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The President admits to using the powers of his office to target Joe Biden and his son by pressuring the Ukrainian government to fabricate a scandal, and the Des Moines Register poll shows Elizabeth Warren leading the Democratic field for the first time. Then former UN Ambassador Samantha Power talks to Jon F. and Tommy about her life as a journalist, activist, and public servant.

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Show notes

Impeach the Motherfucker: The Whistleblower Scandal

• NYT: Trump Pressed Ukraine’s Leader on Inquiry Into Biden’s Son 
• WSJ: Trump Repeatedly Pressed Ukraine President to Investigate Biden’s Son 
• NYT: Trump, Biden and a Whistle-Blower Complaint: Here Are the Basics 
• NYT: Ukraine Pressured on U.S. Political Investigations
• WaPo: Trump’s freeze on Ukraine aid draws new scrutiny amid push for Biden investigation 
• WaPo: Ukrainian leaders feel trapped between warring Washington factions 
• WaPo: President Trump and the warping of democratic governance 
• WaPo: How Trump and Giuliani pressured Ukraine to investigate the president’s rivals 
• WaPo: Ukraine, if you’re listening . . .: How Trump tries to quell controversies by saying the quiet part out loud
• WaPo: Trump has been openly trying to leverage Ukraine to his political benefit for months
• WaPo: 9 questions about the Trump whistleblower complaint, answered
• Axios: Trump’s defiance on Ukraine
• BuzzFeed: Let Us Explain What The Hell Is Going On With Trump, Biden And Ukraine
• NY Mag: Trump’s Ukraine Scandal Is Hiding in Plain Sight 
• Daily Beast:  If Whistleblower Is Right, Trump May Have Committed Extortion and Bribery 
• WaPo: Trump has done plenty to warrant impeachment. But the Ukraine allegations are over the top.
• Mediaite: Ex-Federal Prosecutor Spells Out Legal Troubles for Trump: ‘Conspiracy With Respect to Bribery and Extortion’ 
• New Yorker:  Did Trump Try to Extort the President of Ukraine Into Investigating Joe Biden?
• Vanity Fair: DID TRUMP TRY TO EXTORT UKRAINE INTO SMEARING JOE BIDEN?
• HuffPo: Donald Trump Is Asking A Foreign Country To Help Him Win. Again.
• WaPo: Rudy Giuliani accused me of exposing Paul Manafort’s Ukraine deals to help U.S. Democrats. That’s a lie. 
• WaPo: Ukrainian leaders feel trapped between warring Washington factions 
• The Atlantic: The Problem With the Whistle-Blower System 
• WaPo: Congress doesn’t have a lot of options to get this whistleblower complaint 
• Politico: ‘A deficiency in the law’: How Trump accidentally exposed a whistleblower loophole 
• WaPo: The U.S. has no rules for when the president is a national security threat
• Just Security: Handling of Whistleblower Complaint Makes It Impossible for IG To Do His Job 
• Just Security: Intel Whistleblower Complaint Q&A Part 2: Constitutional Boogaloo 
• Lawfare:  What the Latest Reports Say About the Whistleblower Complaint
• The Intercept:  WILLIAM BARR HAS LONG TRIED TO LIMIT WHAT A PRESIDENT MUST SHARE WITH CONGRESS. THE WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT IS NO EXCEPTION 
• Lawfare: The Witness and the Whistleblower: Some thoughts 
• WaPo: Trump defends call with Ukrainian president, calling it ‘perfectly fine and routine’ 
• Vox: Trump responds to Ukraine whistleblower scandal with contradictions and transparent falsehoods 
• NYT: Trump Calls Reports That He Pressured Ukraine’s President a ‘Witch Hunt’
• Politico: Trump tries to move Ukraine scandal’s focus toward Biden 
• Politico: Trump allies jolt into action to deflect Ukraine-whistleblower scandal
• WaPo: As whistleblower scandal deepens, Trump bets on the coverup working 
• Bloomberg: Trump, Giuliani Press for Dirt on Biden Despite Ukraine Rebuff
• WaPo: Trump’s Ukraine call reveals a president convinced of his own invincibility 
• Esquire: Rudy Giuliani Is Trump’s Crazed Rodeo Clown, But He Knows What He’s Doing
• Vox: Rudy Giuliani’s viral CNN meltdown over Trump and Ukraine, briefly explained 
• NYT: Behind the Whistle-Blower Case, a Long-Held Trump Grudge Toward Ukraine
• Politico: Why Trump’s Ukraine scandal could backfire on Biden 
• WaPo: Scrutiny over Trump’s Ukraine scandal may also complicate Biden’s campaign 
• Slate: Trump Claims Media Ignoring Biden-Ukraine, Tweets Video of Journalists Covering the Story 
• WSJ: Trump, Scrutinized Over Interaction With Ukraine, Still Calls for Biden Probe
• WaPo: ‘He knows I’ll beat him like a drum’: Biden accuses Trump of abusing power to smear him 
• Vox: Biden wants Trump to release a transcript of the call that led to a whistleblower complaint 
• Politico: Biden goes hard after Trump in Iowa over Ukraine accusations 
• Mother Jones:  Biden Scolds Fox News Reporter: “Ask the Right Question” 
• Daily Beast: Pelosi Not Budging on Impeachment and Her Colleagues Are Privately Screaming 
• New Yorker:  Can President Trump Be Held Accountable for the Whistle-Blower Complaint? 
• The Atlantic:  We’re Now in the Hot Zone for Impeachment
• The Atlantic: If This Isn’t Impeachable, Nothing Is 
• Vox: A whistleblower alleges Trump requested 2020 election interference. Pelosi still says she won’t pursue impeachment.
• WaPo: Americans have a right to know if the GOP actually thinks Trump’s conduct is acceptable
• WaPo: Running up the score in House races could deliver White House to Democrats
• Daily Beast:  Elizabeth Warren: Congress ‘Is Complicit’ for Failing to Impeach Trump 
• NPR: Pelosi Says Congress Should Pass New Laws So Sitting Presidents Can Be Indicted 
• NYT: Ukraine and Whistle-Blower Issues Emerge as Major Flashpoints in Presidential Race

