Epstein Secrets

n to the anonymous whistleblower about the president's efforts to pressure Ukraine "exposed things that didn't need to be exposed." Felicia Sonmez, Karoun Demirjian and Douglas MacMillan report: "'This would have been far better off if we would've just taken care of this behind the scenes,' Johnson said in an in

, according to emails obtained by the Wall Street Journal: "The emails reviewed by the Journal show that three days [after the July 10 meeting], Mr. Sondland urged Mr. Morrison to schedule the call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky before Ukrainian parliamentary elections on July 21. 'Sole purpose is fo

ously reported. ... "The comments by Trump and Johnson also come amid intensifying scrutiny of the actions of U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, [who is expected to testify on Wednesday and one of eight people scheduled to appear in public hearings this week]. According to testimony release

. Police declined to discuss what kind of weapon was used or any potential motive." EFTA00046173 Lawmakers argue over Trump's intentions ahead of Sondland testimony IMPEACHMENT LATEST: -- Trump tweeted this morning that he will "strongly consider" testifying in writing as part of the impeachment inqu

their questions, saying that he could not hear them or that they were speaking too fast," Devlin Barrett, Matt Zapotosky, Rosalind S. Helderman and Karoun Demirjian report. "He also said he was unfamiliar with some of the specifics of the investigation — a surprising admission for a prosecutor who built a dist

al. Morrison and Volker agreed that, too, would be improper. Page 16977 EFTA00046488 Morrison: Ukraine aid was contingent on investigations, per Sondland -- Morrison said he reported details of the July 25 call to the National Security Council's top lawyer. He said he worried about the political fal

nduct. Both insisted that they didn't see him do anything illegal. Each seemed content to throw Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, and Gordon Sondland, the megadonor who became ambassador to the European Union and is testifying today, under the bus. But they also validated key testimony from other

ying on Thursday, had warned him about the "Gordon problem," referring to Sondland, when he took over. "I decided to keep track of what Ambassador Sondland was doing," he explained. "I didn't Page 16978 EFTA00046489 always act on things Gordon suggested [and] that he believed were important." Volke

FTA00047040 nas not neen turnea over, wnicn gives Democrats usanie evidence to substantiate a likely article of impeachment based on obstruction. Karoun Demirjian reports: "'Based on a sample of the documents attached to Ambassador Sondland's statement .. . we can see why Pompeo and [Trump] have made such a c

ressure a foreign government to investigate Joe Biden. Rachael Bade, Aaron C. Davis and Matt Zapotosky report: "More forcefully than he has before, Sondland declared that the Trump administration would not give Ukraine's newly elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a chance to visit the White House — un

the investigations, rather than actually carry them out, though he conceded official announcements would hold foreign officials to their word. ... Sondland revealed an email showing that he asked Pompeo to help him orchestrate a face-to-face encounter between Trump and Zelensky, off to the side of a Wo