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Cooper: Ukraine asked about security aid same day as Trump-Zelensky call 
Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for 
Russia and Ukraine, amended her testimony last night. She says 
her staff alerted her after her first deposition that they received 
an inquiry from the Ukrainian embassy about the status of the 
military aid frozen by Trump on July 25, just hours after the 
president's call with Zelensky. "The new timeline Cooper laid out 
threatens one of the GOP's main defenses of Trump — that the 
Ukranians were not aware of the hold on security aid at the time of the 
call between the heads of state, and that they found nothing alarming 
in the presidents' discussion," Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner and 
Colby ltkowitz report. The White House challenged Cooper's timeline, 
arguing that just because the Ukrainians asked does not mean they 
knew that Trump had frozen the money. 
Lawmakers also heard last night from 
Hale, the 
undersecretary of state for political affairs. Hale, the third-highest-
ranking official at the State Department, shed more light on the 
dismissal of Marie Yovanovitch as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine: "'I 
believe she should have been able to stay at the post and 
continue to do the outstanding work,' Hale testified about 
Yovanovitch. Asked by Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) whether 'what 
happened to her was wrong,' Hale responded, 'That's right.'" 
Hale, who was called to testify by Republicans, also said he believed it 
would be unusual to withhold military aid to pressure a country to 
investigate a political opponent: " 
-- The timeline has remained somewhat murky. Philip Bump 
sketched out what we know so far about it. 
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--The Fix prepared a list of things that Trump, Pence, Pompeo 
and other senior officials knew, based on Sondland's testimony, 
texts and emails. 
-- The FBI is seeking an interview with the whistleblower, who 
works for the CIA. Ellen Nakashima and Devlin Barrett report: "A 
special agent with the bureau's Washington Field Office contacted one 
of the whistleblower's lawyers last month, and the FBI and the legal 
team have traded messages since ... No date for an interview has 
been set, and it is not clear whether one will be ... The FBI is 
interested in the `substance' of the whistleblower's complaint, said one 
person familiar with the matter. ... The bureau does not appear to be 
pursuing a leak investigation ... It is unclear precisely what the FBI is 
investigating in its request to question the whistleblower, or whether it 
did so with the approval of Justice Department officials." 
-- Federal prosecutors in Manhattan issued subpoenas in recent 
weeks to Trump fundraisers linked to Lev Parnas and Igor 
Fruman, the two indicted Giuliani associates. From the Times: 
"The subpoenas went to a lobbying firm run by a top fund-raiser for Mr. 
Trump, Brian Ballard, and to two people who have helped raise money 
for America First Action, a super PAC created to support the president 
and allied candidates ... Mr. Ballard and the America First fund-raisers 
worked to varying extents with [Parnas and Fruman] ... Prosecutors 
also arranged a voluntary interview in New York as soon as this week 
with Andrew Favorov, an executive with the Ukrainian state-owned gas 
company Naftogaz whom Mr. Pamas and Mr. Fruman tried to enlist in 
an effort to win business, potentially through Global Energy 
Producers." 
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meetings and 
and calls in Europe last year for Rep. Devin Nunes, 
Parnas's attorney told The Daily Beast: "Nunes aide Derek Harvey 
participated in the meetings, the lawyer said, which were arranged to 
help Nunes' investigative work. ... The travel came as Nunes, in his 
role on the House Intelligence Committee, was working to investigate 
the origins of Special Counsel 
Mueller's probe into Russian 
election-meddling. Parnas' assistance to Nunes' team has not been 
previously reported. A spokesperson for Nunes did not respond to 
requests for comment." 
-- Trump is aggressively courting some of his Republican critics 
— including Mitt Romney -- ahead of a likely Senate trial. From 
Politico: "By day's end, the president will have hosted more than 40 
Republican senators at the White House since autumn began, mostly 
for weekly lunches that address a series of issues but also usually 
include a side of impeachment. ... Romney has said it would be 'wrong 
and appalling' for Trump to request foreign countries to dig up dirt on 
Joe Biden, prompting Trump to call Romney a 'pompous ass.' But the 
Utah Republican seemed to be keeping an open mind heading into the 
meeting, even if impeachment comes up. 'It's the president's meeting. 
