Podcasts about energy secretary rick perry

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Accountable2You Jesus is Lord. In public and in private, every area of life must be subject to his Lordship—and our use of technology is no exception. What captures our attention on the screen either glorifies or dishonors our Lord. That’s why Accountable2You is committed to promoting biblical accountability in our families and churches. Their monitoring and reporting software makes transparency easy on all of your devices, so you can say with the Psalmist, “I will not set anything worthless before my eyes.” Guard against temptation with Accountable2You, and live for God’s glory! Learn more and try it for free at Accountable2You.com/FLF https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-prohibiting-official-travel-fossil-fuel-conferences-internal-memo-shows White House prohibiting official travel to fossil fuel conferences, internal memo shows The White House is prohibiting senior administration officials from traveling for international energy engagements that promote carbon-intensive fuels, including oil, natural gas and coal, Fox News Digital has learned. The guidance — which originated from the White House National Security Council (NSC) — was revealed in a Department of Energy (DOE) memo issued internally to agency staff on Sept. 15 and obtained by Fox News Digital. The memo was authored by Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk who outlined travel restrictions and stated officials are required to obtain approval from the NSC before attending any global energy engagement. "This guidance sets out a presumption that agencies and departments will pursue international energy engagement that advances clean energy projects," Turk wrote in the memo. "It also outlines a process for seeking limited exceptions to pursue carbon-intensive engagements on a justified geostrategic imperative or energy-for-development/energy access basis." "The guidance rules out any U.S. Government ‘engagement related to unabated or partially abated coal generation,’" he continued. "Carbon-intensive international energy engagements are those 'directly related and dedicated to the production, transportation, or consumption of carbon-intensive fuels that would lead to additional greenhouse gas emissions.'" According to the memo, carbon-intensive fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas. In addition, the memo notes that the guidance became effective in November 2021 and applies to all international energy engagements. Turk issued a separate memo in early April 2022, which first outlined how the DOE would implement the NSC guidance and stated that energy engagements that promote carbon-intensive fuels may only be exempt if they advance national security or are essential to support energy access in vulnerable areas. Turk's September memo updated that guidance, stating that for all future engagements, "Departments and Agencies are required to submit exemption justifications to the NSC and receive NSC concurrence before proceeding with a covered engagement." The DOE referred Fox News Digital to the NSC, which didn't respond to multiple requests for comment. Since taking office, President Biden has pursued an aggressive climate agenda, seeking to boost green energy technologies like solar and wind while curbing domestic reliance on fossil fuels like those listed by the administration as "carbon intensive." Biden has issued federal goals to ensure 50% of U.S. car purchases are zero-emissions by 2030 and that the power sector is carbon-free by 2035. However, vehicles with internal combustion engines (gasoline-powered), make up more than 99% of all cars in the U.S. and about 99% of new car sales, according to J.D. Power. And approximately 60% of electricity in the U.S. is generated from fossil fuels, mainly natural gas, while 17% is produced form wind or solar power. As part of his agenda, Biden and senior administration officials have traveled to global energy conference to boost green energy development. And officials have largely been absent from global fossil fuel summits like the World Gas Conference, which former Energy Secretary Rick Perry attended during the Trump administration. The Biden administration also opted against inviting oil and gas industry representatives to the White House Methane Summit in July. https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-orders-new-york-dole-out-nearly-half-million-legal-fees-nra-supreme-court-victory Judge orders New York to dole out nearly half a million in legal fees to NRA after Supreme Court victory A New York judge ordered the state to pay nearly half a million dollars in legal feels to the National Rifle Association (NRA) after the gun rights group won a major case at the Supreme Court. In a case decided last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that a New York public carry licensing law was unconstitutional and that the ability to carry a pistol in public was a constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. The NRA was a party in that case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, and last week a New York judge ordered the state to pay $447,700.82 in legal fees. "The NRA regards the $447K award in the NYSRPA V. Bruen case as a pivotal victory, a symbol that justice is definitively on our side," Michael Jean, NRA’s director of the Office of Litigation Counsel, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "This triumph in Bruen has fortified the Second Amendment in an unprecedented manner, and we continue our unrelenting fight to uphold our rights and challenge those who endeavor to infringe upon them," he added. Jean noted, however, that the payout "only scratches the surface" and covers "merely a third" of the group's legal expenses. Jean thanked the generosity of "devoted NRA members" that helped to cover the brunt of the legal fees for the case, noting that "New York refuses to fully compensate." Before the high court weighed in, the standard for carrying a weapon required an applicant to show "proper cause" for seeking a license, and allowed New York officials to exercise discretion in determining whether a person has shown a good enough reason for needing to carry a firearm. Stating that one wished to protect themselves or their property was not enough. "In this case, petitioners and respondents agree that ordinary, law-abiding citizens have a similar right to carry handguns publicly for their self-defense. We too agree, and now hold, consistent with Heller and McDonald, that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the court's opinion, referencing two previous gun cases. "Because the State of New York issues public-carry licenses only when an applicant demonstrates a special need for self-defense, we conclude that the State’s licensing regime violates the Constitution." Thomas noted that the state statute does not define what "proper cause" means, and that courts had ruled that the standard was met by people who showed a "special need for self-protection." Following the court's decision New York legislators immediately passed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which prohibits carrying a gun in "sensitive areas," such as stadiums, houses of worship, museums, parks and other public places; imposes revised record-keeping and new safety requirements on retailers; and mandates background checks on all ammunition purchases. Gun retailers immediately appealed to the Supreme Court in January to stop that law from going into effect while the litigation proceeds, but the high court rejected their bid. "We are challenging the ability of the state of New York to target dealers in firearms in the lawful stream of commerce, to put them out of business, which is what the new laws will do," Paloma Capanna, the lead attorney for the New York gun retailers, said. "So it really was unfortunate to see that we couldn't get any emergency temporary injunction against those laws." https://bongino.com/former-kamala-harris-adviser-who-doesnt-appear-to-live-in-california-picked-to-fill-late-dianne-feinsteins-seat Former Kamala Harris Adviser Who Doesn’t Appear to Live in California Picked to Fill Late Dianne Feinstein’s Seat So eager were Democrats to find a replacement for the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat that they apparently didn’t even bother to pick someone living in California. According to the Washington Examiner: The appointment of Laphonza Butler to become California's newest senator is already raising some eyebrows as she appears to be registered to vote in Maryland with an address in that state. Registration records indicate that Butler lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her mailing address the same as her residential. She registered as a Democrat as of Sept. 12, 2022. Butler is the president of EMILYs List, the self-described "nation's largest resource dedicated to electing Democratic pro-choice women to office," and a longtime leader in California before her move to Maryland. On Sunday night, the newest California senator's biography on the EMILYs List website listed that "Laphonza grew up in Magnolia, MS, and attended one of the country's premier HBCUs, Jackson State University. She lives in Maryland with her partner Neneki Lee and their daughter Nylah." As of 7 a.m. Monday, the organization has removed the line that she lives in Maryland. Butler was formally Kamala Harris' 2020 campaign adviser. As radio host Dan O’Donnell noticed in real-time, Butler removed part of her biography on her Twitter account that listed Maryland as her location. Similarly, The Spectator’s Matt Foldi found that Butler’s LinkedIn page also listed her location as Maryland. Yet, merely hours after Foldi’s post, Butler’s location according to LinkedIn changed to the “Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.” Before we wrap up today… how about a little on this day in history? It’s been awhile! On this day in history… October 3rd… 42 BC First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's assassins Brutus and Cassius. 