Monthly Archive:: October 2019

InfoMullet: Threading a Mustache through the Eye of a Needle

TLDRUpFront: We review the opening statement of Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman, Army officer and National Security Council expert on Eurasia, including Ukraine. At the same time the National Securiy Advisor, John Bolton, seems to be navigating legal needles to introduce both an aide and his own testimony against the President. FullContext in the Back: The

InfoMullet: An Officer Takes the Stand

TLDRUpFront: Interesting testimony scheduled for tomorrow. Lt. Colonel Vindman, an Army officer assigned to the White House as the Ukrainian specialist for the National Security Council, who was on the call between President Trump and President Zelensky.

InfoMullet: House Impeachment Proceedings Ruled Legitimate by Courts

TLDRUpFront: Common practice is to hold grand jury testimony secret, though one exception applies to an impeachment inquiry. The House and White House went to court over the House's request to access secret grand jury materials. Trump's legal team argued that House proceedings were not legitimate, resulting in a judicial finding of fact that they

InfoMullet: Another Break in the Wall

TLDRUpFront: Strong testimony today from Ambassador William Taylor before the House Intelligence Committee marks another break in the wall around President Trump.

The death of al-Baghdadi and implications for ISIS

TLDRUpFront: The President’s statements on the death of al-Baghdadi and accompanying analysis. Split into "Just the Facts" and "Analysis" portions. 

InfoMullet: The Emperor has no Clothes and the White House has no Walls

TLDRUpFront: If the Emperor has no clothes why would one think his White House has walls? There's a good argument that the White House blanket-refusal to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry is an obstruction of justice. That practical impact is limited by the reality that the White House has no moat. No wall of

InfoMullet: Friendly Fired

TLDRUpFront: A cease fire abroad, and friendly fire at home, both illustrates the risks of being within the orbit of President Trump. Friendships are transactional, subject to "You're Fired" at any moment as the Kurds in Northern Syria are realizing. And sustained close relations can lead to self-inflicted harm as Chief of Staff Mulvaney

InfoMullet: Against Their Interests

TLDRUpFront: As Ambassador Sondland prepares to testify reports indicate he may provide insights that the President's personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani was not operating independently, but in parallel with and coordination among US Ambassadors. Also and increasing number of career civil servants are defying the White House ban to come forward and provide testimony

InfoMullet: We’re Going to Sonderland!

TLDRUpFront: The announcement by Ambassador Sondland, an appointee of President Trump and Ambassador to the European Union, is like seeing Chevy Chase drive that station wagon around the corner for the first time in National Lampoons American Vacation. We're not sure who this gangly fella is, or where we're about to go, but it's

InfoMullet: He Bravely Ran Away – White House Refuses to Participate in House Inquiry

TLDRUpFront: The White House responded to the House’s request to participate in the inquiry with a blanket rejection. The House had offered the opportunity for the President’s lawyers to be present as well as requesting witnesses and documents. In rejecting the request, the White House is making a rhetorical, rather than Constitutionally valid, appeal. Analysis