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Situational awareness - October 25, 2019

Good morning from Salt Lake City and TGIF!

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Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

Friday trivia!

This week's question comes from subscriber Connie Steffen.

Which current member of the Utah Legislature formerly served as a staff attorney for lawmakers?

The first reader who submits the correct answer via email at [email protected] will get to ask next week's question.

Good luck!

TICK TOCK

Days to the 2019 Utah municipal elections: 11 (11/5/2019)

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 94 (1/27/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 130 (3/3/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 249 (6/23/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 375 (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Other

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Whoa!

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the origins of their probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The move is prompting fears that President Donald Trump is using the agency to target his political enemies [New York Times].

Impeachment

Democrats in the House say they don't need to hear testimony from the anonymous whistleblower who kicked off the current impeachment inquiry as other witnesses have provided ample evidence for their investigation [Washington Post].

A top Russia adviser on President Trump's National Security Council is expected to testify before House impeachment investigators next week and corroborate allegations that Trump was pressing Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter before he would approve US military aid [CNN].

Sen. Lindsey Graham has introduced a resolution in the Senate condemning the House impeachment inquiry process. It's not clear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will bring the resolution to the floor for a vote [CNN].

The Trump administration sent a letter to Laura Cooper, a Pentagon official, warning her to not testify before impeachment investigators. She did anyway [New York Times].

Ukraine scandal

The White House's trade representative in late August withdrew a plan to restore some of Ukraine's trade privileges after then-national security adviser John Bolton warned President Trump would oppose the move. The warning came as the White House was withholding $391 million in military aid to the country [Washington Post].

2020

Ohio congressman Tim Ryan ended his presidential bid on Thursday and said he would run for re-election to the House [Washington Post].

Joe Biden took a swipe at President Trump during an interview, saying his children would not "have offices in the White House" [CBS News].

Bernie Sanders said, if elected, he would issue an executive order to legalize marijuana [Reuters].

Senate Democrats say "no way" to the possibility of another Hillary Clinton presidential run [Politico].

Syria

The Pentagon is considering plans to deploy tanks to Syria to protect oil fields in the region [CNN].

Well now...

A federal judge is holding Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in contempt because her agency violated an order to stop collecting on student loans from a chain of for-profit colleges that went out of business. The judge also slapped her with a $100,000 fine [New York Times].

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Earlier this week, President Trump said "Never Trumper" Republicans are "human scum." White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham doubled down on Thursday, suggesting anyone who works against Trump's agenda should be included in that definition [Daily Beast].

BUSINESS HEADLINES

Policy News

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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1854 - Known as the Charge of the Light Brigade, 670 British cavalrymen fighting in the Crimean War attacked a heavily fortified Russian position and were killed.

1929 - During the Teapot Dome Scandal, Albert B. Fall, who served as U.S. President Warren Harding's interior secretary, was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office. He was the first presidential Cabinet member convicted of a crime.

1962 - U.S. ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson presented photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases in Cuba to the U.N. Security Council.

1983 - U.S. troops invaded the tiny, leftist-ruled island in Grenada, rescuing 1,000 American students and restoring order to the country.

Wise Words

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams

Lighter Side

"This might be the true genius of Donald Trump. Because you realize, with one scandal, you get kicked out of office. But with seven in one day? Ain't nobody got time for that."- TREVOR NOAH

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