1735 France and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI sign peace accord 1778 Explorer and Captain James Cook anchors at Alaska 1849 American author Edgar Allan Poe is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public before his death. 1863 US President Abraham Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day 1913 US Federal income tax signed into law (at 1%) by President Woodrow Wilson 1941 Adolf Hitler says Russia is "already broken and will never rise again" in a broadcast to the German people 1945 Elvis Presley's 1st public performance, at age of 10, singing "Old Shep" in youth talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, in Tupelo, Mississippi; contest is broadcast over WELO Radio, he wins fifth prize - $5.00 in fair ride tickets 1951 CBS-TV airs the first coast-to-coast telecast of a prize fight; Australian light-heavyweight Dave Sands outpoints American Carl 'Bobo' Olson in 10 rounds at Chicago Stadium 1976 Future Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder Hank Aaron singles in his last MLB at-bat & drives in his 2,297th run as Milwaukee Brewers lose, 5-2 v Detroit Tigers

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Accountable2You Jesus is Lord. In public and in private, every area of life must be subject to his Lordship—and our use of technology is no exception. What captures our attention on the screen either glorifies or dishonors our Lord. That’s why Accountable2You is committed to promoting biblical accountability in our families and churches. Their monitoring and reporting software makes transparency easy on all of your devices, so you can say with the Psalmist, “I will not set anything worthless before my eyes.” Guard against temptation with Accountable2You, and live for God’s glory! Learn more and try it for free at Accountable2You.com/FLF https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-prohibiting-official-travel-fossil-fuel-conferences-internal-memo-shows White House prohibiting official travel to fossil fuel conferences, internal memo shows The White House is prohibiting senior administration officials from traveling for international energy engagements that promote carbon-intensive fuels, including oil, natural gas and coal, Fox News Digital has learned. The guidance — which originated from the White House National Security Council (NSC) — was revealed in a Department of Energy (DOE) memo issued internally to agency staff on Sept. 15 and obtained by Fox News Digital. The memo was authored by Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk who outlined travel restrictions and stated officials are required to obtain approval from the NSC before attending any global energy engagement. "This guidance sets out a presumption that agencies and departments will pursue international energy engagement that advances clean energy projects," Turk wrote in the memo. "It also outlines a process for seeking limited exceptions to pursue carbon-intensive engagements on a justified geostrategic imperative or energy-for-development/energy access basis." "The guidance rules out any U.S. Government ‘engagement related to unabated or partially abated coal generation,’" he continued. "Carbon-intensive international energy engagements are those 'directly related and dedicated to the production, transportation, or consumption of carbon-intensive fuels that would lead to additional greenhouse gas emissions.'" According to the memo, carbon-intensive fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas. In addition, the memo notes that the guidance became effective in November 2021 and applies to all international energy engagements. Turk issued a separate memo in early April 2022, which first outlined how the DOE would implement the NSC guidance and stated that energy engagements that promote carbon-intensive fuels may only be exempt if they advance national security or are essential to support energy access in vulnerable areas. Turk's September memo updated that guidance, stating that for all future engagements, "Departments and Agencies are required to submit exemption justifications to the NSC and receive NSC concurrence before proceeding with a covered engagement." The DOE referred Fox News Digital to the NSC, which didn't respond to multiple requests for comment. Since taking office, President Biden has pursued an aggressive climate agenda, seeking to boost green energy technologies like solar and wind while curbing domestic reliance on fossil fuels like those listed by the administration as "carbon intensive." Biden has issued federal goals to ensure 50% of U.S. car purchases are zero-emissions by 2030 and that the power sector is carbon-free by 2035. However, vehicles with internal combustion engines (gasoline-powered), make up more than 99% of all cars in the U.S. and about 99% of new car sales, according to J.D. Power. And approximately 60% of electricity in the U.S. is generated from fossil fuels, mainly natural gas, while 17% is produced form wind or solar power. As part of his agenda, Biden and senior administration officials have traveled to global energy conference to boost green energy development. And officials have largely been absent from global fossil fuel summits like the World Gas Conference, which former Energy Secretary Rick Perry attended during the Trump administration. The Biden administration also opted against inviting oil and gas industry representatives to the White House Methane Summit in July. https://www.foxnews.com/us/judge-orders-new-york-dole-out-nearly-half-million-legal-fees-nra-supreme-court-victory Judge orders New York to dole out nearly half a million in legal fees to NRA after Supreme Court victory A New York judge ordered the state to pay nearly half a million dollars in legal feels to the National Rifle Association (NRA) after the gun rights group won a major case at the Supreme Court. In a case decided last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that a New York public carry licensing law was unconstitutional and that the ability to carry a pistol in public was a constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment. The NRA was a party in that case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, and last week a New York judge ordered the state to pay $447,700.82 in legal fees. "The NRA regards the $447K award in the NYSRPA V. Bruen case as a pivotal victory, a symbol that justice is definitively on our side," Michael Jean, NRA’s director of the Office of Litigation Counsel, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "This triumph in Bruen has fortified the Second Amendment in an unprecedented manner, and we continue our unrelenting fight to uphold our rights and challenge those who endeavor to infringe upon them," he added. Jean noted, however, that the payout "only scratches the surface" and covers "merely a third" of the group's legal expenses. Jean thanked the generosity of "devoted NRA members" that helped to cover the brunt of the legal fees for the case, noting that "New York refuses to fully compensate." Before the high court weighed in, the standard for carrying a weapon required an applicant to show "proper cause" for seeking a license, and allowed New York officials to exercise discretion in determining whether a person has shown a good enough reason for needing to carry a firearm. Stating that one wished to protect themselves or their property was not enough. "In this case, petitioners and respondents agree that ordinary, law-abiding citizens have a similar right to carry handguns publicly for their self-defense. We too agree, and now hold, consistent with Heller and McDonald, that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the court's opinion, referencing two previous gun cases. "Because the State of New York issues public-carry licenses only when an applicant demonstrates a special need for self-defense, we conclude that the State’s licensing regime violates the Constitution." Thomas noted that the state statute does not define what "proper cause" means, and that courts had ruled that the standard was met by people who showed a "special need for self-protection." Following the court's decision New York legislators immediately