Whatever he wants to talk about, he can talk about,' Romney said. 'I 
wasn't expecting an invitation, but I'm happy to hear what the president 
wants to talk about.-
-- Life at the impeachment "kids table" for new committee 
members sometimes means waiting hours for the spotlight. Paul 
Kane reports: "All told, six members, four Democrats and two 
Republicans, are new to the panel, but only [Jordan], installed this 
month by GOP leaders wary of the performance by their senior 
committee members, has a prime seat. These are the lawmakers who 
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have to wait, wondering whether their preferred topic will already be 
covered by someone with an earlier spot. That's a normal tradition in 
any committee in Congress, but these stakes could not be higher, with 
cable news networks covering every single question late into the 
evening. In addition, special rules for this inquiry gave the chairman 
and the ranking member a combined 90 minutes of questions at the 
top of the hearings, leaving members of this `kids table' stewing 
sometimes for four or five hours before getting a word in edgewise." 
-- New York Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D) will become the next 
chairwoman of the Oversight and Reform Committee. She 
succeeds the late congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.). 
Mike DeBonis reports: "As the most senior member of the panel, 
Maloney has been serving as acting chairman since [Cummings's 
death]. But she faced a challenge from Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (Va.), 
who argued to his colleagues that he was better equipped to handle 
the rigors of impeachment and battling Republicans intent on 
protecting the Trump administration from scrutiny. In the end, 
Democrats chose to respect seniority, electing Maloney on a 133-86 
vote. ... As the most senior member on the Oversight panel, Maloney 
got a boost from key sectors of the Democratic caucus that prize the 
seniority system — including the 53-member Congressional Black 
Caucus. ... Also playing to Maloney's advantage were diversity 
concerns: Maloney is the only woman among the three committee 
chairs who have taken a lead role in the impeachment inquiry." 
-- Commentary from the opinion page: 
• Dana Milbank: "In Gordon Sondland, Trump has met his 
match." 
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Gordon Sondland makes two stunning points." 
• Alexandra Petri: "Foolproof ways to be not guilty of 
crimes." 
• Max Boot: "Sondland was devastating. But Republicans 
don't care about the facts." 
• Henry Olsen: "Republicans won't impeach Trump. But 
they should punish him." 
• Deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus: "The House 
is now fully entitled to hear from Pence, Pompeo, 
Mulvaney and Giuliani." 
• Jennifer Rubin: "If Pompeo doesn't testify, he should be 
impeached." 
• Kathleen Parker: "It looks like Republicans are trying to 
impeach the media — not Trump." 
-- On the coverage: As Sondland testified, a misleading Ukraine 
story quickly spread among conservatives on social media. From 
NBC News: "The incorrect story, first disseminated by the finance blog 
ZeroHedge, claimed that Mykola Zlochevsky, the head of Burisma, a 
Ukrainian energy company, had been indicted over money laundering 
related to the Biden family. ... In fact, there was no announcement of 
an indictment. Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Ruslan Ryaboshapka, 
announced in October his office would conduct a wide-ranging review 
of all previous cases involving Burisma, and Wednesday said he was 
including possible embezzlement in the investigation, according to 
Reuters." 
-- Lawyers for Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman sent a letter to Fox 
News asking the network to retract a "false and defamatory" 
segment that suggested the National Security Council's Ukraine 
Page 17536 
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expert committed espionage. From CNN: "The request for a 
retraction centers around an October 28 segment on 
Ingraham's 
prime time show, 'The Ingraham Angle.' During that segment, 
Ingraham seemed to suggest Vindman, a decorated military officer, 
was perhaps more loyal to Ukraine than the United States. Vindman 
was born in Ukraine but grew up in the US. 'Isn't that kind of an 
interesting angle on this story?' Ingraham asked her guest John Yoo, a 
law professor who served in President George W. Bush's 
administration. 'I find that astounding,' Yoo replied. 'Some people might 
call that espionage.' Vindman's attorney, 
Pressman, 
characterized the segment in his letter as 'false and defamatory' and 
'deeply flawed and erroneous,' noting espionage is punishable by 
death. ... A Fox News spokesperson pointed to Yoo's clarifications 
when asked for comment on Pressman's letter to the network. 'As a 
guest on Fox News, John Yoo was responsible for his own sentiments 
and he has subsequently done interviews to clarify what he meant,' the 
Fox News spokesperson said." 
Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 
went to New York for a Time 100 Health Summit in October. (Brian Ach/Getty Images) 
THE TRUMP AGENDA THAT SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED: 
-- Trump health-care adviser Seema Verma spent $3.3 million of 
taxpayer money to hire a stable of high-priced image 
consultants, who tried to get magazines like Glamour to profile 
her and encouraged Verma to go to social events to boost her 
personal brand. Amy Goldstein reports on what would almost 
certainly have been a massive scandal in any past administration: 
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"Earlier this year, a top Republican communications operative 
delivered a plan to boost the profile of ... Trump's top appointee 
overseeing health insurance for the elderly and poor. The 'Executive 
Visibility Proposal' was a month-by-month blueprint to have her grant 
interviews to Women's Day and other magazines, speak at prominent 
conferences and appear at Washington's most prestigious social 
events. ... This work over 19 months that provided 'strategic 
communication' services by a network of politically connected 
contractors and subcontractors, first reported by Politico, came as 
Verma spoke about the importance of fostering individual responsibility 
and self-reliance among the nation's needy. As chief of [the] Centers 
for Medicare and Medicaid Services within the Department of Health 
and Human Services, Verma has forged a far more partisan and 
outspoken brand than almost any of her predecessors. Typically, CMS 
administrators are visible on Capitol Hill and elsewhere but focus on 
the wonkish details of public insurance programs. Verma, in contrast, 
has emerged as one of the administration's champions of conservative 
health policies ... 
"Offstage but irksome to some CMS staffers, the strategic 
communications consultants— at least two dozen of them, 
documents show —formed an extragovernmental team that 
helped guide Verma where she wanted to go politically, oversaw 
some decisions by communication staff and attempted to elevate her 
profile in ways that go beyond what federal consultants usually are 
hired to do — and possibly beyond what contracting law permits, 
according to the documents, individuals familiar with the team's role 
and an expert on government ethics. ... HHS ordered an end to the 
contract, and work stopped the evening of April 3, after Politico first 
disclosed the contours of the arrangement. Afterward, Verma told 
Page 17538 
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multiple people that she wanted the contract restarted ... HHS's Office 
of Inspector General has been conducting a review of the contracts 
and the contractors' role since June, and an office spokeswoman said 
it expects to finish early next year. ... 
"The main contract was with Porter Novelli, a multinational 
public relations firm based in Washington. Some of the work was 
carried out under a subcontract to another firm, Nahigian 
Strategies, led by two brothers with strong GOP ties ... Both of 
them billed at $380 an hour ... At one point, CMS asked HHS to 
approve a multimillion-dollar contract for a national bus tour for Verma 
that was organized by Nahigian Strategies, but then decided not to 
move forward with it ... Still, the Nahigian brothers and their employees 
continued to work as advance staff for Verma's out-of-town 
appearances — a role that does not typically exist for federal officials 
below the level of Cabinet secretaries but was important to Verma." 
Verma's spokesman said that, of the recommended magazines and 
news outlets that consultants thought could write about her, only 
AARP and Politico did. Sounds like a not-very-good return on 
investment. 
