Politico - 17.10.2019

Democrats are in an impeach-

ment bind.

For the first time, they’re receiv-

ing a gusher of evidence to support

charges that President Donald

Trump abused his power for politi-

cal and personal gain, pressuring

Ukraine’s fledgling government

to investigate his political rival

Joe Biden.

But as more witnesses come for-

ward to spill more secrets, the more

Democrats are nervously eyeing the

dwindling congressional calendar

and wondering: When should we

be satisfied with what we have and

bring articles of impeachment to

Cash shortage hits

Democratic presidential field

Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete

Buttigieg are all flush with funds, but Joe Biden

could be badly outspent leading into Iowa.

PAGE 8

Prized

endorsement

How Sanders won

AOC’s backing while he

was in the hospital.

PAGE 10

‘This meeting was hastily

arranged by nincompoops’

Parents of killed British teenager

accuse White House of ambushing

them with accused killer.

PAGE 6

VOL. 13 • NO. 85 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 | POLITICO.COM

Matt

Wuerker

The cartoonist’s

daily take on the

world of politics.

PAGE 26

Dems walk

out of Syria

meeting

after Trump

insults Pelosi

A high-level meeting Wednes-
day between President Donald
Trump and top congressional
leaders over the Syria crisis end-
ed abruptly after Trump insult-
ed Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which
spurred Democratic leaders to
walk out of the White House.
It was the latest blowup be-
tween Trump and top Democrats
and showed once again that the
relationship between the em-
battled president and his Demo-
cratic counterparts has reached
levels of toxicity rarely seen in any
administration.
Just hours before the meet-
ing, Trump made clear where
he stood on the Turkish inva-
sion of northern Syria: “It’s not
our border.”
Trump told reporters Wednes-
day that his decision to pull U.S.
troops out of northern Syria —
which was quickly followed by
the Turkish attack on U.S.-allied
Kurdish forces — was “strategi-
cally brilliant” while downplay-
ing Russian intervention in the
conflict.
“Our soldiers are out of there.
Our soldiers are totally safe,”
Trump said. “Syria may have
some help with Russia, and that’s
fine. It’s a lot of sand — they’ve got
a lot of sand over there, so there’s
a lot of sand that they could play
with.”
But Pelosi, House Majority
Leader Steny Hoyer and Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
accused Trump of having “a melt-
down” during their meeting in the
historic Cabinet Room.
The three Democrats said
Trump appeared unhinged by
a House vote condemning the
Syria withdrawal, and the meet-
ing quickly degenerated into a
name-calling session led by the
president, according to the Demo-
crats. The trio walked out of the
meeting before it was over, they
told reporters afterward.
Trump “was insulting, partic-
ularly to the speaker,” Schumer

Dems grapple with

impeachment timing

ALEX BRANDON/AP

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, shown

Wednesday after meeting with President Donald Trump, are wary of setting an impeachment timeline.

As evidence

piles up,

party eyes

calendar

President Donald Trump is

intensely monitoring his stand-

ing among Senate Republicans as

Democrats’ impeachment inquiry

ramps up, according to senators

who have been in contact with

the president and White House

officials.

And with the microscope on

their every move, some in the Re-

publican Conference are taking a

more proactive approach to dem-

onstrate their loyalty. For example,

take Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who

called Trump last Friday to let him

know that he and his voters have

Trump’s back.

A former top adviser to Secretary

of State Mike Pompeo told House

impeachment investigators on

Wednesday that he abruptly re-

signed last week because of Pres-

ident Donald Trump’s attacks on

the ousted U.S. ambassador to

Ukraine and the State Depart-

ment’s unwillingness to protect

career diplomats from political

pressure, according to two people

familiar with the testimony.

Michael McKinley, a career for-

eign service officer with nearly 40

years of experience, had a front-

row seat to Pompeo’s decision-

making at the State Department.

And like other current and former

officials who have testified for the

House’s impeachment inquiry,

McKinley told investigators he

was deeply alarmed by efforts by

Trump and his allies to pressure

Ukraine to investigate the presi-

dent’s political rivals.

The solicitation of foreign as-

sistance to dig up dirt on former

Vice President Joe Biden and other

Trump antagonists — a campaign

spearheaded by the president’s

personal attorney Rudy Giuliani

— has been at the center of House

Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

McKinley was just the latest

witness to detail serious concerns

about the decision to recall Ma-

rie Yovanovitch, the former U.S.

ambassador to Ukraine whom

Trump keeps the pressure

on Republican senators

Pompeo adviser resigned over

Trump’s attacks on Yovanovitch

EVAN VUCCI/AP

Asked to gauge Donald Trump’s

confidence in Senate Republicans,

Sen. John Kennedy said: “I hardly

ever see Trump sweat, OK? He’s

always full speed ahead.”

DEMOCRATS on page 15

SYRIA on page 18 REPUBLICANS on page 14 McKINLEY on page 17

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN,

MELANIE ZANONA

AND MARIANNE LeVINE

BY KYLE CHENEY

AND HEATHER CAYGLE

BY BURGESS EVERETT

BY ANDREW DESIDERIO