In The Past 24 Hours Or So

Your Daily Dose of Trump and His Administration News

• Republicans are using the threat of a protracted executive privilege battle to dissuade their colleagues from calling former national security adviser John Bolton to testify at President Trump’s impeachment trial.  As the Senate barrels toward a make-or-break moment on witnesses next week, Trump allies and members of leadership are warning that calling Bolton, or any current or former administration officials, to testify could draw out the impeachment fight for weeks, if not months.

• A recording made during an intimate April 30, 2018 dinner at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. shows President Trump, speaking at a small gathering that included Lev Parnas and Igor Frumanm, telling associates he wanted then U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch fired. The recording contradicts repeated statements by Trump that he does not know Parnas.

“Get rid of her!” Trump is heard saying. “Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. Okay? Do it.”

On the recording, it appears the two Giuliani associates are telling President Trump that the U.S. ambassador has been bad-mouthing him, which leads directly to the apparent remarks by the President. The recording was made by Fruman according to sources familiar with the tape. 

Parnas appears to say: “The biggest problem there, I think where we need to start is we gotta get rid of the ambassador. She’s still left over from the Clinton administration,” Parnas can be heard telling Trump. “She’s basically walking around telling everybody ‘Wait, he’s gonna get impeached, just wait,” he said.

• Thirty-four US service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries following the Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq earlier this month, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Friday. The Pentagon and President Donald Trump had initially said no service members were injured or killed in the January 8 Iranian missile attack. Nine service members are still being treated in Germany. An additional eight service members who had been flown to Germany have since been sent to the United States for additional treatment.

• The Trump administration has named a new head of the U.S. Border Patrol. Rodney Scott will take over for Carla Provost, who is retiring.

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly lashed out at a reporter for NPR after an interview in which he was questioned about Ukraine and the ongoing impeachment trial against President Trump. NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly said during a segment on “All Things Considered” on Friday that Pompeo forcefully questioned whether Americans care about Ukraine.  “Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?” Kelly said, adding that “he used the F-word in that sentence and many others.” She continued, “He asked if I could find Ukraine on a map. I said yes, and he called out for aides to bring us a map of the world with no writing. I pointed to Ukraine. He put the map away.”