-- Barry Myers, the White House's pick to lead the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has withdrawn from 
consideration due to health concerns. Andrew Freedman and 
Jason Samenow report: "Myers' nomination had languished in the 
Senate since it was first announced in November 2017, due in part to 
conflict of interest concerns regarding his family's continued ownership 
stake in AccuWeather, the private weather forecasting company he led 
until stepping down on Jan. 1. ... Before his nomination, Myers had 
served as the CEO of AccuWeather since 2007. AccuWeather has 
Page 17539 
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had a history of advocating for expanding the role of private 
forecasting companies at the expense of the taxpayer-funded 
National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA. Concerns had 
also been raised regarding AccuWeather's record of sexual 
harassment lawsuits and settlements during Myers' time at the 
company. ... Myers' nomination had twice been favorably reported out 
of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, but 
was never brought up for a floor vote." 
-- Fox News television personality Pete Hegseth, who convinced 
Trump to pardon disgraced service members charged in war 
crimes cases, has also been tapped by for-profit colleges 
to defend a lucrative loophole. From ProPublica: "Under the law, for-
profit colleges can't receive more than 90% of their revenue from 
federal education funds. The logic, according to the staffer who drafted 
the provision, was that the education should be good enough that at 
least some students are willing to pay. But veterans' benefits, such as 
GI Bill stipends, don't count as federal education funds (even though 
they also come from the federal government). This '90/10 loophole' 
means that for every veteran enrolled, a school can admit nine more 
students using federal loans. Veterans advocates and congressional 
investigators say this loophole leads to predatory and deceptive 
marketing tactics that sometimes leave veterans with unexpected debt 
and useless degrees if schools lose their accreditation or go out of 
business." 
-- Trump hosted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Peter Thiel, 
the pro-Trump billioniare who sits on the company's board, for a 
secret dinner at the White House last month. From NBC News: 
"Facebook confirmed the meeting ... on Wednesday. ... It is unclear 
: 
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Page 17540 
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Thiel discussed." 
-- So swampy: Dozens of Facebook lobbyists are tied to 
members of Congress, a new investigation shows. From the 
Guardian: "So far this year, Facebook has employed 68 federal 
lobbyists, 12 in-house employees and 56 from K Street firms —
spending nearly $12.3m on federal lobbying through 30 September. ... 
The Facebook lobbyists have worked for 29 current members of 
Congress - 18 representatives and 11 senators — including key 
Democratic party leaders. Four of the lobbyists have worked in the 
office of [Pelosi]. Two have worked in the office of Hakeem Jeffries, 
chair of the House Democratic Caucus. Other Facebook lobbyists 
have worked for the majority leader Steny Hoyer, Senate minority 
leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Mark Warner, who is vice chair of the 
chamber's Democratic caucus, and [Klobuchar]. Some of these 
lobbyists have recently donated to their former bosses ... Thirty-two 
Facebook lobbyists worked for Democratic members of 
Congress, Democratic White Houses, or were hired by 
Democrats to serve as committee staffers, and 30 more worked 
for Republicans. In contrast to the Democratic connections, no 2019 
Facebook lobbyist has worked for current members of the Republican 
House and Senate leadership. However, several have worked for 
powerful GOP Senate committee chairmen." 
-- The Trump administration has secretly begun carrying out its 
plan to deport people seeking asylum from the U.S. to 
Guatemala without giving them a chance to see a lawyer first. 
From BuzzFeed News: "Two sources with knowledge of the process 
and emailed guidance sent to asylum officials ... reveal new details of 
the 'third country' agreement — including a crucial part of the process 
Page 17541 
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.., 
where asylum-seekers are not entitled to a lawyer. ... [USCIS] 
officials emailed guidance to asylum officers across the country 
on Wednesday morning to notify them that implementation of 
the plan would begin ... The first phase of the plan will take place in 
El Paso. Border officials will, on an expected daily basis, refer a small 
number of adult asylum-seekers from El Salvador and Honduras who 
arrived on or after Tuesday to asylum officers for interviews, according 
to two sources with knowledge of the process. A few dozen asylum 
officers who had already been trained on the process will handle the 
interviews. ... Before this interview with an asylum officer, immigrants 
have no access to legal counsel — unlike their initial asylum 
screening, when they first arrive at the US border." 
