House committees issue new subpoenas in Ukraine probe
Key facts and latest news
- The House committees leading the impeachment probe issued subpoenas to the Pentagon and White House budget office, demanding documents about freezing military aid to Ukraine.
- "Multiple whistleblowers" have come forward, according to the attorneys representing the original whistleblower.
- On a July call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr. Trump urged Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. Before the call, the president instructed acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to hold off on releasing military aid to Ukraine that had been appropriated by Congress.
- Soon after the July call, White House officials moved a record of the call to a highly classified computer system, severely restricting who could access it.
Washington -- Three House committees leading Democrats' impeachment probe issued new subpoenas to the secretary of defense and acting White House budget director, requesting documents about the decision to freeze military aid to Ukraine over the summer.
"The enclosed subpoena demands documents that are necessary for the Committees to examine this sequence of these events and the reasons behind the White House's decision to withhold critical military assistance to Ukraine that was appropriated by Congress to counter Russian aggression," the committees' chairmen said in a release.
A Pentagon spokesman said the department "proactively issued an internal directive to retain documents related to this issue. As we've stated previously, we are prepared to work with Congress and other relevant parties on questions related to the issue of Ukrainian aid as appropriate."
On Sunday, the attorneys representing the whistleblower who filed a complaint about President Trump's dealings with Ukraine said they are representing "multiple whistleblowers" in connection to the case, including one with "first hand knowledge" of events.
"I can confirm that my firm and my team represent multiple whistleblowers in connection to the underlying August 12, 2019, disclosure to the Intelligence Community Inspector General," attorney Andrew Bakaj tweeted Sunday. "No further comment at this time."
Mark Zaid, another member of the first whistleblower's legal team, also said the team is representing a second official with first-hand knowledge of events, as first reported by ABC News. The original whistleblower had not heard or seen a transcript of the phone call between Mr. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the center of the August 12 complaint.
"I can confirm this report of a second #whistleblower being represented by our legal team," Zaid tweeted. "They also made a protected disclosure under the law and cannot be retaliated against. This WBer has first hand knowledge." -- Stefan Becket
Democrats considering "extraordinary" steps to protect whistleblower's identity
6:08 p.m.: In an interview on CNN, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, confirmed the committee is considering "extraordinary moves" to protect the whistleblower's identity in a still-unscheduled upcoming interview.
"We have to take all precautions, because we cannot burn his or her identity," Krishnamoorthi told CBS News.
The potential measures -- including obscuring the whistleblower's appearance and voice -- were first reported by The Washington Post on Monday.
The measures the committee is considering are extremely rare. A Senate Intelligence Committee aide said they could not think of a time when their committee has taken such steps to protect an interviewee's identity. The person said the closest parallel they could think of was when the chair and vice chair offered to fly to London to interview Christopher Steele, the author of a dossier detailing ties between the Trump campaign and Russia who had legal concerns about traveling to the U.S.
The measures the House committee is considering, this aide said, "speak to concerns about the ranking member and his intentions." In other words, Democrats are worried that Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the committee, will share the whistleblower's identity with the White House.
On the Senate side, "I can't think of a time when we needed to conceal someone's identity from the other party," the aide said.
Nunes relinquished his leadership of the House committee's Russia probe after he was accused of coordinating with the White House to disclose classified information aimed at embarrassing the previous administration. -- Nancy Cordes
Trump calls impeachment inquiry a "scam"
4:54 p.m.: After signing a pair of trade deals with Japan at the White House, the president took questions from reporters and called the impeachment probe a "scam."
"The impeachment inquiry is a scam. The conversation that I had with the Ukrainian president, Zelensky, was a very good, it was a very cordial conversation," Mr. Trump said.
He again criticized House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff for paraphrasing his remarks on the call during a congressional hearing last week, calling him a "fraud." -- Stefan Becket
GOP senator says Trump "should not have raised the Biden issue" on Ukraine call
4:21 p.m.: Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio said the president raising the prospect of investigating the Bidens on the July 25 call with the president of Ukraine was "not appropriate" but said he doesn't think it rises to the level of an impeachable offense.
"The president should not have raised the Biden issue on that call, period. It's not appropriate for a president to engage a foreign government in an investigation of a political opponent," Portman said in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch published Monday. "I don't view it as an impeachable offense. I think the House frankly rushed to impeachment assuming certain things."
The president called Portman "honorable" last week after Portman said he was given a "consistent reason" for the delay in releasing Ukraine aid. -- Stefan Becket
Trump to speak at trade agreement signing
3:12 p.m.: The president is expected to speak at a signing of two trade agreements with Japan in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Watch live here.
Pentagon and Office of Management and Budget subpoenaed
12:39 p.m.: The Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have been subpoenaed for documents in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel wrote to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and OMB Acting Director Russell Vought on Monday informing them of the subpoenas.
"Pursuant to the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry, we are hereby transmitting a subpoena that compels you to produce the documents set forth in the accompanying schedule by October 15, 2019," the chairmen wrote in their letter.
The White House was also subpoenaed for documents late Friday.
At least one week before Mr. Trump spoke by phone with the Ukrainian president in late July, he instructed his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to hold off on releasing nearly $400 million in military aid for Ukraine that had already been appropriated by Congress. A senior administration official with direct knowledge of the Trump administration's actions regarding the funds previously confirmed to CBS News the delay in military aid.
Larry Kudlow says he doesn't know if Trump was joking about China investigating Bidens
11:57 a.m.: Top Trump adviser Larry Kudlow, asked if the president was joking when he said the Chinese should investigate the Bidens, as some Republicans have suggested, responded, "I don't honestly know, I don't honestly know."
Kudlow made the comments to reporters on the White House driveway after a television hit.
Senator Marco Rubio said he believed the president was just trying to rile up journalists by suggesting China investigate the Bidens. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on "Fox and Friends" Monday the president did not mean for China to investigate the Bidens.
But last week, the president appeared serious when he said China should investigate his political rival.
"Well I would think that if they were honest about it they'd start a major investigation into the Bidens," Mr. Trump said on the South Lawn Friday. "It's a very simple answer. They should investigate the Bidens because how does a company that's newly formed -- and all these companies if you look at, and by the way likewise, China -- should start an investigation into the Bidens."
Trump tweets to bring "another whistleblower from the bench"
8:11 a.m. President Trump weighed in on revelations that a second whistleblower has stepped forward with details of his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr. Trump, quoting a "Fox and Friends" segment, slammed the original whistleblower as "partisan," and then dared another whistleblower to come forward "from the bench."
Defending Trump against impeachment is getting harder for GOP
7:12 a.m. If the House does move to impeach Mr. Trump, it would be up to the Republican-controlled Senate to hold his trial.
Just a handful of Republicans have raised concerns over the president's contacts with foreign leaders, but there does not seem to be a unified defense of the president. Privately, some Republicans say it just isn't worth it to take him on, even if they disapprove of his actions.
One reason why? The president hits back, and his approval rating within the Republican Party remains strong. The latest Gallup Poll, which was taken as reports of the president's call to Ukraine unfolded, shows his approvals at 87% among Republicans.
Maine Senator Susan Collins is one of the few Republicans willing to call the president out. She told the Bangor Daily News, "I thought the president made a big mistake by asking China to get involved in investigating a political opponent."
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse said in a statement to the Omaha World-Herald that "Americans don't look to Chinese commies for truth." And Utah Senator Mitt Romney called the president's plea "wrong and appalling."
Still, most Republicans have downplayed Mr. Trump's actions or kept quiet, as defending him has become more difficult.
"I doubt if the China comment was serious, to tell you the truth," Republican Senator Roy Blunt said on "Face the Nation" this Sunday.
Asked if he doesn't take the president at his word, Blunt said, "The president was -- no, the president loves to go out on the White House driveway. I haven't talked to him about this. I don't know what the president was thinking. But I know he loves to bait the press." -- Nancy Cordes
New whisleblower doesn't change White House strategy, Trump attorney says
6:20 a.m.: Mr. Trump's personal attorney Jay Sekulow told CBS News that the latest whistleblower in the Ukraine call controversy does not change the president's legal strategy going forward.
"We already released the transcript of the call. So this person has an opinion that they don't like what the President said?" Sekulow said.
He went on to say that he believes the fact that the second whistleblower is represented by the same law firm as the original whistleblower helps the president's political strategy because it "shows this firm is in the business of attacking the President."
"60 Minutes" on the impeachment probe
Last week, members of Congress went home to hear from their constituents. "60 Minutes" traveled with two members who are now facing some of the most consequential decisions of their careers.
Their congressional districts are 1,700 miles and worlds apart. New Jersey's 11th Congressional District is white, suburban and wealthy. Texas' 23rd Congressional District is wide open and 70% Latino.
Read more here.
Pompeo not complying with probe, Dem chairman says
New York Congressman Eliot Engel, one of the high-ranking House Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump's dealings with the Ukrainian government, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is not cooperating with the congressional investigation.
"He is not complying with the inquiry so far," Engel said on "Face the Nation" Sunday. "There are discussions that are ongoing and we're hoping that he will comply."
Engel, a longtime congressman from the Bronx, is chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which has oversight over the State Department. The panel is one of several high-profile committees -- including the Intelligence, Oversight and Judiciary panels -- spearheading the impeachment probe into Mr. Trump's efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to conduct politically motivated investigations, including one into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
Read more here.