passed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which prohibits carrying a gun in "sensitive areas," such as stadiums, houses of worship, museums, parks and other public places; imposes revised record-keeping and new safety requirements on retailers; and mandates background checks on all ammunition purchases. Gun retailers immediately appealed to the Supreme Court in January to stop that law from going into effect while the litigation proceeds, but the high court rejected their bid. "We are challenging the ability of the state of New York to target dealers in firearms in the lawful stream of commerce, to put them out of business, which is what the new laws will do," Paloma Capanna, the lead attorney for the New York gun retailers, said. "So it really was unfortunate to see that we couldn't get any emergency temporary injunction against those laws." https://bongino.com/former-kamala-harris-adviser-who-doesnt-appear-to-live-in-california-picked-to-fill-late-dianne-feinsteins-seat Former Kamala Harris Adviser Who Doesn’t Appear to Live in California Picked to Fill Late Dianne Feinstein’s Seat So eager were Democrats to find a replacement for the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat that they apparently didn’t even bother to pick someone living in California. According to the Washington Examiner: The appointment of Laphonza Butler to become California's newest senator is already raising some eyebrows as she appears to be registered to vote in Maryland with an address in that state. Registration records indicate that Butler lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her mailing address the same as her residential. She registered as a Democrat as of Sept. 12, 2022. Butler is the president of EMILYs List, the self-described "nation's largest resource dedicated to electing Democratic pro-choice women to office," and a longtime leader in California before her move to Maryland. On Sunday night, the newest California senator's biography on the EMILYs List website listed that "Laphonza grew up in Magnolia, MS, and attended one of the country's premier HBCUs, Jackson State University. She lives in Maryland with her partner Neneki Lee and their daughter Nylah." As of 7 a.m. Monday, the organization has removed the line that she lives in Maryland. Butler was formally Kamala Harris' 2020 campaign adviser. As radio host Dan O’Donnell noticed in real-time, Butler removed part of her biography on her Twitter account that listed Maryland as her location. Similarly, The Spectator’s Matt Foldi found that Butler’s LinkedIn page also listed her location as Maryland. Yet, merely hours after Foldi’s post, Butler’s location according to LinkedIn changed to the “Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.” Before we wrap up today… how about a little on this day in history? It’s been awhile! On this day in history… October 3rd… 42 BC First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's assassins Brutus and Cassius. 1735 France and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI sign peace accord 1778 Explorer and Captain James Cook anchors at Alaska 1849 American author Edgar Allan Poe is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public before his death. 1863 US President Abraham Lincoln designates last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day 1913 US Federal income tax signed into law (at 1%) by President Woodrow Wilson 1941 Adolf Hitler says Russia is "already broken and will never rise again" in a broadcast to the German people 1945 Elvis Presley's 1st public performance, at age of 10, singing "Old Shep" in youth talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, in Tupelo, Mississippi; contest is broadcast over WELO Radio, he wins fifth prize - $5.00 in fair ride tickets 1951 CBS-TV airs the first coast-to-coast telecast of a prize fight; Australian light-heavyweight Dave Sands outpoints American Carl 'Bobo' Olson in 10 rounds at Chicago Stadium 1976 Future Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder Hank Aaron singles in his last MLB at-bat & drives in his 2,297th run as Milwaukee Brewers lose, 5-2 v Detroit Tigers

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The push for electric cars, and even wind and solar energy requires critical minerals like Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite. Rare earth elements are essential for both common items we already on, but for technology we may be reliant on in the future.  America has access to some of these key resources, but China continues to dominate the critical mineral market. After serving as the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry served as the Energy Secretary during the Trump administration.  Sec. Perry joined host Jessica Rosenthal recently on the FOX News Rundown: From Washington podcast to discuss the importance of these minerals and the need for American to be the leader in the market. He also discussed not just the need for more mining in America, but why becoming energy independent is critical to the country's success and security. Due to time limitations, we could not include our entire conversations in the FOX News Rundown: From Washington segment that ran last week. On the FOX News Rundown Extra, you will hear the complete interview with former Texas Governor and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry about why certain minerals are so critical to our country and why America must stand up to China's attempt to control them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The push for electric cars, and even wind and solar energy requires critical minerals like Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite. Rare earth elements are essential for both common items we already on, but for technology we may be reliant on in the future.  America has access to some of these key resources, but China continues to dominate the critical mineral market. After serving as the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry served as the Energy Secretary during the Trump administration.  Sec. Perry joined host Jessica Rosenthal recently on the FOX News Rundown: From Washington podcast to discuss the importance of these minerals and the need for American to be the leader in the market. He also discussed not just the need for more mining in America, but why becoming energy independent is critical to the country's success and security. Due to time limitations, we could not include our entire conversations in the FOX News Rundown: From Washington segment that ran last week. On the FOX News Rundown Extra, you will hear the complete interview with former Texas Governor and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry about why certain minerals are so critical to our country and why America must stand up to China's attempt to control them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The push for electric cars, and even wind and solar energy requires critical minerals like Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite. Rare earth elements are essential for both common items we already on, but for technology we may be reliant on in the future.  America has access to some of these key resources, but China continues to dominate the critical mineral market. After serving as the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry served as the Energy Secretary during the Trump administration.  Sec. Perry joined host Jessica Rosenthal recently on the FOX News Rundown: From Washington podcast to discuss the importance of these minerals and the need for American to be the leader in the market. He also discussed not just the need for more mining in America, but why becoming energy independent is critical to the country's success and security. Due to time limitations, we could not include our entire conversations in the FOX News Rundown: From Washington segment that ran last week. On the FOX News Rundown Extra, you will hear the complete interview with former Texas Governor and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry about why certain minerals are so critical to our country and why America must stand up to China's attempt to control them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Texas Governor & Energy Secretary Rick Perry joins us on Trump, midterms and sports bettingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police audio reveals how Wednesday's arrest of Robert Telles unfolded, a 26-year-old woman was sentenced for her part in the 2019 killing of a 5-year-old girl, former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry stumped for ex-Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt on Wednesday and more on 7@7 from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

UK retail sales are booming as things get back to normal in the region. Stacey Widlitz of SW Retail Advisors joins to discuss the trends. Plus, Disney earnings disappointed analysts, but Bank of America's Jessica Ehrlich is still bullish on the stock. She explains why. And former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry joins to discuss the state of the global energy crisis, and the role of the U.S. in energy production.

