intelligence Committee.

She also pushed the administration to work out a way for the whistleblower to speak to both the Senate and House intelligence panels. She said “if the administration persists in blocking this whistleblower from disclosing to Congress a serious possible breach of constitutional duties by the President, they will be entering a grave new chapter of lawlessness which will take us into a whole new stage of investigation.”

Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, September 22, 2019, as he arrives for the United Nations General Assembly.

Here’s what you might have missed over the weekend with the Trump-Ukraine controversy: