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PBC News & Comment: Texts Between Envoys Show Ukraine Quid Pro Quo

Former US Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker coughs up text threads showing clear link between investigations and delivery of US aid…–as Trump digs himself in deeper, Volker’s texts show he and other officials were trying to placate Trump and Giuliani in effort to keep arms flowing

–read the text messages here

–Ukraine’s new top prosecutor now says he will “audit” previous investigations, but China declines to play Trump’s game

–Adam Schiff’s “unforced errors” are exposed, as WashPost fact checkers say he lied about knowledge of whistleblower claims

–Mitt Romney is lone Republican criticizing Trump

–Trump’s claims about Crowdstrike and server hidden in Ukraine are debunked by Scott Shane in NY Times, using unproven claims from Russiagate

–Inspector General Atkinson is testifying today in closed session of House Intel

–whistleblower files complaint at IRS, related to handling of Trump tax returns

–Norman Solomon tweaks MoveOn for defending the new mystery whistleblower, but not his predecessors

–John Kiriakou is interviewed by Jeff Schectman in new podcast

CNN rejects 2 ads from Trump campaign as “demonstrably false”

–as violent protests continue in Hong Kong, CNN reports that Trump assured Xi that US won’t criticize the crackdown

–deadly riots continue in Bagdhad

–Brazil’s imprisoned former president, Lula, says he’ll stay there until exonerated

–Supreme Court takes up pretextual abortion restrictions in Louisiana law

–new report calls attacks on science a crisis

–Microsoft reports that Iranian hackers are targeting the Trump campaign

–former Coast Guard officer takes guilty plea, says addiction led him to make threats that prosecutor called “domestic terrorism”

–British film maker Chris Morris releases “The Day Shall Come”, which satirizes so-called domestic terrorism cases