HOUR 1The U.S. is sending 3,000+ troops back to Afghanistan to protect our exit / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAuN72YnxwAFormer TX Governor and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is astonished at President Biden's energy policy and directives / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quka7egCqzwCliff Groh Jr from Anchorage called in offering to report from Juneau on his research and advocacy for a sound fiscal plan while the special session occurs Dan Bongino on FOX News interview former President Trump / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duA2cZMOmFwTom and Rick talk Young MC and Rick Astley and booty-shaken music HOUR 2NTSB preliminary report released from the recent Eagle River small plane crash / https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2021/08/12/ntsb-release-preliminary-report-deadly-eagle-river-plane-crash/Rick talks about paper airplane flying length contests Adam Holz from Plugged In reviews the latest movies (Free Guy; Aretha Franklin story “Respect”; and Disney Plus's “What If”) / https://www.pluggedin.com/Dave Stieren, Community Relations Director for Governor Mike Dunleavy, gives an update on what's next for the Gov as Special Session starts Monday 

Former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry says that despite President Biden's Secretary of Energy acknowledging that pipelines are the safest transportation of oil, the administration is making it nearly impossible to use them, which benefits China.

Brooke Rollins spent three years working for President Donald Trump in high-profile White House roles at the Office of American Innovation and the Domestic Policy Council. Now, she leads a new group of Trump administration alumni to defend the former president’s policy accomplishments and prepare for the future.The mission of the America First Policy Institute is to develop and promote policies that put the American people first. “AFPI is truly the defender of the American dream, but also the American people,” Rollins tells me on “The Daily Signal Podcast.”As president and CEO of the new organization, Rollins has assembled a team that includes former Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon, former National Economic Council chief Larry Kudlow, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe.“I think that no matter what we do as conservatives, we know our policies are righteous and we know that they work, and we know that they truly help those who need help the most,” Rollins says.Also on today's show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a Texas teacher who was honored by her community in a special way during Teacher Appreciation Week.Enjoy the show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Russia is building up massive troops on the border of Ukraine this past couple of weeks---Why?, Israel has just secretly attacked Iranian centrifuges at Natanz Retired US Diplomat to 5 different nations  David Hunter shares his knowledge, passion, interest, and experience.... and a whole lot more.Today's Agenda… Russia is building up massive troops on the border of Ukraine this past couple of weeks---Why? .  Sec. of State Blinken said last Sunday that US was concerned, and would provide assistance to help preserve the independence and territorial sovereignty of Ukraine. Yesterday, NATO issued a warning to Russia about threatening Ukraine, and called for de-escalation and Pres. Biden called Putin.   What do you think  is going to happen? Israel has just secretly attacked Iranian centrifuges at Natanz:  The NYT reported on Monday that an 'explosion' had knocked out the power supply at Iran's facility for enriching uranium in Natanz.  The NYT said two intelligence officials described it as a classified Israeli operation,  which happening just one day after Iran launched the inauguration of a new type of advanced centrifuge, and while new US Defense Secretary Austin was visiting Israel.  What's going on here?  Did the US play a role?"Saudi Arabia is also developing a 'peaceful nuclear reactor program'.  There are 16 nuclear reactors the Saudis expect to construct at a cost of up to $80 billion. Trump's Energy Secretary Rick Perry held talks w/ Saudis on this.   How it that different from what Iran has been doing? Taliban has rejected coming to talks in Turkey w/ US negotiators:  The Taliban just announced it will refuse to join 'peace talks' planned in Turkey before the May 1 deadline for US withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. What does that mean, will the US peace deal still go ahead? C.J. Cannon's Restaurant Located at the Vero Beach Airport, where the only thing we overlook is the runway! YOUR VISION IS OUR FOCUS Exceptional eye care in a professional, caring, & friendly environment.

A water study by the Environmental Working Group finds contamination from PFAS chemicals in more than 40 communities nationwide, including many major cities. Based on the findings, the group says PFAS chemicals are likely found in all major water supplies across the country. Plus, President Trump’s pledges to plant one trillion trees across the world to help combat climate change. And, the Senate votes down a plan to subpoena former Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s documents related to President Trump’s impeachment trial. Find more on the show at politico.com/energy-podcast.

This week the articles of impeachment were transmitted to the Senate, and the impeachment trial formally began. Senators were sworn in, but it was unclear if they planned to follow the oath they swore to deliver impartial justice. This week the House released hundreds of pages of documents provided by Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani. Parnas made stunning disclosures in MSNBC and CNN interviews of other Trump regime members being “in the loop” on Trump's plan to withhold aid from Ukraine pending the announcement of investigations, including Vice President Mike Pence, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and many others. As the Senate trial was about to begin, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found Trump had violated the law by withholding Ukraine aid. The government of Ukraine also announced it would open a criminal investigation into Trump regime members' alleged surveillance of former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Maria Yovanovitch disclosed in the Parnas documents, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo skipped scheduled Congressional hearings on Iran, and largely hid from the media for the balance of the week. Read the full list here: https://theweeklylist.org/weekly-list/week-166/

Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg have pledged millions of dollars to fight climate change, but you couldn’t tell by looking at the top choices for the Democratic nomination. Plus, Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, says former Energy Secretary Rick Perry knew what to ask of the Ukrainian president during his inauguration in the scandal that led to the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Find more on the show at politico.com/energy-podcast.

Today's episode takes on (some of) the two biggest pending news stories right now: (1) the U.S. assassination of Iranian Gen. Soleimani, and (2) the pending impeachment of President Trump. Oh, and we also cover a bunch of other things along the way, including the latest CNN settlement regarding the kid from Covington Catholic, and, well, you'll just have to listen to find out everything! We begin with a pre-show grab bag of mini-stories, including the "drain the swamp" news that outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry has joined the board of a holding company that owns a pipeline company. Is this 100% the same scandal as Burisma hiring Hunter Biden? (Hint: yes.) Then, we delve into some disturbing background information on the Solemani strike and answer the first of many listener questions about it: was the strike arguably justified by the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against the 9/11 hijackers? After that, it's time for some Yodeling! We look at the current state of the House/Senate standoff on articles of impeachment and what the likely way forward will be. You'll learn that former NSA Director John Bolton is willing to testify; the question is whether two more Republicans care about that at all. Finally, we cover the latest news that CNN settled the defamation lawsuit brought by Nick Sandmann of Covington Catholic relating to the video shared by CNN nearly a year ago. After all that, it's time for a brand-new #T3BE 161 -- this one is a constitutional law question regarding anti-discrimination laws. Can Thomas get it right?? Appearances None! If you’d like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at openarguments@gmail.com. Show Notes & Links Pre-show links: (a) Rick Perry rejoins the board of a pipeline company; (b) the Hofeller Files; and (c) the 5th Circuit's decision on Trump's stupid wall, which we last covered in Episodes 243 and 255. Iranian strike links: (a) Washington Post story on Pompeo masterminding the strike; (b) the Heather Timmons piece in Quartz warning us that Trump was listening to Rapture loons like Pence and Pompeo 18 months ago; and (c) Mary Lee Bigham-Bartling's 2018 doctoral dissertation on Rapture theology. This is the 2001 AUMF, and you can also verify that Solemani is named in neither the 9/11 Commission Report nor the 2019 State Department Fact Sheet. We also quoted from a VOA News report on Sunnis "celebrating" the death of Solemani. On impeachment: the important thing is to click here to read John Bolton's public decision to comply with a Senate subpoena. Finally, although you can't read the CNN/Covington Catholic settlement, you can still watch both the original Sandmann video, and the updated video released a few days later. -Support us on Patreon at: patreon.com/law -Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs -Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/, and don’t forget the OA Facebook Community! -For show-related questions, check out the Opening Arguments Wiki, which now has its own Twitter feed!  @oawiki -And finally, remember that you can email us at openarguments@gmail.com!

