Tipsheet: The Memo: 'Whistleblower' furor gains steam

View in your browser     The Memo: 'Whistleblower' furor gains steam BY NIALL STANAGE An air of crisis is enveloping Washington over allegations from a whistleblower against President Trump over his dealings with a foreign government. The specifics of the complaint are still unclear — something that irks Trump’s critics and supporters alike — but dealings with Ukraine appear to form a major part of it. Read the full story here     Trump on whistleblower complaint: Focus should be on Biden instead BY BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday dismissed growing scrutiny over a whistleblower complaint that reportedly raised concerns about a conversation he had with a Ukrainian leader, saying the focus should instead be on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's ties to Ukraine during his time as vice president. Read the full story here     Biden blasts Trump, demands he release transcript of call with foreign leader BY JESSE BYRNES Former Vice President Joe Biden lashed out at President Trump on Friday amid growing scrutiny over a whistleblower complaint that reportedly raised concerns about a call the president had involving Ukraine, saying Trump should release a transcript of the call. Read the full story here     Trump decries whistleblower story as 'another media disaster' BY BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday ripped into the press for its coverage of a whistleblower complaint that reportedly raised concerns about a conversation he had with a Ukrainian leader, calling it "another media disaster." Read the full story here       Trump to meet Ukraine leader at UN General Assembly BY MORGAN CHALFANT   President Trump is scheduled to meet with several foreign leaders at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Read the full story here     Trump administration signs asylum agreement with El Salvador BY BRETT SAMUELS The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday announced it had reached a deal for the government of El Salvador to expand its capacity to accept asylum-seekers. Read the full story here     Warren: Congress is 'complicit' with Trump 'by failing to act' BY TAL AXELROD Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed Congress as “complicit” in the latest scandal surrounding President Trump’s conversations with the Ukrainian president by “failing to act” after special counsel Robert Mueller's report. Read the full story here     McConnell support for election security funds leaves Dems declaring victory BY MAGGIE MILLER AND JORDAIN CARNEY Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (Ky.) decision to back giving $250 million to states for election security constituted a major turnaround for the GOP leader. Read the full story here     Trump reignites court fight with Ninth Circuit pick BY JORDAIN CARNEY President Trump announced Friday that he intends to nominate Patrick Bumatay to serve on the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, reviving a fight over the controversial court. Read the full story here     Trump approves troop deployment in response to attacks on Saudi oil sites BY ELLEN MITCHELL AND BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday approved the deployment of U.S. troops and missile defense equipment to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UEA) in response to an attack on Saudi oil facilities that the Trump administration has blamed on Iran. Read the full story here     Missing piece to the Ukraine puzzle: State Department's overture to Rudy Giuliani BY JOHN SOLOMON Opinion | So, rather than just a political opposition research operation, Giuliani’s contacts were part of a diplomatic effort by the State Department to grow trust with the new Ukrainian president, Zelensky, a former television comic making his first foray into politics and diplomacy. Read the full story here     America has to deal with its ballooning defense budget BY LIONEL BEEHNER Opinion | It is time to admit the obvious. Nobody knows exactly where our defense funding, all $780 billion of it, is going. This is the biggest lump sum of discretionary money that swooshes around our coffers. Yet Americans are checked out on how it is spent. Why are not more people across the country angry from the announcement that $3.6 billion of taxpayer money will go toward a wall that will not do anything to make us safer? Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Trump repeatedly pressed Ukraine president to investigate Biden’s son BY ALAN CULLISON, REBECCA BALLHAUS AND DUSTIN VOLZ President Trump in a July phone call repeatedly pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden ’s son, according to people familiar with the matter, urging Volodymyr Zelensky about eight times to work with Rudy Giuliani on a probe that could hamper Mr. Trump’s potential 2020 opponent. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Behind the whistle-blower case, a long-held Trump grudge toward Ukraine BY KENNETH P. VOGEL For months this spring and summer, Ukraine’s newly elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, tried to deflect pressure from President Trump and his allies to pursue investigations into former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Mr. Biden’s son and other Trump rivals. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Scrutiny over Trump’s Ukraine scandal may also complicate Biden’s campaign BY MATT VISER The issue is inextricably linked to the Democratic front-runner’s son, pushing one of the topics that Joe Biden is least comfortable discussing into the spotlight. Read the full story here     Reuters: Inspired by Greta Thunberg, worldwide protest demands climate action BY GABRIELLA BORTER, KATHARINE HOURELD AND JAKE SPRING Millions of young people flooded the streets of cities around the world on Friday to demand political leaders take urgent steps to stop climate change, uniting in a worldwide protest inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Altered doping data could restart Russian scandal BY EDDIE PELLS The Russian anti-doping agency could face suspension again based on information indicating data from the Moscow drug-testing lab had been manipulated before being delivered to the World Anti-Doping Agency earlier this year, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.