The Ashford Zone Blog

This week as the country was on the brink of war with Iran, we stood alone, with the Trump regime having neglected to consult with our allies in Europe or the region. Reporting indicated the decision to strike that precipitated the latest crisis was made by Trump and Trump alone, amid his shrinking circle of less experienced but more compliant national security experts. After Iran retaliated, Trump seemed flat-footed, saying he would address the country that night, then backing off. The next morning he addressed the nation in a speech which he seemed to struggle to deliver, full of lies and misinformation, and which clarified little on strategy or the reason for the escalation. One of the numerous unintended consequences of the escalation was a downed Ukrainian Air plane, with 176 passengers killed over Tehran in the fog of war.

The basis for the strike was in dispute during the week, as the regime failed to provide Congress or the American people with information to back their ever-changing rationale. By the end of the week, the regime indicated it was threats to U.S. embassies that led to the strike, with Trump specifying, without providing evidence, four embassies in total. Reporting also indicated there was another planned strike the day Soleimani was killed, targeting a senior Iranian military official in Yemen, that failed — indicating a broader attack may have been underway, and further muddying the regime’s account of events.

This week former National Security Advisor John Bolton offered to testify in the Senate impeachment trial, which Trump later said he would likely block, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scheduled a vote to send the articles to the Senate. Republicans continued to largely stand behind Trump, even as he nearly brought the country to war without reason, and as the impeachment trial is set to get underway.

1. On Wednesday, the New York Bar Association asked Congress in a letter to investigate Attorney General William Barr, saying his conduct “threatens public confidence in the fair and impartial administration of justice.”
2. The letter also said Barr’s “recent actions and statements” position the AG, and by extension, the DOJ “as political partisans willing to use the levers of government to empower certain groups over others.”
3. The request marks the first time the New York bar, or any comparable bar association, has asked Congress to investigate a sitting attorney general.
4. On Wednesday, Pew Research published a survey of 33 countries which found 64% said they do not have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, while just 29% do.
5. Trump also received the lowest rating of five leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
6. On Thursday, the Justice Department ended their two-year investigation of Hillary Clinton, begun to appease Trump and his allies in Congress. The probe ended quietly, finding nothing of consequence.
7. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions had appointed U.S. attorney John Huber to “review” the Clinton Foundation, Uranium One, and the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server.
8. On Friday, Bloomberg reported U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are probing whether Russia is targeting Joe Biden, the leading Democratic presidential candidate for 2020, with election meddling.
9. Part of the inquiry is whether Russia is trying to weaken Biden by promoting controversy over debunked allegations of his involvement in U.S. policy in Ukraine while his son Hunter worked for an energy company there.
10. The strategy would mirror what Russia did in 2016, carrying out a sophisticated operation to damage Hillary Clinton. One expert noted Putin’s ability “to convince people of outright falsehoods.”
11. Unlike 2016 where Russia hacked documents, in 2020, Trump, Giuliani, and Trump allies are all pushing the narrative about Biden in the public domain and seeking to dig up dirt about him in Ukraine.
12. Also in 2020, Russia is much more overt in carrying out its influence operation, given the U.S. audience is more receptive. Russia has been using its state-run media RT and Sputnik News as part of its operation.
13. On Friday, in tracking turnover in the Trump regime, the Brookings Institute found in his first three years in office, Trump’s “A Team” turnover is at 80% (52/65), with 35% of the positions undergoing serial turnover.
14. On Monday, CNN reported the White House had gone 300 days without an official White House press briefing. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham has yet to hold a briefing.
15. On Thursday, authors Stephen King and Don Winslow offered to donate $100,000 each in her name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital if Grisham holds a press corp briefing for one hour.
16. On Friday, NYT reported in addition to not holding press briefings, even as the nation was on the brink of war, Grisham has only appeared on Fox News, One America News Network, and Sinclair Broadcast.
17. On Friday, 13 former White House and military officials, including White House press secretaries for the last three administrations, called for restoring press briefings in an open letter.
18. They noted, “a well-informed citizenry would be better equipped to understand the difficult choices and decisions presidents must make, especially in times of crisis,” adding it “makes for better democracy.”
19. On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security said in a bulletin it had no information of “a specific, credible threat” from Iran, but added, “Iran and its partners” have the capability to conduct operations in the U.S.
20. On Saturday, the website of the U.S. Federal Depository Library Program was briefly hacked, and the home page replaced with a pro-Iranian message and an image of bloodied Trump being punched in the face.
21. On Saturday, Trump tweeted from Mar-a-Lago, “Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge,” saying Soleimani “was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits.”
22. Trump threatened, “Let this serve as a WARNING” that if Iran strikes, “we have targeted 52 Iranian sites” — matching the number of American hostages taken in 1979 — including “high level” and cultural targets.
23. Trump also tweeted, “those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD,” adding, “The USA wants no more threats!”
24. Trump also tweeted, “They attacked us, & we hit back,” adding, “If they attack again, which I would strongly advise them not to do, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before!”
25. On Saturday, in response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, “Targeting cultural sites is a WAR CRIME,” and predicted the “end of U.S. malign presence in West Asia has begun.”