Carbon-capture projects are economically unviable at the moment and will need a major increase in government spending for wide-scale deployment, says John Minge, former chairman and president of BP America. On today's Platts Capitol Crude, Minge talks about the policy changes needed, including expansion of federal tax incentives, to build out the carbon-capture technology that many point to as one path to address the release of greenhouse gases from growing oil and natural gas development. Development is complicated, Minge says, as infrastructure to accommodate movement of an equivalent of 13 million b/d of oil will need to be built and there's no clear evidence that widespread carbon-capture projects would ever turn a profit. Minge led the development of the National Petroleum Council's recent carbon capture, use and storage report, an 18-month study requested by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

President Donald Trump has been impeached. In this episode, hear the key evidence against him presented by the witnesses called to testify in over 40 hours of hearings that took place in the "inquiry" phase of the impeachment. Using this episode, you will be able to judge for yourself how strong the case against President Trump really is as the country prepares for his Senate trial.  Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD067: What Do We Want In Ukraine? CD068: Ukraine Aid Bill CD136: Building WWIII CD156: Sanctions – Russia, North Korea & Iran CD167: Combating Russia (NDAA 2018) LIVE CD202: Impeachment? Articles/Documents Article: Pelosi Says She Plans To Send Articles Of Impeachment To Senate By Claudio Grisales and Dirdre Walsh, npr, December 18, 2019 Article: Impeachment Timeline: From Early Calls To A Full House Vote by Brian Naylor, npr, December 17, 2019 Article: Ukraine and Russia agree to implement ceasefire BBC News, December 10, 2019 Article: How America’s System Of Legalized Corruption Brought Us To The Brink Of Impeachment By Brendan Fischer, Talking Points Memo, December 5, 2019 Article: Who Is Michael J. Gerhardt? Professor Made Impeachment His Specialty by Emily Cochrane, The New York Times, December 4, 2019 Article: The Betrayal of Volodymyr Zelensky by Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, December 3, 2019 Article: Eric Ciaramella: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know By Tom Cleary, heavy November 24, 2019 Article: Why Did ASAP Rocky Keep Coming Up at the Impeachment Hearing? By Aaron Mak, Slate, November 20, 2019 Article: Impeaching Trump And Demonizing Russia: Birds Of A Feather By Robert W. Merry, The American Conservative, November 19, 2019 Article: Gordon Sondland Was A Low-Profile Hotel Owner. Until He Went To Work For Trump By Jim Zarroli, npr, November 19, 2019 Article: Yovanovitch's Moment: Will Her Testimony Help Dems or the GOP? By Susan Crabtree, RealClear Politics, November 14, 2019 Article: Who Is Bill Taylor? Key Witness in the Impeachment Inquiry By Lara Jakes, The New York Times, November 13, 2019 Article: Mulvaney will not pursue court fight over subpoena By Katelyn Polantz, CNN, November 12, 2019 Article: After boost from Perry, backers got huge gas deal in Ukraine By Desmond Butler, Michael Biesecker, Stephen Braun, and Richard Lardner, AP News, November 11, 2019 Article: CNN host was set to interview Ukrainian President until scandal took shape By Caroline Kelly, CNN, November 7, 2019 Article: Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, defies subpoena in impeachment inquiry By Bart Jansen, USA Today, October 15, 2019 Article: 'Disruptive Diplomat' Gordon Sondland, a key figure in Trump impeachment furor long coveted ambassadorship By Aaron C. Davis, Josh Dawsey, Michelle Ye Hee Lee, and Michael Birnbaum, The Washington Post, October 14, 201 Article: The Sleazy Career of Kurt Volker By Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, October 8, 2019 Article: Here’s what you need to know about the US aid package to Ukraine that Trump delayed by Joe Gould and Howard Altman, Defense News, September 25, 2019 Article: After Years Of Stalling, Can Ukraine Finally Become Energy Self-Sufficient? By Todd Prince, RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty, September 15, 2019 Transcript: Nancy Pelosi Impeachment Statement Transcript: House of Representatives Launching Impeachment Inquiry of Trump Rev, September 24, 2019 Article: Trump holds up Ukraine military aid meant to confront Russia By Caitlin Emma and Connor O'Brien, Politico, August 28, 2019 Article: Trump kills plan to cut billions in foreign aid by John Bresnahan, Jennifer Scholtes and Marianne Levine, Politico, August 22, 2019 Article: The Complete Timeline of A$AP Rocky’s Arrest in Sweden By Isabelle Hore-Thorburn, High Snobiety, August 14, 2019 Document: Letter to Richard Burr & Adam Schiff August 12, 2019 Article: NATO is the obstacle to improving Russian-Western relations By Ruslan Pukhov, Defense News, March 28, 2019 Article: In Ukraine, A Make Believe Politician Prepares For the Presidency By Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, March 26, 2019 Article: US staged a coup in Ukraine – here’s why and how by Chris Kanthan, Nation of Change, August 15, 2018 Article: How and Why the US Government Perpetrated the 2014 Coup in Ukraine by Eric Zuesse, Strategic Culture Foundation, June 3, 2018 Article: What Did Ex-Trump Aide Paul Manafort Really Do in Ukraine? by Kenzi Abou-Sabe, Tom Winter and Max Tucker, NBC News, June 27, 2017 Article: What Exactly Did Paul Manafort Do Wrong? by Julia Ioffe, The Atlantic, March 24, 2017 Article: How William Hague Deceived the House of Commons on Ukraine By David Morrison, Huffington Post, October 3, 2014 Article: That time Ukraine tried to join NATO — and NATO said no By Adam Taylor, The Washington Post, September 14, 2014 Article: It's not Russia that's pushed Ukraine to the brink of war By Seumas Milne, Guardian, April 30, 2014 Article: Facing Russian Threat, Ukraine Halts Plans for Deals with E.U. By David M. Herszenhorn, The New York Times, November 21, 2013 Article: Former Soviet States Stand Up to Russia. Will the U.S.? By Carl Gershman, The Washington Post, September 26, 2013 Article: Ukraine Says ’No’ to NATO By Kathleen Holzwart Sprehe, Pew Research Center, March 29, 2010 Article: Ukraine Faces Battle of NATO, Pro and Con By Mara D. Bellaby, The Associated Press, Washington Post Archive, June 6, 2006 Article: 'Meddling' In Ukraine By Michael McFaul, The Washington Post, December 21, 2004 Article: AFTEREFFECTS: THE LAW; American Will Advise Iraqis On Writing New Constitution By Jennifer 8. Lee, The Washington Post, May 11, 2003 Additional Resources Bill Summary: H.Res.755 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) Biography.com, Updated December 16, 2019 Biography: Rudolph Giuliani Biography.com, Updated December 16, 2019 Biography: David Hale, U.S. Department of State Biography: George P. Kent, U.S. Department of State Biographies: Speakers’ Bios: US-Ukraine Working Group Yearly Summit IV, Center For US Ukrainian Relations Explanatory Statement: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020 Explanatory Statement: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020 State Department Explanatory Statement: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2019, CONFERENCE REPORT TO ACCOMPANY H.R. 6157 Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 Explanatory Statement: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 State Department Hearing: The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump: Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment U.S. House Committee on The Judiciary Profile: Gordon Sondland LinkedIn Profile: Kurt Volker LinkedIn Profile: Timothy Morrison LinkedIn Public Library of US Diplomacy: UKRAINE: PM YANUKOVYCH TELLS A/S FRIED: UKRAINE'S EUROPEAN CHOICE HAS BEEN DECIDED Wikileaks, November 17, 