-- Not a single refugee was resettled in the U.S. last month. From 
Quartz: "The nosedive is the result of a State Department freeze on 
admissions, according to a World Relief press release, resulting in 
hundreds of canceled flights and yet more uncertainty for the 
thousands of refugees hoping to resettle in the US. The department 
has issued an admissions ceiling of 18,000 for the financial year 2020 
—the lowest in almost 30 years, and well below the number of 
displaced people already in the pipeline to be resettled in the US." 
-- The Arizona activist who gave Central American migrants 
humanitarian aid has been acquitted on charges that he illegally 
harbored them. From the Guardian: The activist, Scott Warren, "was 
stoic after the verdict was read. His supporters were crying at the news 
of the decision. Warren, 37, testified that neutrality guides his work 
near the border and denied he has ever helped migrants hide or 
instructed them how to avoid authorities. ... Warren was arrested in 
January 2018 by US agents who were staking out a humanitarian aid 
Page 17542 
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station in Arizona known as The Barn, where two Central American 
men had been staying for several days. The prosecutor Nathaniel 
Walters said the men didn't need medical attention and questioned the 
authenticity of Warren's claim that he was 'orienting' them before they 
left the camp. The camp is run by a group that tries to prevent 
immigrants from dying in the desert." 
-- Five American journalists sued the U.S. government, alleging 
that border authorities violated their First Amendment rights by 
inspecting their cameras and notebooks and questioning them 
about their coverage of last year's migrant caravan. From the AP: 
"Mark Abramson, a photographer working for The New York Times, 
said two CBP officers patted him down when he returned to the U.S. at 
the San Diego border crossing on Jan. 5. They emptied his pockets 
and searched his bag, which contained notebooks with 'confidential 
source material,' the names and contact information of people he 
encountered while working, personal reflections and receipts to be 
submitted to his editor for reimbursement, the lawsuit said. After being 
taken to another room and patted down again, Abramson said another 
officer asked what was in his 'book,' who was leading the caravan, 
whether they were for or against the U.S. government and whether he 
knew of any groups helping the caravan." 
-- A judge blocked the scheduled executions of four death row 
inmates, delaying -- at least for now -- Trump's efforts to resume 
capital punishment in the federal system. From Politico: "The order 
issued Wednesday night by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan 
halts four executions that U.S. officials planned to carry out starting 
next month. The only other execution that officials had put on the 
calendar, also for December, was blocked last month by the 9th Circuit 
Page 17543 
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U.S. Court of Appeals. In July, Attorney General William Barr 
announced plans to resume executions at the federal penitentiary in 
Terre Haute, Ind. He suggested the practice had been allowed to 
languish for too long and said it would deliver justice in cases involving 
what he called the 'worst criminals.-
-- Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) 
continue their quest for answers in the killing of Bijan Ghaisar by 
two U.S. Park Police officers in 2017 after the Justice Department 
decided last week not to charge the officers. Tom Jackman reports: 
"The two senators requested a briefing from FBI Director Christopher 
A. Wray about the case, and they also sought answers in a series of 
letters they have sent the FBI beginning last year, which the FBI has 
previously declined to provide. In addition, three members of Congress 
have asked the FBI to allow the release of the 911 call made at the 
beginning of the incident, which may shed light on why the officers 
repeatedly approached Ghaisar's Jeep Grand Cherokee with guns 
drawn after Ghaisar left the scene of a minor fender bender in 
Alexandria on Nov. 17, 2017." 
-- Trump urged Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to appoint Rep. 
Doug Collins (R) to fill a Senate seat left vacant by Johnny 
Isakson. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "It's the second time 
in two weeks that Trump directly appealed Kemp to appoint Collins, 
who was long considered a top contender to fill [Isakson's seat] before 
a multimillionaire financial executive applied. Kelly Loeffler submitted 
her application hours before the Monday deadline, apparently 
scrambling Collins' calculations. Loeffler, a financial executive who 
co-owns Atlanta's WNBA franchise, is widely considered by GOP 
insiders to be Kemp's favorite for the coveted post. When Collins 
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contemplating a bid for the office regardless of whether he's selected, 
he confirmed his interest." 