26. International law — the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict — prohibits “any act of hostility” against fixed cultural property.
27. On Saturday, NYT reported in response to Iran-led violence in Iraq, the Pentagon presented Trump with a menu of options, including Soleimani — the most extreme response to make other options appear more palatable.
28. The day after the American contractor was killed, Trump did not take the option to kill Soleimani, but after watching news reports on the attacks on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, he took the extreme option, stunning top Pentagon officials.
29. Trump took the action despite disputes within the regime about the significance of new intelligence, said to be thin, and information that the attack was not imminent since it was not yet approved by the ayatollah.
30. Presidents Obama and W. Bush rejected the option of killing Soleimani, citing it would be too provocative. Trump regime officials said they did not anticipate sweeping retaliation because of divisions in Iranian leadership.
31. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the loudest voice in pushing for the strike. Vice President Mike Pence also pushed for a response, and his office helped run herd on meetings and conference calls leading up to the strike.
32. On Saturday, the Trump regime sent Congress a formal, classified notification regarding the strike that killed Soleimani within the required 48-hour time window required by the War Powers Act.
33. Later Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called releasing only a classified version “highly unusual,” and said, “Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security.”
34. Pelosi also said the notification “raises more questions than it answers,” and “prompts serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification of the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities.”
35. U.S. officials who had been briefed on the strike said evidence there was to be an imminent attack on American targets is “razor thin,” and that Soleimani was planning to kill hundreds “an illogical leap.”
36. On Sunday, Secretary of State Pompeo defended the strike on “Meet the Press,” saying, “It may be that there’s a little noise here in the interim, that the Iranians make a choice to respond.”
37. Pompeo added, “the risk of doing nothing exceeded the risk of taking the action,” claiming there were plots against American interests, and said, “We would have been culpably negligent had we not taken this action.”
38. Pompeo also defended Trump’s threat to bomb cultural sites on “State of the Union,” saying, “If we need to defend American interests, we will do so,” adding, “the American people should know we will always defend them.”
39. On Sunday, senior officials told CNN there is widespread opposition within the regime to targeting cultural sites, with one official saying, “Nothing rallies people like the deliberate destruction of beloved cultural sites.
40. On Sunday, after golfing at Mar-a-Lago, Trump tweeted, the U.S. “spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment,” adding if Iran attacks, “we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way.”
41. Trump also warned, “These Media Posts will serve as notification,” saying the U.S. will “fully strike back,” and “perhaps in a disproportionate manner,” adding, “Such legal notice is not required, but is given.”
42. On Sunday, the Iranian government all but exited from the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement, saying, “Iran’s nuclear program will have no limitations in production, including enrichment capacity.”
43. On Sunday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi advised parliament to expel U.S. troops after the strike which killed Soleimani and eight others, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of a powerful Iraqi militia.
44. Abdul Mahdi told the parliament to take “urgent measures” to force the withdrawal of foreign forces, saying, “What happened was a political assassination,” adding, “Iraq cannot accept this.”
45. Later Sunday, the Iraqi parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the government to end the foreign troop presence; however, Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November, could not sign the bill into law.
46. On Sunday, a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria halted its years-long campaign against ISIS, as the U.S. braced for retaliation from Iran. The U.S. pulled out 5,200 troops from Iraq, crippling the fights against ISIS.
47. On Sunday, three Americans, including a U.S. service member and two civilian contractors working for the Pentagon, were killed at the Kenya Defense Force Military Base by terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
48. Later Sunday, aboard Air Force One returning to Washington D.C., Trump doubled down on his threat to attack Iranian cultural sites, telling reporters, “They’re allowed to kill our people?”
49. Trump added, “They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site?” adding, “It doesn’t work that way.”
50. Trump also told reporters he would put “very big sanctions on Iraq” if the country forced out U.S. troops, saying, “if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis. We will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever.”
51. Trump also said he expected Iraq to compensate the U.S. for the air base there, saying of the base, “It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it.”
52. On Sunday, NYT reported more than 60 Iranian-Americans were held up for hours at Washington State’s border after returning from Canada, as the Department of Homeland Security ramped up security at border points.
53. Most were released after being questioned for up to 10 hours over the weekend. An advocate called the reports “extremely troubling and potentially constitute illegal detentions of United States citizens.”
54. On Sunday, Speaker Pelosi told House Democrats in a letter that the House will introduce and vote on a War Powers Resolution relating to Iran this week, similar to the one introduced by Tim Kaine in the Senate in Week 164.
55. The resolution, to be led by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA and Pentagon analyst, “reasserts Congress’s long-established oversight responsibilities” by mandating Trump cease hostilities unless he gets Congressional approval.
56. On Sunday, House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff told “State of the Union” that Democrats are in no rush to turn over articles of impeachment, but adding, “I don’t think it’s going to be indefinite.”
57. On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News that Republicans should change the Senate rules and begin the impeachment trial, saying, “we’re not going to let Nancy Pelosi use the rules of the Senate to her advantage.”
58. On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backed Pelosi on “This Week” saying, “We need the truth, not a coverup, not a sham, not to have some nationally televised mock trial where there’s no evidence.”
