Rachel Maddow joins as guest co-host to talk about the White House announcement that they intend to obstruct the impeachment inquiry, Trump’s decision to abandon our Kurdish allies, and Facebook’s refusal to pull down false ads about Joe Biden. Then we talk to Rachel about her new book, Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth.

Show notes

Trump Obstructs Impeachment

NYT : White House Declares War on Impeachment Inquiry, Claiming Effort to Undo Trump’s Election

NYT : The Trump Impeachment Inquiry: Latest Updates

NYT : On Ukraine Aid, ‘Nothing to See Here’: Diplomats Urged to Play Down Funds’ Release

NYT : Read the White House Letter in Response to the Impeachment Inquiry

The Atlantic : Trump’s Obstruction Letter

NYT : Trump’s Ukraine Call Was ‘Crazy’ and ‘Frightening,’ Official Told Whistle-Blower

Vox : Are we in a constitutional crisis yet?

WaPo : Trump’s refusal to comply with House subpoenas depends on an absolutist view of executive power

Empty Wheel : THE PRESS GETS UTTERLY SNOOKERED ON THE WHITE HOUSE REBRANDING OF THE SAME OLD UNRELENTING OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESSIONAL PREROGATIVES

FiveThirtyEight : It Took A Long Time For Republicans To Abandon Nixon

WaPo : This article is for congressmen who think Captain Kangaroo presided over kangaroo courts

AP : White House and Democrats clash over rules for impeachment

Politico : The GOP’s impeachment strategy gets sharper

NY Mag : In Deranged, Quasi-legal Rant, Trump Calls Impeachment Unconstitutional

WaPo : Plum Line – Five facts that blow up the latest White House defense of Trump

WaPo : The revealing splits in GOP senators’ reactions to impeachment

Vanity Fair : WHITE HOUSE UNVEILS NEW IMPEACHMENT STRATEGY: TOTAL WAR

Axios : 1 big thing: Trump’s burn-down-the-House plan

Axios : Trump spends $700,000 on impeachment ads in one week

Politico : Impeachment threat is helping GOP recruit new candidates

CNN : Trump’s focus on his base may not help him with impeachment inquiry

NBC News Op-Ed : Trump’s impeachment strategy plays to his base. But he needs independents in 2020.

CNN : First on CNN: Trump told Perry and State Department officials as early as May to talk to Giuliani about Ukraine

NY Mag : Democrats Accused of ‘Regicide’ Against King Trump on Fox News

Daily Beast : Fox News Cuts Ties With Trey Gowdy as He Joins Trump Legal Team

Axios : Trey Gowdy agrees to serve as outside counsel for Trump

Talking Points Memo : Gowdy Poised To Join White House Legal Team Combatting Impeachment Inquiry

The Hill : Trey Gowdy out at Fox News amid talks to join Trump defense team

Politico : Graham: GOP senators won’t kick out Trump based on Ukraine call

Talking Points Memo : Graham Intends To Rally Senate GOP To Formally Condemn Impeachment Effort

WaPo : Why Republicans are demanding a House vote to start an impeachment inquiry – Analysis

Politico : Trump’s Hill cheerleaders take center stage in impeachment defense

NBC News : Graham says he’ll invite Giuliani to testify about corruption in Ukraine

LA Times : Why Republicans may want a House vote on impeachment inquiry and Pelosi doesn’t

Politico : ‘Render to God and Trump’: Ralph Reed calls for 2020 obedience to Trump

Politico : Trump’s all-out blockade threatens Democrats’ impeachment drive

Wapo : This will get worse for Trump. Adam Schiff signals what’s next.

WaPo : Trump calls for ending impeachment inquiry; House Democrats plan Friday conference call

WaPo : How the House could impeach Trump for obstructing its probe

Politico : Judge signals Dems may get to see Mueller’s secrets

Politico : Dems raise fresh quid-pro-quo questions about Ukraine missile sale

The Atlantic : So What If the Whistle-Blower Has a Political Motive?

WaPo : Former national security officials fight back as Trump attacks impeachment as ‘deep state’ conspiracy

Politico : Poll: Half of voters support impeaching and removing Trump

FiveThirtyEight : Two Weeks In, Impeachment Is Becoming More Popular

WaPo : Biden says Trump has ‘indicted himself by obstructing justice,’ in most direct call for president’s impeachment

NYT : Turkey Launches Syria Offensive, Targeting U.S.-Backed Kurds

WaPo : Turkey launches offensive against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria

NYT : In Trump, Turkey’s Erdogan Keeps Finding a Sympathetic Ear

NYT : For Once, Republicans Break With Trump, but Not on Impeachment

Axios : Lindsey Graham on Trump: “He’s putting the nation at risk”

Wapo : Furor over pulling troops from northeast Syria began with troubling Trump phone call and White House statement

Politico Magazine : The Humiliation of Lindsey Graham

New Yorker : Trump’s Muddled Syria Policy Opens the Way for More War in the Middle East