Thursday marked the beginning of the next phase of the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump’s use of his office to pressure Ukraine to dig for dirt on his political opponents. The House voted 232-196 to proceed with the inquiry, laying out a process for public hearings and for Republican involvement in the that process. That 232-196 vote, by the way, is an almost perfect partisan split: every Republican in attendance voted against the resolution while just two Democrats broke ranks to oppose it.
There’s a word for those 196 members of the House, Meteor Blades wrote in advance of the vote: accomplices.
● In response to the vote, the White House quickly resumed whining and screaming about the wrongs that have been done to poor Donald. But, Kerry Eleveld pointed out, the White House didn’t bother to try to defend Trump on substance, as it has pressed congressional Republicans to do, and for all its attacks on Democrats for supposedly not caring about policy, it didn’t make any serious effort to shift the discussion to policy.
● That wasn’t the White House’s only public relations effort for the day. It also released talking points on Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s Wednesday testimony. Those talking points were predictably false, false, and false. Also: false.
● The Trump campaign, meanwhile, is trying to round up support from Republican senators by raising money for those who get Trump's back. It almost sounds like a quid pro quo, doesn’t it?
● The Trump White House and Trump campaign weren’t the only parts of Team Trump trying to win the messaging war. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came out with a remarkable conspiracy theory about former President Barack Obama and Ukraine. It, too, is demonstrably false.
● While Team Trump was busy pumping out lies and nonsense, more of the atmosphere surrounding Trump’s July 25 call with President Volodymyr Zelensky was taking shape.
National Security Council counsel John Eisenberg hasn’t testified yet, and he hasn’t even been directly named very often. But, Mark Sumner writes, his fingerprints are all over the decision to bury complaints and cover up the call. NSC director for European and Russian affairs Tim Morrison—already on his way out of a role he’s held since only this summer—did talk to House investigators Thursday, telling Congress that although he didn’t think there was anything illegal on the call, he directed it be put on the extra-secret server because he was concerned it would leak. Morrison’s testimony differed from that of other key witnesses on certain important points, so that’s … interesting.
● Military aid wasn’t the only thing the Trump administration withheld from Ukraine. It also delayed reinstating trade privileges over the summer, at the same time administration officials (and Rudy Giuliani) were engaging in the military aid quid pro quo. Democratic senators have questions.
● For a lot more background on Donald Trump’s relationship to Ukraine, check out this explainer by Mark Sumner.