59. On Sunday, Schumer and Sen. Bob Menendez, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on the White House to declassify the War Powers Act Notification for Iran Military Action.
60. On Monday, Secretary Pompeo told Fox Business News, referring to Trump’s January 5 tweet, that “Trump didn’t say he’d go after a cultural site. Read what he said very closely.” This is clearly a lie. Trump said it twice.
61. On Monday, Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to Trump, also lied, telling reporters at the White House Briefing Room, “He didn’t say he’s targeting cultural sites.”
62. On Monday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said “the laws of armed conflict” prohibit striking cultural sites, and said the Pentagon had no plans to do so despite Trump declaring them as targets.
63. Esper also acknowledged striking cultural sites with no military value would be a war crime, breaking from Trump who said the sites are legitimate targets.
64. On Monday, the Pentagon disputed that U.S. troops were leaving Iraq, after a letter was sent from Marine Brig. Gen. William Seely to Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir outlining plans for troop departure.
65. The draft letter, which was delivered, cited plans for “repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks,” and added, “We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure.”
66. Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took the unusual step of hosting an impromptu press conference after the draft letter was leaked to the media.
67. Milley called the letter a “mistake.” Esper said, “We are repositioning forces throughout the region number one,” adding, “That letter is inconsistent of where we are right now.” The letter added confusion to a murky situation.
68. On Monday, WAPO reported after Trump’s threatening tweet, the senior regime officials began drafting possible sanctions against Iraq if it proceeded to expel U.S. troops.
69. On Monday, on his first day back in Washington, Trump tweeted, “The Impeachment Hoax, just a continuation of the Witch Hunt which started even before I won the Election…must end quickly.”
70. Trump added, “Read the Transcripts,” adding, “NO PRESSURE,” and, “get this done.” Trump also said he and Congress should not “be wasting their time” on the “totally partisan Impeachment Hoax.”
71. Trump also tweeted, “IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”
72. On Monday, former NSA John Bolton said he is “prepared to testify” in the Senate impeachment trial if subpoenaed, saying he has weighed the issues of executive privilege and after “careful consideration and study” decided he would comply.
73. Bolton said he left a message for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell before issuing his statement. His willingness to appear complicated matters for McConnell and his attempts to hold a Senate impeachment trial without witnesses.
74. Schumer said Bolton’s announcement provided “momentum for uncovering the truth in a Senate trial,” adding it is “now up to four Senate Republicans to support bringing in Mr. Bolton.”
75. On Monday, Trump told Rush Limbaugh the whole process is “sad for our country,” adding Pelosi does not want a trial, saying, “She doesn’t want to get a vote because how could anybody possibly — it’s totally partisan.”
76. On Monday, Politico reported despite Bolton’s willingness to testify, the GOP-led Senate was not planning to call him as moderate Republicans, four of which would be needed, backed away.
77. On Monday, Sen. Josh Hawley announced a resolution to change Senate rules to allow the dismissal of articles of impeachment if they are not transmitted to the Senate within 25 days.
78. Later Monday, Trump told reporters that Bolton “would know nothing about what we were talking about” if he testifies, and said it would be “up to the lawyers” and the Senate to decide whether Bolton appears.
79. On Monday, NYT reported Pompeo met with McConnell in the afternoon to say he will not run for the U.S. Senate seat in Kansas.
80. Later Monday, Trump again slammed Los Angeles and San Francisco, saying “the homeless situation” there, and in “many other Democrat Party run cities,” is a “state and local problem, not a federal problem.”
81. Trump added, “If however, the city or state in question is willing to acknowledge responsibility, and politely asks for help from the Federal Government, we will very seriously consider getting involved.”
82. On Saturday, NPR reported the Department of Homeland Security quietly posted on its website on December 27 that it agreed to share certain government records from its databases with the Census Bureau.
83. With this step, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Custom and Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be sharing information with the Census Bureau to produce data about U.S. citizenship status.
84. On Sunday, tens of thousands marched in New York City in a show of solidarity for New York’s Jewish community after a series of anti-Semitic attacks in a march organized by Jewish advocacy and community groups.
85. On Tuesday, Cynthia Abcug, 50, was arrested in Colorado after authorities accused her of plotting with far-right QAnon conspiracy theorists to kidnap her child, who had been removed from her custody.
86. On Thursday, Oregon man James Lamb, 53, was charged with attempted murder and a hate crime after breaking into a motel office, and beating a 70 year-old woman from India who owns the business.
87. On Thursday, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant tweeted there will be “1000 Years of Darkness” if the state elects Mike Espy, who is a black man, as the state’s first black senator.
88. On Friday, AP reported the Trump regime is considering dramatically expanding the travel ban heading into the election year. Sources say seven countries could be added to the list, a majority of which are Muslim.
89. The current version of Trump’s ban includes seven countries, five of which are Muslim: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as Venezuela and North Korea.
90. On Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott became the first governor of 43 states so far not to accept refugees, after a September 26 executive order signed by Trump gave states the option not to take refugees.
91. The Trump regime has been blindsided, as 42 of the the 50 states, including 18 Republican governors, have opted to accept refugees. Seven Republican governors have yet to announce.
