CONGRESS/IMPEACHMENT/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The cryptically worded request marked urgent from the State Department’s independent watchdog set Congress on edge. The message, according to Steven A. Linick, the department’s inspector general, was that he needed to meet — and right away — with senior congressional staff members to give them copies of documents related to the State Department and Ukraine. He signaled that they could be relevant to the House investigation into whether President Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden. Some Democrats prepared for an explosive revelation that might show top administration officials had tried to obstruct their work. Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers on a caucus conference call that news reports were confirming that the heart of the briefing was about the White House retaliating against State Department staff who complied with the investigation…There were more questions remaining than answers on Wednesday [10-2-19].”
–Catie Edmondson, “Impeachment Bombshell That Wasn’t: Mysterious Packet Sends Rumor Mill Into Overdrive,” The New York Times online, October 2, 2019