2006 USIP: About United States Institute of Peace USIP: Stephen J. Hadley United States Institute of Peace The Origins of USIP: Institute’s Founders Were Visionaries, Grass-Roots Americans, World War II Veterans United States Institute of Peace Video: Ukraine Crisis - What You're Not Being Told, YouTube, March 12, 2014 Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Emerging U.S. Defense Challenges and Worldwide Threats, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, December 6, 2019 Witnesses General John M. Keane Mr. Shawn Brimley Dr. Robert Kagan Transcript: 55:55 Robert Kagan: But as we look across the whole panoply of threats that we face in the world, I worry that it’s too easy to lose sight of what, to my mind, represent the greatest threats that we face over the medium- and long term and possibly even sooner than we may think, and that is the threat posed by the two great powers in the international system, the two great revisionist powers international system—Russia and China, because what they threaten is something that is in a way more profound, which is this world order that the United States created after the end of World War II—a global security order, a global economic order, and a global political order. This is not something the United States did as a favor to the rest of the world. It’s not something we did out of an act of generosity, although on historical terms it was a rather remarkable act of generosity. It was done based on what Americans learned in the first half of the twentieth century, which was that if there was not a power—whether it was Britain or, as it turned out, it had to be the United States—willing and able to maintain this kind of decent world order, you did not have some smooth ride into something else. What you had was catastrophe. What you had was the rise of aggressive powers, the rise of hostile powers that were hostile to liberal values. We saw it. We all know what happened with two world wars in the first half of the twentieth century and what those who were present at the creation, so to speak, after World War II wanted to create was an international system that would not permit those kinds of horrors to be repeated. CNN Town Hall: Pelosi says Bill Clinton impeached for "being stupid", CNN, December 5, 2019 Speakers: Nancy Pelosi Transcript: Questioner: So, Ms, Pelosi. You resisted calls for the impeachment of president Bush in 2006 and president Trump following the Muller report earlier this year, this time is different. Why did you oppose it? Why did you oppose impeachment in the past? And what is your obligation to protect our democracy from the actions of our president now? Pelosi: Thank you. I thank you for bringing up the question about, because when I became speaker the first time, there was overwhelming call for me to impeach president Bush on the strength of the war in Iraq, which I vehemently opposed. And I say it again, I said it other places. That was my wheelhouse. I was intelligence. I was a ranking member on the intelligence committee, even before I became part of the leadership of gang of four. So I knew there were no nuclear weapons in Iraq. It just wasn't there. They had to show us, they had to show the gang of four. All the intelligence they had, the intelligence did not show that that was the case. So I knew it was a misrepresentation to the public. But having said that, it was in my view, not a ground for impeachment. They won the election. They made a representation. And to this day, people think, people think that it was the right thing to do. People think Iraq had something to do with the 9/11. I mean, it's appalling what they did. But I did and I said, if somebody wants to make a case, you bring it forward. They had impeached bill Clinton for personal indiscretion and misrepresenting about it and some of these same people are saying, Oh, this doesn't rise to impeachment or that right there. And impeaching Bill Clinton for being stupid in terms of something like that. I mean, I love him. I think it was a great president, but being stupid in terms of that and what would somebody do not to embarrass their family, but in any event, they did Bill Clinton. Now they want me to do George this. I just didn't want it to be a way of life in our country. As far as the Muller report or there was a good deal of the academic setting and a thousand legal experts wrote a statement that said, the Muller Report impeach...is what's in there as an impeachable offense? So much of what's in the Muller report will be more clear once some of the court cases are resolved, but it wasn't so clear to the public. The Ukraine, this removed all doubt. It was self evident that the president undermined our national security, jeopardize the integrity of our elections as he violated his oath of office. There's just... That's something that cannot be ignored. Hearing: Hearing on Constitutional Framework for Impeachment, House Judiciary Committee, C-SPAN Coverage, December 4, 2019 Watch on Youtube: The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump Witnesses Professor Noah Feldman Professor Pamela Karlan Professor Michael Gerhardt Professor Jonathan Turley Transcript: 1:41:00 Michael Gerhardt: The gravity of the president's misconduct is apparent when we compare it to the misconduct of the one president resigned from office to avoid impeachment conviction and removal. The House Judiciary Committee in 1974 approved three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon who resigned a few days later. The first article charged him with obstruction of justice. If you read the Muller report, it identifies a number of facts. I won't lay them out here right now that suggest the president himself has obstructed justice. If you look at the second article of impeachment approved against Richard Nixon, it charged him with abuse of power for ordering the heads of the FBI, IRS, and CIA to harass his political enemies. In the present circumstance, the president is engaged in a pattern of abusing the trust, placing him by the American people, by soliciting foreign countries, including China, Russia, and Ukraine, to investigate his political opponents and interfere on his behalf and elections in which he is a candidate. The third article approved against president Nixon charged that he had failed to comply with four legislative subpoenas. In the present circumstance, the president has refused to comply with and directed at least 10 others in his administration not to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas, including Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and acting chief of staff and head of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney. As Senator Lindsey Graham now chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee said when he was a member of the house on the verge of impeaching president Clinton, the day Richard Nixon failed to answer that subpoena is the day he was subject to impeachment because he took the power from Congress over the impeachment process away from Congress, and he became the judge and jury. That is a perfectly good articulation of why obstruction of Congress is impeachable. 2:02:30 Norm Eisen: Professor Feldman, what is abuse of power? Noah Feldman: Abuse of power is when the president uses his office, takes an action that is part of the presidency, not to serve the public interest, but to serve his private benefit. And in particular, it's an abuse of power if he does it to facilitate his reelection or to gain an advantage that is not available to anyone who is not the president. Noah Feldman: Sir, why is that impeachable conduct? Noah Feldman: If the president uses his office for personal gain, the only recourse available under the constitution is for him to be impeached because the president cannot be as a practical matter charged criminally while he is in office because the department of justice works for the president. So the only mechanism available for a president who tries to distort the electoral process for personal gain is to impeach him. That is why we have impeachment. 