92. Trump’s executive order capped refugees at 18,000, and added the condition that cities and states must give written confirmation by January 21 on whether they will accept refugees.
93. The executive order has also been ignored by many local governments, even in areas that voted for Trump in 2016. Religious groups, especially evangelical leaders, have lobbied political leaders to accept refugees.
94. On Sunday, Stephanie Hofeller, daughter of deceased prominent Republican redistricting strategist Thomas Hofeller, released a cache of computer files saved on his hard drives onto a public website.
95. On Sunday, Donald Jr. posted a photo on Instagram of him holding an AR-15-style rifle featuring a magazine with an illustration of Hillary Clinton behind bars, along with the caption, “Nice day at the range.”
96. On Monday, Rep. Paul Gosar tweeted a fake photo showing Obama smiling and shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, with the caption, “The world is a better place without these guys in power.”
97. On Tuesday, CNN confirmed it reached a settlement with Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann, who sued the network saying it defamed him. Terms were not disclosed. Sandmann also sued NBC and WAPO.
98. On Monday, a bipartisan group of campaign finance lawyers urged the White House and congressional leaders to “work together and immediately” restore a quorum on the Federal Election Commission.
99. The 31 attorneys noted the FEC cannot enforce the law, vote on investigations, provide guidance, or conduct audits. An August 2019 resignation left the agency without a quorum for the first time in 11 years.
100. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors reversed course, recommending Trump’s former NSA Michael Flynn serve up to six months in prison, citing his failure to “accept responsibility” and “complete his cooperation.”
101. On Wednesday, WAPO reported the Trump regime is seeking to delay disclosure of how much Secret Service spends to protect him and his adult children, information sought by Democrats, until after the 2020 election.
102. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and senators are negotiating legislation to move Secret Service back to Treasury. Mnuchin has balked at Democrats’ demand that costs be disclosed within 120 days of it being passed.
103. On Thursday, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge denied Trump’s bid to have E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit against him tossed out. Carroll said Trump hurt her career and reputation by denying her 1995 rape claim.
104. On Thursday, Lt. Gen. Francis M. Beaudette, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, denied a Special Forces tab to retired Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, an officer who was pardoned by Trump.
105. On Tuesday, WAPO reported Veterans groups say the Trump regime has ignored Russia and other foreign actors targeting U.S. troops and veterans with online disinformation for nearly two years.
106. Agencies representing veterans and service members said disinformation could be weaponized to sow social discord in their communities. They said a December 18 letter to Trump on the matter has been ignored.
107. On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Republican Party blocked Trump’s primary challengers, Bill Weld and Joe Walsh, from appearing on the state’s primary ballot, the tenth state to do so.
108. On Wednesday, WAPO reported an article appearing on Teen Vogue praising Facebook for fighting misinformation ahead of the 2020 election was suddenly taken down without explanation.
109. Facebook initially denied to WAPO that it had paid for the post, calling it “purely editorial,” but later in a statement, Facebook said it had “a paid partnership” with Teen Vogue, which included sponsored content.
110. On Thursday, Facebook defied public outcry to rein in political ads, rolling out rules that will not limit political ad targeting tools or stop false claims in ads, but will rather allow users to control more of what they see.
111. On Friday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration referred findings from WNYC and ProPublica’s October reporting on the Trump Organization’s property tax filings to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
112. On Friday, Politico reported Peter Brimelow, an anti-immigration activist who hosts a website that has published the writings of white supremacists, sued the Times for $5 million for labeling him an “open white nationalist.”
113. On Tuesday, Pompeo defended the strike, telling reporters that he and other officials “evaluated the relevant risks,” saying Soleimani’s activities “were going to lead potentially to the death of many more Americans.”
114. Pompeo however did not repeat his assertion that an attack was “imminent,” instead saying, “If you’re looking for imminence, you need look no further than the days that led up to the strike.”
115. On Tuesday, Iran foreign minister Zarif told “CBS This Morning” that Pompeo informed the U.N. secretary-general, who in turn informed him that the State Department would not grant him a visa for a U.N. visit.
116. Zarif said the trip would give him a chance to discuss the targeted killing of Soleimani. A U.S. official told AP the application could not be processed in time for his travel, but made it unclear if the application was denied.
117. Under the 1947 agreement, U.S. authorities “shall not impose any impediments to transit to or from” the U.N. headquarters for representatives of U.N. member nations, with few exceptions.
118. Later Tuesday, Trump hosted Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the White House. Trump said “We have a tremendous Greek population,” adding, “I really feel I know most of them. I think I know all of them.”
119. Trump also told reporters on Soleimani, “He was a monster. And he’s no longer a monster; he’s dead,” and “he was planning a very big attack and a very bad attack for us and other people, and we stopped it.”
120. Trump also said “we saved a lot of lives by terminating his life,” adding, “A lot of lives were saved. They were planning something, and you’re going to be hearing about it, or at least various people in Congress are going to.”
121. Trump said of bombing cultural sites, “If that’s what the law is, I will…obey the law…But think of it: They kill our people, they blow up our people, and then we have to be very gentle with their cultural institutions.”
