GOP/INVESTIGATIONS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UKRAINE: “To his allies, President Donald Trump never did anything to warrant the investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election. But this is not Russia. This time, some of those same allies say, Trump brought the Ukraine investigation on himself. One said it‘s ‘unseemly,’ while others called it a ‘naive’ and ‘stupid’ mistake, to ask a foreign leader for a political favor…High-level Trump supporters who have stood by the president for years are growing increasingly unsettled by his latest strategy of dismissing the latest fight as Russia 2.0. Half-a-dozen senior Republicans, including those who both talk directly to Trump and advise him on everything from campaign strategy to policy to communications to fundraising, said in interviews that they fear the president’s plan to tie Russia and Ukraine could be ineffective because it dismisses the seriousness of the allegations and the fact that he admitted his actions.”
–Anita Kumar, “An avoidable, unforced error’: Trump’s Ukraine trap starts worrying allies,” Politico, October 8, 2019 5:00 am