Trump says he's 'looking' at exempting Apple from China tariffs 
THE NEW WORLD ORDER: 
-- Trump said China isn't "stepping up," as the trade talks show 
new signs of languishing. 
J. Lynch reports: "Trump's 
comments, made while touring an Apple supplier facility in Texas, 
came as investors appeared to be growing impatient with his inability 
to deliver the promised accord. Asked by a reporter if the deal 
would be completed this year, the president said: `I haven't 
wanted to do it yet because I don't think they're stepping up to 
the level that I want.' After nearly a year of bargaining, negotiators 
remain stuck on several core issues, including the extent of Chinese 
commitments to buy American farm products and U.S. willingness to 
reverse its tariff plans. ... 'We continue to talk to China. China wants to 
make a deal. The question is: Do I want to make a deal? Because I 
like what's happening right now. We're taking in billions and billions of 
dollars,' Trump told reporters in a misleading reference to his tariffs on 
Chinese products, which are overwhelmingly paid by American 
companies. Privately, Trump is more eager to announce a 
finished agreement and is being counseled by his trade advisers 
to lower his expectations, according to a senior administration 
official." 
-- Hong Kong has now taken center stage in the U.S.-China 
showdown after Congress passed a bill intended to protect 
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Denyer and Tiffany Liang report: "Hong Kong's stock market slid more 
than 1.5 percent, with shares across Asia and U.S. equity futures also 
falling, amid concerns the intensifying dispute over the city's future 
could delay or derail an interim U.S.-China trade deal. ... The prospect 
that the bill's passage could harm U.S.-China relations and dent 
prospects of a trade deal appeared to undermine investor confidence. 
China summoned the U.S. Embassy's acting chief, William Klein, in 
Beijing to express its condemnation of the bill, and vowed `strong 
countermeasures' to defend its sovereignty. ... The slide in shares 
eased slightly after China's chief trade negotiator, Liu He, said he was 
`cautiously optimistic' about reaching an interim trade deal with the 
United States." 
-- The Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack that 
killed 30 soldiers this week in the West African nation of Mali. 
Danielle Paquette reports: "In a statement late Wednesday, the 
group's West Africa arm said it wounded another 30 soldiers while 
mentioning no deaths among its fighters. The Malian army, which 
routinely tangles with extremists in the country's restive north, said 
Tuesday that 17 enemy militants were killed in the fight at Tabankort in 
the Gao region, which borders Burkina Faso and Niger. U.S. officials 
say the Sahel region, which lies south of the Sahara Desert, 
threatens to become a safe haven for terrorists to plot and 
launch attacks worldwide. Mali, which is twice the size of Texas, 
is a particularly troubling hot spot. ... More than 100 soldiers have 
died in Mali since October in near-weekly clashes as the resource-
strapped country tries to shake off a scourge that took root after the 
Libyan government collapsed in 2011." 
-- Benny Gantz, the former Israeli army chief, failed to put 
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together a governing coalition, prolonging Israel's political 
gridlock and making it likely that voters will have to vote in a 
third national election in less than a year. Steve Hendrix and Ruth 
Eglash report: "Gantz, who has rocketed to the top tier of Israeli 
politics, caused a stir in October when he became the first person 
other than Benjamin Netanyahu to be given a chance to form a 
government here in a decade. Twenty-eight days later, his mandate to 
try is expiring with no parliamentary majority in sight. ... Gantz said in a 
statement Wednesday that he had informed Israeli President Reuven 
Rivlin that it was not possible to form a government. 'I left no stone 
unturned. I sifted through every grain of sand,' Gantz said in a 
televised address. He accused Netanyahu, the prime minister, of 
negotiating not in good faith over a possible unity government but 'with 
childish videos and slogans.' For the next three weeks, the law allows 
any member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, a chance to do what 
Gantz and Netanyahu could not: cobble together the 61 votes needed 
to form a government. If this, too, falls short, as most analysts predict, 
the country's deja-vu nightmare will continue with another election, 
probably in March." 