122. Trump also claimed only Democrats running against him are against the attack, saying, “I don’t hear too many people other than politicians who are trying to win the presidency, those are the ones that are complaining.”
123. On Tuesday, NYT reported the Trump campaign sought to capitalize on the Soleimani killing, running nearly 800 distinct Facebook ads, referring to Trump’s “leadership as commander in chief.”
124. On Tuesday, at 5:30 p.m., Iran fired a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq which housed American forces. The attack was Iran’s most direct assault since on the U.S. since the 1979 hostage taking.
125. Shortly after, Saeed Jalili, former secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Council and nuclear negotiator, tweeted a photo of Iran’s flag, seeming to mock Trump for doing the same after the strike on Soleimani.
126. Iranian state TV announced the strike was in revenge for the U.S. killing Soleimani, and came as Iran buried him. There was no immediate reports of casualties, but buildings were still being searched.
127. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned the U.S. and its regional allies against retaliating on state TV, saying, “any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted.”
128. WAPO reported Defense Secretary Esper, carrying a large dark bag, and Secretary Pompeo were seen entering the White House. Officials sought to portray that the situation was not spiraling out of control.
129. The White House gave mixed messages, with some staff telling reporters Trump would address the nation in prime time, but later canceled. Press secretary Stephanie Grisham chastised CNN for reporting on the address.
130. At 9:32 p.m., the Iranian Foreign Minister tweeted, “Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter,” adding, “We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves.”
131. At 9:45 p.m., after five days of tweeting dire threats, Trump tweeted, “All is well,” adding, “Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!” and, “I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.”
132. Later Tuesday, longtime NBC foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell told MSNBC that Trump has “the worse national security team I’ve ever seen,” citing the thinly staffed group and remaining yes men.
133. WAPO reported more than half of Trump’s key national security advisers started their jobs in the past year. Key positions like director of national intelligence and secretary of DHS are filled by acting directors.
134. Hours later, a Ukraine Airlines jet suddenly plummeted shortly after taking off from Tehran. Of the 176 on board, there were no survivors. The flight was bound for Kyiv, and was an American airplane, Boeing 737–800.
135. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said passengers included 82 Iranians, 68 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 from Sweden, four from Afghanistan, three from Germany, and three from Britain.
136. Iranian authorities said “technical” problems were the cause of the crash. Ukraine’s Embassy in Tehran initially concurred, but later took down their statement, raising questions about the cause of the crash.
137. On Wednesday, the White House released a photo from the Situation Room on Tuesday night. Of the 14 principals in the room, all were white, and 13 were men (excluding press secretary Grisham).
138. On Wednesday, Trump addressed the nation in a 10-minute speech just after 11 a.m. at the White House, flanked by Pence, Pompeo, Esper, and other seven other white male military officials.
139. As Trump came to the podium, he opened with a forceful statement: “As long as I’m president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” but did not offer specifics during his speech.
140. Trump appeared to seek to de-escalate, saying Tehran “appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned,” adding, “No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken.”
141. Trump vowed to keep up the pressure on Iran with “punishing” new sanctions, and called Soleimani the “world’s top terrorist,” although he did not provide any information on the supposed imminent threat.
142. Trump blamed Obama, repeating false claims that “hostilities substantially increased after the foolish Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2013, and they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash.”
143. The $150 billion number is well overestimated and was unfrozen money. The $1.8 billion was money spent by Iran for undelivered U.S. weapons, and was settled in an international court, and the amount was actually $1.7 billion.
144. Trump mischaracterized, “The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for by the funds made available by the last administration,” and falsely claimed “Iran’s hostilities increased” after the 2015 deal.
145. Trump also falsely claimed that his regime had destroyed “100 percent of ISIS and its territorial caliphate,” saying, “Tens of thousands of ISIS fighters have been killed or captured during my administration.”
146. Trump called on world powers, including the U.K., Germany, France, Russia, and China, to “break away from the remnants of” the nuclear deal. The deal was signed in 2015, not 2013 as Trump stated.
147. After failing to notify allies of the strike, Trump noted, “I am going to ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process,” but did not provide any details on how.
148. Trump’s speech was notably incoherent, as he struggled with pronunciation and elocution while reading from the Teleprompter. He also sniffled or snorted 58 times, and stuck his tongue out.
149. Later Wednesday, WAPO reported the White House knew on Tuesday morning an attack was coming from Iran, and by Tuesday afternoon were told by Iraqi officials that Iran intended to strike at U.S. facilities there.
150. The attack appeared to be a calibrated event intended to cause minimal American casualties but let the U.S. know Iran had capabilities, and give both sides the opportunity to de-escalate.
151. Later Wednesday, after the House was briefed, Speaker Pelosi announced the House would vote on a measure Thursday to force Trump to cease all military action against Iran unless he gets approval from Congress.
152. Pelosi said in a statement that members had “serious, urgent concerns” about the Trump regime engaging in hostilities and “lack of strategy moving forward,” which were not addressed by the notification or briefing.
153. Two Republican Senators, Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee, said they would join the House version when it came to the Senate, calling the briefing by Pompeo, Esper, and C.I.A. director Gina Haspel “insulting.”
