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Week In The News: Impeachment Inquiry, Whistleblower Complaint, Climate Change

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Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire takes his seat before testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire takes his seat before testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

With David Folkenflik

House Democrats launch an impeachment inquiry. Trump condemns globalism at the U.N. "How dare you" — a Swedish teen’s passionate cry for climate action. The roundtable is here.

Guests

Paula Reid, CBS News White House correspondent focusing on the Justice Department and legal affairs. (@PaulaReidCBS)

Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon. (@elianayjohnson)

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)

From The Reading List

Washington Post: "Intelligence chief Maguire defends his handling of whistleblower complaint" — "Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire is testifying before Congress Thursday morning about a whistleblower complaint that prompted an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Here’s what we know:

"The complaint, which was filed in mid-August, centers on Trump and his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the president’s wish for an investigation of former vice president and presidential candidate Joe Biden.

"Maguire defended his decision not to share the complaint with Congress, saying it may have been covered by executive privilege.

"Maguire threatened to resign over concerns that the White House might attempt to force him to stonewall Congress when he testified, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter."

NPR: "White House 'Locked Down' Ukraine Call And May Have With Others, Whistleblower Says" — "A government whistleblower received information from 'multiple' government officials that President Trump 'is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.'

"An unclassified version of the whistleblower's complaint was made public Thursday by the House intelligence committee. It says that the president's lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, 'is a central figure in this effort. Attorney General [William] Barr appears to be as well.'

"The complaint centers on Trump's July 25 call with the president of Ukraine, an account of which was released on Wednesday by the White House.

"After the call, according to the whistleblower, 'senior White House officials had intervened to lock down all records of the phone call,' which the whistleblower says 'underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call.' "

Axios: "Greta Thunberg addresses climate deniers' attacks and Trump's tweet" — "Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who inspired a global protest movement, responded Wednesday after a wave of climate science deniers targeted her following her UN speech this week — including President Trump.

"Driving the news: Trump was the most prominent person to dismiss Thunberg, mocking her in a late-night tweet Monday after she urged leaders in New York to act because people are already dying from climate change. But many others have weighed in to attack her, from a TV pundit to a state governor, and some of the commentary got personal.

"Why it matters: Some of the attacks on Thunberg following her UN speech appeared to target her because she has Asperger's, which is on the autism spectrum and which she has likened to having a superpower."

NPR: "Trump To U.N. General Assembly: 'The Future Does Not Belong To Globalists'" — "At the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, President Trump told world leaders to reject "globalism" and to look out for the interests of their own countries first.

"'The future does not belong to globalists; it belongs to patriots,' Trump said.

"Tuesday marked Trump's third address to the General Assembly as president. As he has done in the past, Trump used his remarks to the international organization to make the case for his "America first" style of diplomacy that puts nationalism ahead of multilateral efforts.

"Since entering the White House, Trump has pulled the U.S. out of several international agreements, including the Paris climate accords and the Iran nuclear deal."

Allison Pohle produced this hour for broadcast.

This program aired on September 27, 2019.

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