2:09:15 Norm Eisen: Professor Gerhardt, does a high crime and misdemeanor require an actual statutory crime? Michael Gerhardt: No, it plainly does not. Everything we know about the history of impeachment reinforces the conclusion that impeachable offenses do not have to be crimes. And again, not all crimes are impeachable offenses. We look at, again, at the context and gravity of the misconduct. 2:35:15 Michael Gerhardt: The obstruction of Congress is a problem because it undermines the basic principle of the constitution. If you're going to have three branches of government, each of the branches has to be able to do its job. The job of the house is to investigate impeachment and to impeach. A president who says, as this president did say, I will not cooperate in any way, shape, or form with your process robs a coordinate branch of government. He robs the House of Representatives of its basic constitutional power of impeachment. When you add to that the fact that the same president says, my Department of Justice cannot charge me with a crime. The president puts himself above the law when he says he will not cooperate in an impeachment inquiry. I don't think it's possible to emphasize this strongly enough. A president who will not cooperate in an impeachment inquiry is putting himself above the law. Now, putting yourself above the law as president is the core of an impeachable offense because if the president could not be impeached for that, he would in fact not be responsible to anybody. 3:15:30 Jonathan Turley: I'd also caution you about obstruction. Obstruction is a crime also with meaning. It has elements. It has controlling case authority. The record does not establish obstruction. In this case, that is what my steam colleagues said was certainly true. If you accept all of their presumptions, it would be obstruction, but impeachments have to be based on proof, not presumptions. That's the problem. When you move towards impeachment on this abbreviated schedule that has not been explained to me - why you want to set the record for the fastest impeachment. Fast is not good for impeachment. Narrow, fast, impeachments have failed. Just ask Johnson. So the obstruction issue is an example of this problem. And here's my concern. The theory being put forward is that President Trump obstructed Congress by not turning over material requested by the committee and citations have been made to the third article of the Nixon impeachment. Now, first of all, I want to confess, I've been a critic of the third article, the Nixon impeachment my whole life. My hair catches on fire every time someone mentions the third article. Why? Because you would be replicating one of the worst articles written on impeachment. Here's the reason why - Peter Radino's position as Chairman of Judiciary was that Congress alone decides what information may be given to it - alone. His position was that the courts have no role in this. And so by that theory, any refusal by a president based on executive privilege or immunities would be the basis of impeachment. That is essentially the theory that's being replicated today. President Trump has gone to the courts. He's allowed to do that. We have three branches, not two. You're saying article one gives us complete authority that when we demand information from another branch, it must be turned over or we'll impeach you in record time. Now making that worse is that you have such a short investigation. It's a perfect storm. You set an incredibly short period, demand a huge amount of information and when the president goes to court, you then impeach him. In Nixon, it did go to the courts and Nixon lost, and that was the reason Nixon resigned. He resigned a few days after the Supreme Court ruled against him in that critical case. But in that case, the court recognized there are executive privilege arguments that can be made. It didn't say, "You had no right coming to us, don't darken our doorstep again." It said, "We've heard your arguments. We've heard Congress's arguments and you know what? You lose. Turn over the material to Congress." Do you know what that did for the Judiciary is it gave this body legitimacy. Now recently there's some rulings against president Trump including a ruling involving Don McGahn. Mr. Chairman, I testified in front of you a few months ago and if you recall, we had an exchange and I encouraged you to bring those actions and I said I thought you would win and you did. And I think it's an important win for this committee because I don't agree with President Trump's argument in that case. But that's an example of what can happen if you actually subpoena witnesses and go to court. Then you have an obstruction case because a court issues in order and unless they stay that order by a higher court, you have obstruction. But I can't emphasize this enough. And I'll say just one more time. If you impeach a president, if you make a high crime and misdemeanor out of going to the courts, it is an abuse of power. It's your abuse of power. 3:26:40 Jonathan Turley: There's a reason why every past impeachment has established crimes, and it's obvious it's not that you can't impeach on a non-crime. You can, in fact. Non-crimes had been part of past impeachments. It's just that they've never gone up alone or primarily as the basis of impeachment. That's the problem here. If you prove a quid pro quo that you might have an impeachable offense, but to go up only on a noncriminal case would be the first time in history. So why is that the case? The reason is that crimes have an established definition and case law. So there's a concrete, independent body of law that assures the public that this is not just political, that this is a president who did something they could not do. You can't say the president is above the law. If you then say the crimes you accuse him of really don't have to be established. 3:39:35 Jonathan Turley: This is one of the thinnest records ever to go forward on impeachment. I mean the Johnson record one can can debate because this was the fourth attempt at an impeachment, but this is certainly the thinnest of a modern record. If you take a look at the size of the record of Clinton and Nixon, they were massive in comparison to this, which was is almost wafer thin in comparison, and it has left doubts - not just in the minds of people supporting president Trump - now it's in the minds of people like myself about what actually occurred. There's a difference between requesting investigations and a quid pro quo. You need to stick the landing on the quid pro quo. You need to get the evidence to support it. It might be out there, I don't know, but it's not in this record. I agree with my colleagues. We've all read the record and I just come to a different conclusion. I don't see proof of a quid pro quo no matter what my presumptions, assumptions or bias might be. Hearing: Impeachment Hearing with Fiona Hill and David Holmes, House Select Intelligence Committee, C-SPAN Coverage, November 21, 2019 Watch on Youtube: Open Hearing with Dr. Fiona Hill and David Holmes Witnesses Dr. Fiona Hill David Holmes Transcript: 44:45 David Holmes: Our work in Ukraine focused on three policy priorities: peace and security, economic growth and reform and anti-corruption and rule of law. These policies match the three consistent priorities of the Ukrainian people since 2014 as measured in public opinion polling, namely an end to the conflict with Russia that restores national unity and territorial integrity, responsible economic policies that deliver European standards of growth and opportunity and effective and impartial rule of law, institutions that deliver justice in cases of high level official corruption. Our efforts on this third policy priority merit special mention because it was during Ambassador Yovanovitch's tenure that we achieved the hard-fought passage of a law establishing an independent court to try corruption cases. 