Iowa

• Des Moines Register: Elizabeth Warren leads Register’s Iowa Poll for the first time, besting Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders
• CNN: Elizabeth Warren surges and Joe Biden fades in close Iowa race, new poll shows
• WaPo: Seventeen Democratic hopefuls blitz Iowa Steak Fry as the competition for votes intensifies
• CBS News: 17 Democratic candidates attend Iowa steak fry
• The Hill: Iowa Steak Fry to draw record crowds for Democrats
• Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll: 10 charts that showcase key findings about likely Democratic 2020 caucusgoers
• Des Moines Register: Pete Buttigieg is popular among likely Democratic caucusgoers but is the first choice among just 9%, Iowa Poll finds
• Politico: Warren on pace with Biden in Iowa
• Des Moines Register: Elizabeth Warren finds new strength among Bernie Sanders’ key constituencies, Iowa Poll says
• CBS News: 2020 Daily Trail Markers: Warren, Klobuchar unveil big Iowa endorsements
• Des Moines Register: Kamala Harris is more visible, but unfavorable rating has grown with likely caucusgoers, according to Iowa Poll
• Des Moines Register: ‘He’s not wearing well’: Joe Biden loses ground in Register’s Iowa Poll
• Des Moines Register: Elizabeth Warren finds new strength among Bernie Sanders’ key constituencies, Iowa Poll says
• WSJ: Kamala Harris Takes Aim at a Rising Elizabeth Warren
• Reuters: Buttigieg, Harris head to Iowa, seeking to rise into 2020 Democratic top tier
• Politico: DNC set to squeeze Dem debate stage again
• FiveThirtyEight: There’s A Better Case For A Top 2 Than A Top 3
• CNN: The 2020 top tier is just two candidates now
• NYT: Age Isn’t Hurting 2020 Democratic Leaders, to Rivals’ Chagrin
• WSJ: Kamala Harris’s Iowa Strategy Is Well-Worn—and Risky
• Vox: Kamala Harris is f***ing committing to Iowa
• WaPo: Harris, behind in the polls, pivots sharply to an Iowa-first strategy
• Politico: Kamala Harris bets it all on Iowa to break freefall
• Politico: Booker campaign warns end is near without fundraising surge
• NBC News: Next one out? Booker memo warns he may not be in 2020 race ‘much longer’