memeorandum: Behind the Texas firewall, suburban shifts leave Trump vulnerable. Can strongholds save him? (Todd J. Gillman/Dallas Morning News)

1:15 PM ET, September 29, 2019

Top Items:

Lucien Bruggeman / ABC News:

Rudy Giuliani fires back at former White House aide who accused him of spreading ‘completely false’ theory — Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, defended himself Sunday on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” from accusations lodged by a former White House official …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Axios, HuffPost, New York Post and Mediaite

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Trump-Supporting Lawyers diGenova and Toensing Teamed Up With Giuliani to Dig Up Ukraine Dirt on Biden: Report — According to a top U.S. official, all three were working off the books apart from the administration, Fox News reported on Sunday morning. — In a bombshell report Sunday morning …

Discussion: Politico

Chris Francescani / ABC News:

President Trump's former national security advisor ‘deeply disturbed’ by Ukraine scandal: ‘Whole world is watching’ — President Donald Trump's first Homeland Security and counterterrorism advisor, who resigned after a year in the office, said on “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” …

Discussion: Raw Story

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Schiff says House Intel has reached agreement for whistleblower testimony — House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on ABC's “This Week” that he's reached an agreement with the Trump-Ukraine whistleblower to come before the committee as soon as the acting director …

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Ex-Trump adviser: The best way to self-impeach is to hire Rudy Giuliani — Former Trump homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said on ABC's “This Week” that the conspiracy theory that Ukraine hacked the Democratic National Committee in 2016 has been “debunked,” and he condemned Rudy Giuliani …

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:

Giuliani was not working alone in Biden Ukraine probe — Democrats allege Trump abused his power to solicit interference from a foreign government in the 2020 election — Rudy Giuliani was not the only attorney trying to get damaging information on Joe Biden from Ukrainian officials …

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian, Splinter, New York Post, Townhall and Breitbart

Washington Post:

The gas tycoon and the vice president's son: The story of Hunter Biden's foray into Ukraine — When then-Vice President Joe Biden's son joined the board of an obscure Ukrainian gas company half a decade ago, it was a stunning coup for its owner, a former Ukrainian minister working to remake …

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Rishika Dugyala / Politico:
Giuliani says Trump ‘framed by the Democrats’

Discussion: Breitbart

CNN:
Volker plans to appear before congressional committees next week

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:
How a Shadow Foreign Policy in Ukraine Prompted an Impeachment Inquiry

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
Trump blurs lines between personal lawyer, attorney general

Discussion: Palmer Report, Breitbart, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money and emptywheel

Zachary Basu / Axios:
AG Bill Barr reportedly “surprised and angry” at Trump-Ukraine phone call

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Mediaite and Palmer Report

CBS News:

CBS News poll: Majority of Americans and Democrats approve of Trump impeachment inquiry — More than half of Americans — and an overwhelming number of Democrats — say they approve of the fact that Congress has opened an impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

Discussion: The Week

Kendall Karson / ABC News:

Only 17% of Americans surprised by Trump's actions tied to Ukraine: POLL — Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe President Donald Trump's encouragement of a foreign leader to investigate Trump's political rival and his family is a serious problem, but only 17% said they were surprised …

Discussion: Washington Post, Slate, NB Blog, Pirate's Cove, POLITICUSUSA and Axios

Chris Jackson / Ipsos: Ipsos - News & Polls : News - Americans believe Trump's Ukraine Call Is A Serious Issue …

Washington Post:

State Dept. intensifies email probe of Hillary Clinton's former aides — The Trump administration is investigating the email records of dozens of current and former senior State Department officials who sent messages to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email …

Discussion: Townhall, Talking Points Memo, Slate, Hullabaloo, Palmer Report, The Week, Fox News, Breitbart, WTVR-TV, PJ Media Home and Mediaite

Jacob Knutson / Axios:

Without evidence, Stephen Miller claims whistleblower is a “deep-state operative” — White House senior adviser Stephen Miller claimed on “Fox News Sunday” that the whistleblower who filed a complaint about President Trump's interactions with Ukraine is a “deep state operative” …

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Stephen Miller says Trump is ‘real whistleblower’ and calls complaint ‘partisan hit job’ in contentious interview

Discussion: Politico

Ivan Nechepurenko / New York Times: Kremlin Says It Hopes Putin's Calls With Trump Won't Be Made Public

CNN:

CNN Poll: Democrats knotted in Nevada while Biden leads South Carolina — Washington (CNN)Joe Biden holds a wide lead in South Carolina, while the former vice president, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren are knotted up in Nevada, according to new CNN polls conducted …

Discussion: Common Dreams and Political Wire

Andrea Jefferson / Political Flare:

How Melania Obtained Her ‘Einstein Visa’ Under Scrutiny After She Lied About Having University Degree — Back in 2000, Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model dating Donald Trump, began petitioning the government for the right to permanently reside in the United States under a program reserved for people with “extraordinary ability.”

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

A cold call from someone she never met changed Elizabeth Warren's life. It was Harry Reid. — The ex-Senate majority leader boosted the 2020 contender's career at key points. Even she's not quite sure why. — WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren was a professor at Harvard Law School …

Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine:

Will Voters Warm to Impeaching Trump, and Does It Matter? — Now that Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats have, as Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff put it, “crossed the Rubicon” to support impeachment proceedings against President Trump, the big questions are how public opinion might evolve …

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:

Behind the Texas firewall, suburban shifts leave Trump vulnerable. Can strongholds save him? — Texas suburbs have evolved from conservative strongholds to purple battlegrounds, but pockets of GOP loyalty could keep the party's Texas firewall intact for 2020.

Eli Saslow / Washington Post:

'Out here, it's just me': In the medical desert of rural America, one doctor for 11,000 square miles — VAN HORN, Tex. — He woke up to the sound of an ambulance's siren, knowing that the ambulance would soon be delivering another patient to him. Ed Garner, 68, changed into medical scrubs and walked out to his truck.

James Randerson / Politico:

UK Supreme Court ruling should lead to ‘consequences,’ says Boris Johnson — Top judges should be subjected to U.S.-style “accountability” Boris Johnson suggested following the decision by the U.K.'s Supreme Court to quash his decision to suspend parliament.

Discussion: Telegraph, The Times & The Sunday Times and One America News Network

Nick Arama / RedState:

More Video Of Justin Trudeau And This Is The Worst Yet — Last week, pictures and video of Justin Trudeau in blackface blew up and threatened his campaign for re-election. — There were multiple incidents. One was where he was dressed as Aladdin and made up in blackface at an …

Discussion: The Post Millennial