1. EU ambassador Gordon Sondland met privately with Ukrainian officials inside the White House, where he explicitly mentioned the Ukrainian gas company linked to Hunter Biden during negotiations over granting Ukrainian President Zelensky an audience with Trump. Sondland’s meeting just outside the Situation Room took place minutes after a larger West Wing meeting that included then-National Security Adviser John Bolton, who had been noncommittal about scheduling a meeting between Trump and Zelensky. Sondland directly contradicted Bolton during the larger meeting by telling the Ukrainians that Trump was in fact committed to meeting with Zelensky, but on the condition he open a corruption investigation. Bolton abruptly ended the meeting, but Sondland invited the Ukrainian officials to continue the conversation separately in a private room in the White House basement, where Sondland was overheard discussing Burisma Holdings and Hunter Biden. (NBC News)

  2. Sondland is scheduled to testify in front of the three congressional committees leading the impeachment inquiry against Trump. He plans to tell lawmakers that he had no independent knowledge about why U.S. security aid to Ukraine was suspended. Sondland also plans to talk about the text he sent to a colleague saying that there was “no quid pro quo” involved in the Ukraine dealinsg after speaking to Trump. “I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign,” William Taylor said in a text to Sondland. Sondland replied, shortly after speaking with Trump: “The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo’s of any kind.” (Reuters)

  3. Rick Perry said he spoke with Giuliani at Trump’s direction earlier this year about alleged Ukrainian corruption. Perry says he called Giuliani to get a better understanding of Trump’s concerns about Ukraine. Perry said Giuliani didn’t make any explicit demands during the call, but he did blame Ukraine for the Steele dossier, claimed that Ukraine has Hillary Clinton’s email server, and blamed Ukraine for helping to send Paul Manafort to prison. “I don’t know whether that was crap or what,” Perry said, “but I’m just saying there were three things that he said. That’s the reason the president doesn’t trust these guys.” (Wall Street Journal / CNN / MarketWatch)

  4. House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman and Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings died at age 68 as a result of “complications concerning longstanding health challenges.” Cummings hadn’t taken part in a roll call vote since Sept. 11, failing to return for work after a medical procedure that was only supposed to keep him away from Congress for a week. Cummings was a leading figure in the Trump impeachment inquiry. (Baltimore Sun / WBAL-TV / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / CBS News / Associated Press)

  5. Trump sent a letter to President Erdogan the day of Turkey’s incursion into Syria and threatened to destroy the Turkish economy if Erdogan oversteps. “You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people,” the letter reads, “and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy – and I will.” Trump urged Erdogan to “get this done the right and humane way,” warning that history “will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen” during the invasion. “Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!” he concluded, adding: “I will call you later.” (The Guardian / Reuters)

  6. Trump appeared to confirm that the U.S. is housing nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. During an Oval Office meeting with the Italian President, Trump was asked if he’s concerned about the safety of “as many as 50 nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base” given the ongoing Turkish incursion into Syria. “We’re confident,” Trump replied, “and we have a great – a great air base there, a very powerful air base. That air base alone can take anyplace. It’s a large, powerful air base. The admission would make Trump the first U.S. official to publicly acknowledge what has been considered an open secret for years. (CNN / New York Times)