THE LEDE The Impeachment Beat: The presidential campaign, one top staffer told me the other day, is “frozen in amber” while America’s attention turns to impeachment — and it requires a lot of attention to figure out what’s going on. Here’s one way to understand it, though: What Trump is doing — from the substance of calls to Ukranian and other foreign leaders to the disorienting flood of tweets and claims and allegations that follows — has one purpose, which is to build an alternate scaffolding of lies, truths, and random facts for the Trump movement to hang on to when the big impeachment wave comes. You have your Ukraine accusations? Republicans will have their own Ukranian narrative. You have Robert Mueller? We have Rudy Giuliani. And so on. Trump’s supporters on Capitol Hill mostly just need something to say, something to throw back in the faces of Trump’s accusers. He’s producing that narrative for them. The Policy Stakes: Mess with Texas? The state’s Democratic leaders are making the case to the national party that it should turn its face to Texas, the swing state of swing states. Here’s the key slide they’re sending to Washington — based on a Mother Jones piece. See if you can guess State A. READ RECEIPTS... Beto O'Rourke And speaking of Texas, I texted this week with Beto O’Rourke. The El Paso congressman captured the imagination of the Democratic Party in his Senate race last year but is struggling to carry that energy onto the national stage. Recently, he’s energized his campaign with blunt talk and a hard line on guns, and he's calling out other Democratic candidates — in this instance Pete Buttigieg — in direct terms. ON THE TRAIL WITH BUZZFEED NEWS Kamala Harris explained to Molly why she uses “she”/“her” pronouns when she talks about the presidency. Speaking of Harris, can she capitalize on Trump’s impeachment in a way that’ll translate into real support for her presidential run? Rudy Giuliani refused to tell Miriam whether or not he had an agreement with Trump to work as his lawyer and got very mad when she asked about it. Challengers to two of the top Democrats involved in the impeachment investigation say their opponents have already “botched” the inquiry. Marriage equality is one of the biggest pieces of Joe Biden’s legacy. Henry tells the story of how he got ahead of his party, and his president. Bernie Sanders had a heart procedure this week. Ruby reports on what happened inside his campaign. P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (Monthly memberships are available worldwide.) 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Ben Smith, Veronica Dulin, and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here. 🔔 Want to be notified as soon as news breaks? Download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android (available in Canadian, UK, Australian, and US app stores). 💌 Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to get BuzzFeed News in your inbox! Show privacy notice and cookie policy. BuzzFeed, Inc. 111 E. 18th St. New York, NY 10003 Unsubscribe |