154. Lee added the message from the Trump regime is “to run along and be good little boys and girls and not debate” the justification for the strike, adding, “It’s un-American, it’s unconstitutional, and it’s wrong.”
155. Later Wednesday, Trump ally Doug Collins told Fox Business News that Democrats are “in love with terrorists,” and claiming “they mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families.”
156. Late Wednesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower court’s order that had blocked the Trump regime from using $3.6 billion of Pentagon money to build sections of his wall along the southern border.
157. On Thursday, Pence falsely claimed on “TODAY” that the regime could not provide Congress with some of the “most compelling” intelligence on killing Soleimani, claiming it could compromise “sources and methods.”
158. On Thursday, NYT reported that in the hours leading up to the attack, the White House team was thin, including a handful of seasoned military veterans, but also others who had little foreign policy experience.
159. On Thursday, WSJ reported Trump’s new national security team was cohesive and less inclined to push back against his wishes than their predecessors. Sen. Graham said the new advisers “understand the president.”
160. The new security team is also less likely to consult in advance with other members of the regime, Pentagon or State Department officials, congressional leaders, or foreign allies.
161. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis had challenged Trump at times. Esper and Pompeo, who are West Point classmates, are in lock-step on Iran and do not push back at Trump. Gen. Milley is willing to take more risks than his predecessor.
162. According to associates, Trump told them after the strike that he was under pressure from GOP Senators, whose support he needs during the impeachment trial, to deal with Soleimani.
163. On Thursday, Trump then shifted the topic back to impeachment and his record ahead of the election in a series of morning tweets, tweeting, “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!”
164. Trump also tweeted of Pelosi, “remember her “speed & rush” in getting the Impeachment Hoax voted on & done. Well, she never sent the Articles to the Senate. Just another Democrat fraud. Presidential Harassment!”
165. Trump also retweeted a doctored, red-tinted photo of Pelosi originally sent by Rep. Elise Stefanik as a fundraising appeal, saying, “Dems obsessed w/ impeachment but won’t send articles to the Senate. Why?”
166. Trump also tweeted, “The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just reversed a lower court decision & gave us the go ahead to build,” falsely claiming, “Entire Wall is under construction or getting ready to start!”
167. Trump also bragged about stock market performance, tweeting, “STOCK MARKET AT ALL-TIME HIGH! HOW ARE YOUR 409K’S DOING? 70%, 80%, 90% up? Only 50% up!” then deleted it, and corrected to 401K.
168. On Thursday, House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith told CNN it was time for Pelosi to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, saying, “let Mitch McConnell be responsible for the fairness of the trial.”
169. Shortly after, in a tweet Smith said he had “misspoke,” saying, “I do believe we should do everything we can to force the Senate to have a fair trial,” saying he supports holding the articles if it will help force a fair trial.
170. On Thursday, Majority Leader McConnell said the Senate will move forward with the “people’s business” next week if Pelosi does not send over the articles, and urged other Democrats to press her to do so.
171. McConnell added, “Should future House majorities feel empowered to waste our time with junior varsity political hostage situations?” and “trap our entire country into an unending Groundhog Day of impeachment.”
172. On Thursday, in her weekly news conference, Pelosi continued to resist transmitting the articles, saying, “We need to see the arena to which we are sending our managers. Is that too much to ask?”
173.  Pelosi also indicated the articles would probably go to the Senate soon, saying, “I’m not holding them indefinitely,” adding, “I’ll send them over when I’m ready. And that will probably be soon.”
174. On Thursday, Sen.Hawley announced that McConnell backed his resolution to change the Senate rules to dismiss the impeachment if the House does not turn over articles. Ten other Republicans signed on as well.
175. On Thursday, a USA Today/Ipsos poll found by 52%-34%, Americans called Trump’s behavior with Iran “reckless,” and 55%-24% believe the attack that killed Soleimani made Americans less safe.
176. Nearly a third of Republicans said the attack had made the nation less safe. The poll also found by 52%-8%, Americans said the attack made it more likely that Iran would develop nuclear weapons.
177. On Thursday, asked by reporters about Sen. Lee’s criticism of the Iran briefing, Trump said, “Other people have said it was the best presentation they’ve ever seen,” saying the military “didn’t want to give” all the information.
178. Trump added, “We caught a total monster. We took them out. And that should have happened a long time ago,” adding, “We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy” — the first mention of an embassy.
179. Trump also told reporters he did not believe the plane crash in Iran was caused by mechanical failure, saying, “It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood and somebody could have made a mistake.”
180. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, “We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own” indicating “the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.”
181. Trudeau added, “This may well have been unintentional,” and said the new information reinforces the need “for a thorough investigation into this matter.”
182. On Thursday, Iran denied its military was responsible. A government spokesman called it “a big lie,” blaming accusations on “psychological warfare” and adding the U.S. “is making the pain of the families worse.”
183. Later Thursday, in a rebuke to Trump, the House voted 224-194 to approve a war powers resolution to restrict him on Iran, with eight Democrats voting against it, and three Republicans voting for.
184. Earlier Thursday, Trump tweeted, “Hope that all House Republicans will vote against Crazy Nancy Pelosi’s War Powers Resolution.” The three Republicans voting for the resolution were Reps. Matt Gaetz, Thomas Massie, and Francis Rooney.
