Hello, and welcome to week two of the impeachment inquiry’s public hearings. Last week the House Intelligence Committee heard testimony from career officials concerning Donald Trump’s plot to extort Ukraine for personal gain, which Republicans rejected as hearsay because it came from people who were not on the infamous July 25 phone call. This morning the witnesses included Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman and Mike Pence aide Jennifer Williams, who were listening in as Trump asked Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky to do him a “favor,” meaning the GOP has had to pivot in its sad, sad defense of the president. And here’s what it’s come up with: trying, and failing, to suggest Vindman, a decorated Army veteran who received a Purple Heart in 2004, can’t be trusted.

Not surprisingly, that honor went to resident angry man Jim Jordan, who read from the deposition of National Security Council adviser Tim Morrison, who, according to Jordan, expressed “concerns” about Vindman’s judgment. “So your boss had concerns about your judgment,” Jordan said. “Your former boss, Dr. [Fiona] Hill, had concerns about your judgment. Your colleagues had concerns about your judgment. And your colleagues felt that there were times when you leaked information. Any idea why they have those impressions, Colonel Vindman?” Jordan asked, clearly thinking he’d nailed the guy. To which Vindman, perhaps expecting the attempted smear, responded by reading a performance evaluation written by Hill earlier this year.

“Alex is a top 1% military officer and the best Army officer I have worked with in my 15 years of government service,” Vindman said, quoting Hill. “He is brilliant, unflappable, and exercises excellent judgment...Exemplary during numerous visits...I think you get the idea.” Turning to Morrison, Vindman added, “I can’t say why Mr. Morrison questioned my judgment. We had only recently started working together. He wasn’t there very long, and we were just trying to figure out our relationship. Maybe it was different cultures, military culture versus—”

Realizing that his initial questioning wasn’t panning out as he’d hoped, Jordan interjected, “And colonel, you never leaked information?” Vindman replied, “I never did, never would. That is preposterous that I would do that.” Vindman did not ask Jordan to read from any of his performance reviews, which was probably for the best given that the representative from Ohio has been accused by multiple individuals of ignoring sexual abuse on the Ohio State wrestling team, a charge he has denied.

Elsewhere, Steve Castor, the counsel Republicans seemingly recruited by calling 1-800-LAWYERS and asking if anyone was available on short notice, tried to imply that Vindman isn’t loyal to the United States because Oleksandr Danylyuk offered him a job as Ukraine’s defense minister. Vindman testified that he immediately turned down the offer, notifying his chain of command and “the appropriate counterintelligence folks,” though you wouldn’t know it from the version of the interaction the White House put out, which was retweeted by Trump:

While the president has uncharacteristically not yet attacked Vindman via tweet—just via mouth, from the lawn of the White House— his oldest son and other supporters have been doing so for weeks, including during Tuesday’s hearing. According to the Wall Street Journal, Army security officials have been monitoring Vindman and his family to ensure there aren’t any imminent threats against them, and are prepared to move them to a military base if it’s determined they’re in physical danger. “The Army will make sure he’s safe, and the Army is actively supporting any safety needs as deemed necessary,” an official said. “It’s hard that he has been catapulted into the public eye. He served his country honorably for 20 years, and you can imagine this is a tough situation for him and his family.”

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Trump press team tries to distract from impeachment disaster by making up uniquely absurd claims about Obama administration

Of course, if this were remotely true Trump would’ve mentioned it on his first day at the White House and not stopped talking about it for the last two and half years. Also, no one has ever seen or heard of these notes:

Asked about the statement, Grisham couldn’t reverse course fast enough and suggested that the people calling out obvious bullshit from a person whose salary is funded by taxpayers should chill. “I certainly wasn’t implying every office had that issue,” she said, claiming that she was “talking specifically about our experience in the lower press office—nowhere else [editor’s note: This, too, is a lie]. I don’t know why everyone is so sensitive!”

Elsewhere!

Kurt Volker says he should have recognized push for probe into Ukrainian company was connected to Biden (Washington Post)

Trump Defenders Confused by Use of Synonyms (Intelligencer)

AOC and Elizabeth Warren take Taylor Swift’s side in feud with private equity firm Carlyle Group (CNBC)

Goldman Says Hedge Funds Are Staging a Comeback (Bloomberg)

Top diplomat Gordon Sondland to appear for public hearing in Trump impeachment probe (CNBC)

Guards Accused of Napping and Shopping Online the Night Epstein Died (NYT)

Trump threatens higher tariffs if China doesn’t make a trade deal (CNBC)

How Democrats Would Tax High-Income Professionals (Not Just the Mega-Rich) (NYT)

Louisiana Man Tells Cops That the Devil Set Him Up in Meth Case (TSG)

When It Comes to Goofy Group Dance Routines, Buttigieg Is No Moderate (NYM)

— The strangely familiar nightmare of impeaching Trump
— Clues to the identity of Anonymous, who wrote the explosive White House op-ed
— Former Fox News staffers demand to be released from their NDAs
— Why crypto-crooks have their sights set on Iceland
— A sustained booing reveals Trump’s true face
— From the archive: A portrait of Kim Jong Un, part man, part myth

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