Trump starts a new conflict in the Middle East by assassinating an Iranian general, John Bolton says he’s willing to testify in the Senate impeachment trial, and the primary is too close to call with less than 30 days until Iowa. Then Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) talks to Tommy about what Congress can do to restrain Trump’s actions towards Iran.

Show notes

Iran 

• Axios: Iraqi parliament calls on government to expel U.S. troops
• Al Jazeera: Iraqi parliament calls for expulsion of foreign troops
• NPR: Iraqi Parliament Votes To Expel U.S. Troops From Country In Wake Of Soleimani Strike 
• NYT: Iran Ends Commitment to Landmark Nuclear Deal: Live Updates
• Al Jazeera: Iran steps further back from nuclear deal, says no limits on enrichment: State TV
• ABC News: Iran abandons nuclear deal limits after US kills general
• NYT: U.S.-Led Coalition Halts ISIS Fight as It Steels for Iranian Attacks 
• The Guardian: Anti-Isis coalition suspends operations as Iraqi MPs vote to expel US troops
• Operation Inherent Resolve: CJTF-OIR Statement on the ongoing Defeat Daesh Mission
• Reuters: Hezbollah: U.S. forces in Middle East to go home in coffins
• Reuters: Iran will punish Americans wherever they are within its reach: Guards commander
• The Guardian: US and allies on high alert as Iran threatens retaliation
• NYT: Trump Reiterates Threat to Target Iranian Cultural Sites
• Axios: “52 targets”: Trump tweet sparks Iranian furor
• WaPo: In confrontation with Iran, Trump wrestles with the shadow of Obama, ‘the metric he has to beat
• NYT: As Tensions With Iran Escalated, Trump Opted for Most Extreme Measure
• Politico: How Trump decided to kill Iran’s Soleimani
• Daily Beast: Why Obama, Bush, and Bibi All Passed on Killing Soleimani
• Al Jazeera: ‘To stop a war’: Did Soleimani killing violate international law?
• WaPo: The key word in U.S. justifications for the killing of Iranian general: ‘Imminent’
• NPR: Was It Legal For The U.S. To Kill A Top Iranian Military Leader?
• CBS News: “Illegal” or “bold”? Lawmakers divided over airstrike killing Iranian military leader
• The New Yorker: Where Will U.S.-Iran Tensions Play Out? An Interview with Iraq’s President
• CNN: Trump administration warns Congress Iran could retaliate against US ‘within weeks’
• NYT: The Dire Consequences of Trump’s Suleimani Decision
• The Atlantic: It Wasn’t the Law That Stopped Other Presidents From Killing Soleimani
• NYT: Iranians Close Ranks Behind Leaders After U.S. Kills Popular General
• WaPo: Trump plunges toward the kind of Middle Eastern conflict he pledged to avoid
• HuffPo: Pompeo Spins Soleimani Assassination And Further Military Action On Sunday Talk Shows
• WaPo: Pompeo dismisses Iraqi leader’s call for all foreign troops to leave
• Daily Beast: Mike Pompeo Insists U.S. Safer but There May Be a ‘Little Noise’ in Interim
• NYT: Pompeo Warns Iran That U.S. Could Attack if Tehran Retaliates
• NYT: In Era of Perpetual Conflict, a Volatile President Grabs Expanded Powers to Make War
• NYT: White House Notifies Congress of Suleimani Strike Under War Powers Act
• WaPo: Does Trump need Congress’s approval to go to war with Iran?
• CNN: Top Democratic leaders kept in dark about Soleimani attack
• NBC News: Pelosi says Trump carried out strike on Iranian commander without authorization and she wants details

Impeachment

• WaPo: Top Republican suggests changing Senate rules to begin Trump impeachment trial within days 
• NBC News: Trump’s trial: Lawmakers return to D.C., and here’s where things stand
• Axios: “No decision made” by Pelosi on sending impeachment articles 
• Politico: Schumer ‘hopeful’ some Republicans will join calls for witnesses and documents 
• WaPo: Schumer says Senate no closer to setting rules for trial; McConnell says chamber will continue with ‘ordinary business’
• WaPo: Trump floats yet another scam designed to rig his trial 
• Axios: Hawley says he will introduce motion to dismiss impeachment case 
• Axios: Collins says it’s “inappropriate” for McConnell, Warren to “prejudge” impeachment trial 
• Axios: Murkowski “disturbed” by McConnell’s coordination with White House on impeachment (Dec. 26) 
• NYT: The Evidence on Ukraine Is Only Getting Worse for Donald Trump 
• NBC News: ‘Devastating blow’: Schumer says newly revealed emails show why Senate GOP needs to allow impeachment witnesses 
• NYT: White House Withholds 20 Emails Between Two Trump Aides on Ukraine Aid 
• Mother Jones: The White House Won’t Release 20 New Ukraine-Related Emails
• NYT: Behind the Ukraine Aid Freeze: 84 Days of Conflict and Confusion         
• Just Security: Exclusive: Unredacted Ukraine Documents Reveal Extent of Pentagon’s Legal Concerns
• Slate: The Impeachment Stalemate Is Working Fine for Democrats         

2020 

• CBS News: Sanders starts 2020 in strong position in Iowa and New Hampshire — CBS News Battleground Tracker
• CNN: It’s not just the polls that show Biden and Sanders leading the primary
• Vox: Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, 2020 Democratic candidates announce strong fourth quarter fundraising
• NYT: Lagging Rivals, Elizabeth Warren Raised $21.2 Million in 4th Quarter 
• FiveThirtyEight: Democratic Party Activists May Be Cooling On Warren And Warming To Biden 
• NYT: The Most Important Week of the Democratic Primary in 2019 
• Axios: The dominant Democrat of the Trump era 
• WaPo: The Trailer: How history, and Trump, affect Iowa Democrats’ war fears 
• NYT: Airstrike Pushes National Security to Forefront of 2020 Race 
• NYT: Buttigieg’s Bet: After Iran Strike, Military Experience Matters Even More.
• NY Mag: Is the Democratic Primary About Foreign Policy Now? 
• Axios: Warren questions timing of Soleimani killing as Trump impeachment trial nears
• Politico: How Biden stopped his Iowa tailspin 
• Vox: A deceptively edited video of Joe Biden illustrates a big problem in 2020
• NBC News: The unsinkable Joe Biden? Many months and many gaffes later, Biden is still ahead
• Daily Beast: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden Face Off in Democratic Battle for Iran Dove Cred 
• CNN: Crisis in Middle East tests potency of Sanders’ criticism of Biden’s Iraq vote 
• The Hill: Buttigieg: Biden’s Iraq War vote part of ‘worst’ US foreign policy decision of my lifetime       
• Bloomberg: Biden Defends Foreign Policy Record Amid Trump Iran Threats 
• The Intercept: As Sanders and Warren Vow to Block War With Iran, Biden and Buttigieg Offer Better-Run Wars