DEMS/GOP/IMPEACHMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “They pleaded ignorance, saying they’d not read the diplomat’s damning statement. They condemned the Democrats’ tactics as unfair. They complained that the allegations against President Donald Trump rested on second- or third-hand evidence. Wednesday [10-23-19] was a day of careful counterargument by congressional Republicans, the day after America’s top envoy in Ukraine gave House impeachment investigators an explosive, detailed roadmap of Trump’s drive to squeeze that country’s leaders for damaging information about his Democratic political rivals. Most Republicans were still standing by Trump but in delicately calibrated ways after Tuesday’s closed-door testimony by acting ambassador William Taylor. And as lawmakers struggled to balance support for Trump with uncertainty over what might still emerge, some were willing to acknowledge the strains they were facing.”
–Alan Fram and Zeke Miller, “GOP Stands by Trump, Gingerly, After Diplomat’s Testimony,” Associated Press, October 24, 2019 1:18 pm