185. The resolution directs Trump “to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran or any part of its government or military” unless Congress has given authorization.
186. On Friday, WAPO reported Trump, and other Republicans in Congress, were furious with Trump ally Gaetz, who not only voted for the resolution, but also pushed other House Republicans to do the same.
187. Gaetz’s legislative director emailed Republicans at 11 a.m.: “Reclaiming Congressional power is the Constitutional conservative position!” adding, “voting in favor of H. Con. Res. 83, and hope you will do the same!”
188. A senior White House official said Gaetz’s move caught Trump by surprise, and called it “super uncool” and “quite unwise,” adding White House officials would not be returning Gaetz’s phone calls or text messages.
189. On Thursday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, slammed Rep. Collins for saying Democrats love terrorists, telling CNN, “I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don’t need to justify myself to anyone.”
190. On Friday, Rep. Collins apologized, tweeting, “Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week.”
191. On Thursday, Trump held his first 2020 campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio. Standing in front of a giant American flag, Trump bragged about killing Soleimani, calling him “the world’s top terrorist” and a “bad guy.”
192. Trump also said of Soleimani, “He was a bloodthirsty terror and he’s no longer a terror,” adding, “the radical left Democrats have expressed outrage,” but “they should be outraged by Soleimani’s savage crimes.”
193. Trump said, “that was going to be another Benghazi. Had they broken through the final panels of glass, they were breaking it, breaking it,” adding Soleimani was “actively planning new attacks.”
194. Trump also said, “Soleimani was actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies,” and not just Baghdad, adding, “But we stopped him, and we stopped him quickly, and we stopped him cold.”
195. Trump said Pelosi is “not operating with a full deck,” after which some in the crowd responded with cheers of “Lock her up!” Trump called Chair Adam Schiff “You little pencil neck,” and said he would probably leak to the press.
196. Trump also said Democrats are “stone-cold crazy,” and “they want crime, they want chaos,” adding, “Gee, now I sort of understand why they hate me, right?…But it’s true. It’s true. Their policies are a disaster.”
197. Trump spoke on immigration, saying, “Innocent Americans are being brutalized and murdered by illegal alien criminals,” mentioning a supposed crime and rape spree in Ohio, and calling them “animals.”
198. Trump also claimed he played a role in the Nobel Peace Prize going to the Ethiopian prime minister, saying, “I made a deal, I saved a country,” and on the prize, “Did I have something to do with it? Yeah.”
199. Earlier in the day, Trump took credit for a report showing the largest one-year decline in cancer rates, tweeting, “U.S. Cancer Death Rate Lowest In Recorded History! A lot of good news coming out of this Administration.”
200. On Thursday, Pompeo told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, “there were a series of imminent attacks” being plotted by Soleimani, adding, “we don’t know precisely when and we don’t know precisely where, but it was real.”
201. On Friday, at a White House press briefing, Pompeo told reporters, “We had specific information on an imminent threat, and those threats from him included attacks on U.S. embassies. Period. Full stop.”
202. Pompeo’s statement was different from what he told Ingraham the night prior. When pressed, he said, “I don’t know exactly which minute. We don’t know exactly which day it would have been executed.”
203. Pompeo added, “Soleimani himself was plotting a broad, large-scale attack against American interests, and those attacks were imminent,” including “embassies, military bases [and] American facilities” in the region.
204. When asked why he and Trump mentioned embassies but Congress did not hear about that in a classified setting, Pompeo contradicted lawmakers, saying, “We did,” adding, “We told them about the imminent threat.”
205. Several Democratic senators and representatives, including ranking member Sen. Menendez and Chair Smith, said they were not informed about a possible plot to blow up U.S. embassies.
206. Shortly after, dictionary Merriam Webster tweeted, “We define ‘imminent’ as “ready to take place; happening soon.”” Other words of the week included ‘assassination,’ ‘mourn,’ and ‘de-escalate.’
207. Later Friday, in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, excerpts of which were released Friday afternoon, Trump said of the Soleimani threat, “I believe it probably would’ve been four embassies.”
208. WAPO reported the State Department did not respond to questions whether alerts were conveyed to four embassies. The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence also declined to comment.
209. Senior regime officials say Trump is obsessed with not letting a Benghazi-like attack to happen while in office. An official said the embassy in Baghdad did not receive a threat commensurate to what Trump described.
210. On Friday, Pelosi said in a letter the House will vote next week to send to the articles to the Senate. She noted “more than 70 percent of the public stating that the President should allow his top aides to testify.”
211. Pelosi also attacked McConnell’s behavior, saying he “has been engaged in tactics of delay in presenting transparency, disregard for the American people’s interest for a fair trial and dismissal of the facts.”
212. On Friday, Sen. Susan Collins told the Bangor Daily News that she is working with a “fairly small group” of fellow Republicans to ensure witnesses will be called in the Senate impeachment trial.
213. On Friday, WAPO reported that on the day of the strike against Soleimani, the Trump regime also targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, a financier and key commander in Iran’s elite Quds Force in Yemen, but that strike failed.