-- Britain's Prince Andrew is quitting his public duties "for the 
foreseeable future" after a chaotic interview during which he 
defended his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey 
Epstein. Karla 
and William Booth report: "Essentially, the Duke 
of York will now go dark — as sponsors of some of the 200 charities he 
endorses had already begun to abandon him, concluding that he no 
longer casts a royal glow but controversial shade. In a statement 
Wednesday, Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, said: 'It 
has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances 
relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a 
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major disruption to my family's work.' He added: 'I continue to 
unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His 
suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his 
victims, and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected 
and wants some form of closure.-
-- Six Iranian environmentalists were sentenced to prison for 
"collaborating" with the U.S. Erin Cunningham reports: "The 
defendants, part of a group of eight imprisoned environmentalists, were 
arrested and jailed by the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps early last 
year for their work tracking the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah. 
The trial sparked outrage among conservationists worldwide." 
-- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro shrugged off a government 
report that deforestation in the Amazon reached an 11-year high 
on his watch. Marina Lopes reports: "'Deforestation and fires will 
never end,' the pro-development president told reporters in Brasilia. 
'It's cultural.' The comments were quickly condemned by 
environmentalists, who fear that the Amazon is approaching a tipping 
point at which large swaths of the rainforest will be irrevocably lost. ... 
The Brazilian Amazon lost 3,769 square miles of rainforest between 
August 2018 and July 2019, Brazil's National Space Research Institute 
reported this week, an area almost 11/2 times the size of Delaware. 
That was up 30 percent from the previous year." 
-- An increasingly popular product has sparked a bloody cartel 
war in Mexico: the avocado. From the Los Angeles Times: "Mexico's 
multibillion-dollar avocado industry, headquartered in Michoacan state, 
has become a prime target for cartels, which have been seizing farms 
and clearing protected woodlands to plant their own groves of what 
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for control of the avocado trade in and around the city of Uruapan, 
preying on wealthy orchard owners, the laborers who pick the fruit and 
the drivers who truck it north to the United States." 
-- Myanmar's government announced that its leader, Daw Aung 
San Suu Kyi, will head a legal team it will send to the 
International Court of Justice to contest a charge of 
genocide filed against the regime. From the Times: "The country's 
military has been accused of carrying out mass rapes, killings and the 
torching of homes during a counterinsurgency campaign launched in 
western Myanmar in August 2017 after rebel attacks. The violence 
sent more than 700,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority 
fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh. Myanmar's population is 
overwhelmingly Buddhist. ... The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on 
Myanmar warned last month that 'there is a serious risk of genocide 
recurring,' and the mission also said in its final report in September 
that Myanmar should be held responsible in international legal forums 
for alleged genocide against the Rohingya. Myanmar has strongly 
denied carrying out organized human rights abuses." 
SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ: 
Trump's notes on Sondland's testimony quickly caught the Internet's 
attention: 
This picture of Sondland at the hearing by Post photographer Matt 
McClain also went viral: 
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The look from Nunes as he turned off his microphone after the first 
stretch of Sondland's testimony went viral: 
Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), a Trump critic who left the GOP on July 4, 
joked about it: 
In his testimony, Sondland further pushed the notion that Trump didn't 
really care about corruption in Ukraine; 
A Post foreign affairs columnist argued that we still don't have enough 
information about Rick Perry's role in this scandal: 
A Vox editor noted this troubling detail: 
And a Bloomberg reporter noted this one: 
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The Post's fact-checker dug out email proof that contradicted a State 
Department defense of Pompeo: 
Sondland mentioned rapper ASAP Rocky in his testimony, and no one 
batted an eye: 
After testifying, Sondland made it to his flight: 
Sondland, by the way, wasn't the only high-profile figure flying 
out of Dulles yesterday: 
Giuliani denied ever meeting Sondland: 
And he asked for an apology: 
An NBC correspondent shared this throwback: 
And a Vox reporter shared this other throwback: 
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