Why impeachment seems more likely than ever before Presented by

with help from Andrew Desiderio and Burgess Everett

THE INEVITABLE IMPEACHMENT -- The White House’s all-out refusal to cooperate with Democrats’ impeachment probe has made President Donald Trump’s impeachment all the more likely. Democrats feel like they already have enough evidence to build a solid obstruction of Congress case, with the Trump administration completely defying their investigation and decrying impeachment — a power granted by the constitution — as “illegitimate” and “dangerous.”

But, but, but … Democrats still want more time to build their case for abuse of power, which is likely to form another article of impeachment. “The [White House] letter isn’t an argument, it’s a diatribe. And it reflects what is a clear decision by the White House – obstruct, deny, stonewall,” said Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.). “I think it would be a basis for proceeding but that doesn’t answer the question: Is it the time to proceed. Is the public there?”

And that is where things get more tricky for Democrats, even with polling – including a new one from Fox News — trending in their direction. They have a growing mountain of public evidence, but briefings have been taking place behind closed doors and the Trump administration has made clear that they are going to block testimony and documents at every turn. Nonetheless, Democrats are pressing ahead with subpoenas, figuring out the logistics for the whistleblower testimony and other investigative efforts. Kyle and Heather with much more: https://politi.co/2M0FpuO.

Related reads: “Undeterred by White House Threat, Democrats Push Impeachment Inquiry Ahead,” by the NYT’s Nicholas Fandos: https://nyti.ms/35hWTKR; and “Trump warns McConnell about disloyal Republicans,” via CNN’s Evan Perez, Michael Warren, Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins, https://cnn.it/328Fgv2.

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HILL TO THE HILL -- Another former top Trump official has been summoned to Capitol Hill as part of the impeachment inquiry. Fiona Hill, the top Russia adviser on the National Security Council, has been asked to appear for a deposition on Monday, according to an official working on the impeachment inquiry. Hill left the White House this past summer and was a notably hawkish voice on Russia. It’s unclear whether she is a fact witness in the impeachment probe, and what she might know about Trump’s July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president. It’s also unclear whether the White House will move to block her from complying from Democrats’ request, which also includes documents.

Related: “Read the whistleblower's memo about Trump's Ukraine call, as described to CBS News,” via Arden Farhi of CBS News: https://cbsn.ws/2AWDVeP.

BELLS AND WHISTLES -- The attorney for the whistleblower in the Ukraine scandal is pushing back on media reports that the individual has some sort of “political ties” or “relationship” to one of the 2020 Democratic candidates. “First, our client has never worked for or advised a political candidate, campaign, or party. Second, our client has spent their entire government career in apolitical, civil servant positions in the Executive Branch,” tweeted attorney Mark S. Zaid. “Third, in these positions our client has come into contact with presidential candidates from both parties in their roles as elected officials—not as candidates.”

Trump and the GOP had seized on the reports to undermine the credibility of the whistleblower and accuse the individual of political bias, even though the complaint has been corroborated by multiple other sources. “The (big deal) Whistleblower had a ‘PROFESSIONAL TIE’ to 2020 Democratic Candidate," Trump tweeted Wednesday. And Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is still pressing the Intelligence Community Inspector General for more details about the whistleblower’s background and accusing the watchdog of giving more information to House investigators than in the Senate. More from the Washington Examiner’s Joel Gehrke: https://washex.am/2MrFuGH.

Related: “Trump’s attacks fuel alarm that whistleblower protections fall short,” from Natasha Bertrand: https://politi.co/2VuwS6q.

CLICK FOR PICS … “Two Days in the Life of Nancy Pelosi, Political Grandmaster,” by Abigail Tracy for Vanity Fair, with photography from Annie Leibovitz: http://bit.ly/2OJk3E7.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, October 10, where last night’s Nats game was apparently more stressful than representing the Ukraine whistleblower.

WEDNESDAY’S MOST CLICKED: Bres, Heather and Sarah’s report on Democrats’ next steps after Trump’s anti-impeachment blockade was the big winner.

SICKENED BY SYRIA -- Republicans are challenging Trump in as stark terms as ever, eliciting phrases like “sickening” and “disaster in the making” as Turkey crossed into Syria and into the territory of the Kurds, a longtime U.S. ally. And lawmakers in both parties are threatening sanctions or votes in Congress to hit back against Turkey and the president’s foreign policy. Yet the frontlines of the battle are rhetorical, because the president’s course is “pretty hard to undo” through congressional action, as Sen. Roy Blunt put it Wednesday.

That’s why Blunt and Trump allies like Lindsey Graham and Liz Cheney are making their case in the public, hoping that rare sustained public criticism of the president will do the trick. And Graham and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have already announced a bipartisan agreement on a measure to impose “severe sanctions” on Turkey for their invasion of Syria, teeing up showdown between Trump and Congress. Burgess with the dispatch: https://politi.co/310Qnob.

Related: “Trump’s Syria decision tests the bounds of Republican support as he demands solidarity on impeachment,” by WaPo’s Phillip Rucker and Robert Costa: https://wapo.st/2OBPuzN.

JOE GOES THERE -- Joe Biden has finally joined the impeachment bandwagon. After dancing around the “I” word for months, the former vice president on Wednesday gave his full throated endorsement for impeaching Trump. “He should be impeached,” Biden said to a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire. “He's shooting holes in the Constitution and we cannot let him get away with it. This isn’t a game, this is deadly serious.”

The shift in tone comes after Biden was initially slow out of the gate to respond to Trump’s unfounded allegations about his family and Ukraine. The campaign was reportedly reluctant to give too much oxygen to the claims or play too much into Trump’s game. But now, as he prepares to absorb an onslaught of GOP attacks, Biden is punching back and ramping up his rhetoric. And it could remind voters of what a Biden-Trump matchup would look like. More from Natasha Korecki and Marc Caputo: https://politi.co/320AuiR.

Related: “What Joe Biden Learned at the Last Two Impeachments,” via NYT’s Matt Flegenheimer: https://nyti.ms/2p6FJz0; and “Giuliani predicts Senate Judiciary will call on Biden to testify on Ukraine,” from The Hill’s Alexander Bolton: http://bit.ly/2B9tXH7.

NOT SO FAST -- There was cautious optimism on Capitol Hill that Congress was nearing an agreement on Trump’s new trade deal with Mexico and Canada, with some even suggesting that there could be a vote before the Thanksgiving recess. But AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is pouring cold water on that idea, warning that quick action would be a “colossal mistake” and suggesting a deal is far from final. “If there was a vote before Thanksgiving, the agreement would be defeated,” he told The Washington Post in an interview this week.

Why his comments are telling: Democrats have been insisting on stronger labor and environmental protections in the deal. So without the blessing of labor groups, it’s highly unlikely that Democrats would agree to the trade pact. Still, both sides are eager to get something accomplished on trade: Democrats want to prove they can govern despite impeachment, while Trump wants to score a much-needed victory ahead of 2020. The story from Erica Werner: https://wapo.st/2AZIODS.

Related: “Pelosi pushes drug price reform, pushes aside impeachment,” by Joel Connelly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://bit.ly/2VsKBdN.





TRANSITIONS



Nothing today.





TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House and Senate are out.





AROUND THE HILL

Zero.

TRIVIA



WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Patricia Bieze was the first person to correctly guess that President Ulysses Grant was the first president to attend a synagogue service while in office.

TODAY’S QUESTION: From Patricia: What is the name of the ship that fired the last official round to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam? First person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: [email protected]

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Follow us on Twitter Melanie Zanona @MZanona