214. The unsuccessful operation indicated that Soleimani’s death may have been part of a broader operation to weaken the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, not what has been communicated by Trump.
215. On Friday, the Navy said a Russian navy ship had “aggressively approached” U.S. destroyer USS Farragut, while it was conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea on Thursday.
216. The U.S. ship fired five warning blasts before the Russian ship ultimately changed its course, after initially refusing. A similar incident happened in June, when U.S. and Russian ships nearly collided in the Pacific.
217. On Friday, police in Palm Beach arrested an Iranian man who was carrying $22,000 in cash and weapons, including a machete, pickax, and two knives near Mar-a-Lago, after receiving a call about a suspicious person.
218. Later Friday, in his Fox News interview with Ingraham, Trump weighed in on Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, saying they would step back from royal duties, saying, “I think it’s sad.”
219. Trump has called the Duchess, who is a black woman, “nasty,” and praised Queen Elizabeth II, saying, “She’s a great woman. She’s never made a mistake, if you look. She’s had like a flawless time.”
220. Trump said of Bolton testifying, “You can’t be in the White House as president, future, I’m talking about future — any future presidents — and have a security adviser, anybody having to do with security, and legal…”
221. After first saying he had “no problem” with Bolton testifying, when Ingraham asked if he would invoke executive privilege, Trump changed his position, “Well I think you have to for the sake of the office.”
222. Trump said of Pelosi, “She is obsessed with impeachment, she has done nothing,” adding, “She is going to go down as one of the worst Speakers in the history of our country,” and “And she’s become a crazed lunatic.”
223. Trump also falsely claimed, “My numbers are the highest they’ve ever been,” saying, “People love that we took out this horrible terrorist,” and adding, “a lot of it is because of the impeachment hoax.”
224. Trump also claimed he left troops in Syria to take the oil, a war crime, saying, “And then they say he left troops in Syria. You know what I did? I left troops to take the oil. I took the oil.”
225. When Ingraham asked to clarify and correct Trump’s statement, asking, “Not taking the oil, they’re not taking the oil,” he responded, “Well, maybe we will. Maybe we won’t,” and, “we’re protecting the oil. We have the oil.”
226. Trump also said Saudi Arabia was paying for U.S. troops, saying ,“I said, listen, you’re a very rich country. You want more troops?” adding, “They’re paying us. They’ve already deposited $1B in the bank.”
227. On Friday, WSJ reported that Trump allies are exploring a buyout of news channel One America News Network in an effort to shake up the conservative media market, which is dominated by Fox News.
228. Investment firm Hicks Equity Partners, owned by the family of Thomas Hicks Jr., co-chair of the RNC and a close friend of Donald Jr., is pitching GOP wealthy donors to be part of a roughly $250 million deal.
229. Later Friday, Iran admitted it shot down the Ukrainian airliner, saying the the shot was “unintentional” and blaming “human error,” after denying it for four days.
230. Rouhani tweeted, “The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake,” and “My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families.” Iranian protestors called for him to step down.
231. Pompeo tweeted a video of the protests, adding, “The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime’s lies, corruption, ineptitude and brutality” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
232. On Saturday, in a filing to the FISA court made public on Saturday, the FBI apologized for the way it conducted surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser during the 2016 election.
233. FBI director Christopher Wray outlined steps taken by the bureau to ensure it does not happen again, saying, “The FBI has the utmost respect for this Court and deeply regrets the errors and omissions identified.”
234. On Saturday, Trump tweeted to Wray, “Chris, what about all of the lives that were ruined because of the so-called “errors?” Are these “dirty cops” going to pay a big price for the fraud they committed?”
235. Trump also tweeted, “Where have the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats gone when they have spent the last 3 days defending the life of Qassem Soleimani,” adding, “He was also looking to do big future damage!”
236. Trump also tweeted, “New polling shows that the totally partisan Impeachment Hoax is going nowhere,” without citing a poll, and claiming, “A vast majority want the Do Nothing Democrats to move on.”
237. Trump also tweeted, “95% Approval Rating in the Republican Party, a record. 53% Approval Rating overall (can we add 7 to 10 percent because of the Trump “thing?”).” There are no polls showing this to be true.
238. Trump also tweeted, “Nancy Pelosi will go down as the absolute worst Speaker of the House in U.S. history!” This was the third time in two days that Trump has made this claim.
239. Trump also tweeted, “Now the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, are asking @senatemajldr Mitch McConnell to do the job that they were unable to do,” adding, “They proved NOTHING but my total innocence.”
240. On Friday, WAPO reported Iraq’s caretaker PM Adel Abdul Mahdi asked Pompeo in a call on Thursday to begin talks about a “mechanism” for U.S. troops to withdraw after the vote by their parliament.
241. In response, Pompeo said in a defiant statement, “At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how best to recommit to our strategic partnership — not to discuss troop withdrawal.”
242. On Saturday, WSJ reported the Trump regime warned Iraq that it could shut down Iraq’s access to the country’s central bank account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, if U.S. troops are told to leave.
243. Iraq maintains government accounts at the New York Fed as a way to manage the country’s finances, including from oil sales. Cutting off access to these funds could jolt Iraq’s already shaky economy.