51:00 David Holmes: It quickly became clear that the White House was not prepared to show the level of support for the Zelensky administration that we had originally anticipated. In early May, Mr Giuliani publicly alleged that Mr. Zelensky was "surrounded by enemies of the U S president" and canceled a visit to Ukraine. Shortly thereafter we learned that Vice President Pence no longer plan to lead the presidential delegation to the inauguration. The White House then whittled down an initial proposed list for the official presidential delegation to the inauguration from over a dozen individuals to just five. Secretary Perry as its head, Special Representative for Ukraine and negotiations Kurt Volker representing the State Department, National Security Council director Alex Vindman representing the White House, temporary acting Charge D'affairs Joseph Pennington representing the Embassy, and Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland. While Ambassador Sondland's mandate as ambassador as the accredited ambassador to the European Union did not cover individual member states, let alone non-member countries like Ukraine, he made clear that he had direct and frequent access to President Trump and Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and portrayed himself as the conduit to the President and Mr. Mulvaney for this group. Secretary Perry, Ambassador Sondland, and Ambassador Volker later styled themselves "the three Amigos" and made clear they would take the lead on coordinating our policy and engagement with the Zelensky administration. 53:30 David Holmes: The inauguration took place on May 20th and I took notes in the delegations meeting with President Zelensky. During the meeting, Secretary Perry passed President Zelensky a list that Perry described as "people he trusts." Secretary Perry told President Zelensky that he could seek advice from the people on this list on issues of energy sector reform, which was the topic of subsequent meetings between Secretary Perry and key Ukrainian energy sector contacts. Embassy personnel were excluded from some of these later meetings by Secretary Perry's staff. 56:50 David Holmes: Within a week or two, it became apparent that the energy sector reforms, the commercial deals, and the anti-corruption efforts on which we were making progress were not making a dent in terms of persuading the White House to schedule a meeting between the presidents. 58:10 David Holmes: We became concerned that even if a meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky could occur, it would not go well. And I discussed with embassy colleagues whether we should stop seeking a meeting all together. While the White House visit was critical to the Zelensky administration, a visit that failed to send a clear and strong signal of support likely would be worse for President Zelensky than no visit at all. 58:30 David Holmes: Congress has appropriated $1.5 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since 2014. This assistance has provided crucial material and moral support to Ukraine and its defensive war with Russia and has helped Ukraine build its armed forces virtually from scratch into arguably the most capable and battle-hardened land force in Europe. I've had the honor of visiting the main training facility in Western Ukraine with members of Congress and members of this very committee, Ms. Stefanik, where we witnessed firsthand us national guard troops along with allies conducting training for Ukrainian soldiers. Since 2014 national guard units from California, Oklahoma, New York, Tennessee, and Wisconsin have trained shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian counterparts. 59:30 David Holmes: Given the history of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine and the bipartisan recognition of its importance, I was shocked when on July 18th and office of management and budget staff members surprisingly announced the hold on Ukraine security assistance. The announcement came toward the end of a nearly two hour national security council secure video conference call, which I participated in from the embassy conference room. The official said that the order had come from the president and had been conveyed to OMB by Mr. Mulvaney with no further explanation. 1:03:30 David Holmes: The four of us went to a nearby restaurant and sat on an outdoor terrace. I sat directly across from Ambassador Sondland and the two staffers sat off to our sides. At first, the lunch was largely social. Ambassador Sondland selected a bottle of wine that he shared among the four of us and we discuss topics such as marketing strategies for his hotel business. During the lunch, Ambassador Sondland said that he was going to call President Trump to give him an update. Ambassador Sondland placed a call on his mobile phone and I heard him announce himself several times along the lines of Gordon Sondland holding for the president. It appeared to be he was being transferred through several layers of switchboards and assistance. And I then noticed Ambassador Sondland's demeanor changed and understood that he had been connected to President Trump. While Ambassador Sondland's phone was not on speaker phone, I could hear the president's voice through the ear piece of the phone. The president's voice was loud and recognizable and Ambassador Sondland held the phone away from his ear for a period of time, presumably because of the loud volume. I heard Ambassador Sondland greet the president and explained he was calling from Kiev. I heard president Trump then clarify that Ambassador Sondland was in Ukraine. Ambassador Sondland replied, yes, he was in Ukraine and went on to state President Zelensky "loves your ass." I then heard President Trump ask, "So he's going to do the investigation?" and Sondland replied that "He's going to do it" adding that President Zelensky will do anything you ask him to do. Even though I did not take notes of these statements, I have a clear recollection that these statements were made. I believe that my colleagues who were sitting at the table also knew that Ambassador Sondland was speaking with the president. The conversation then shifted to Ambassador Sondland's efforts on behalf of the president to assist a rapper who was jailed in Sweden. I can only hear Ambassador Sondland's side of the conversation. Ambassador Sondland told the president that the rapper was "kind of effed there and should have pled guilty." He recommended that the president "Wait until after the sentencing or we'll only make it worse", and he added that the president should let him get sentenced, play the racism card, give him a ticker tape when he comes home. Ambassador Sondland further told the president that Sweden quote "should have released him on your word, but that you can tell the Kardashians you tried." 1:15:00 David Holmes: Today, this very day, marks exactly six years since throngs pro-Western Ukrainians spontaneously gathered on Kiev's independence square, to launch what became known as the Revolution of Dignity. While the protest began in opposition to a turn towards Russia and away from the West, they expanded over three months to reject the entire corrupt, repressive system that had been sustained by Russian influence in the country. Those events were followed by Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and invasion of Ukraine's Eastern Donbass region, and an ensuing war that to date has cost almost 14,000 lives. 1:17:00 David Holmes: Now is not the time to retreat from our relationship with Ukraine, but rather to double down on it. 2:00:15 David Holmes: In the meeting with the president, Secretary Perry as head of the delegation opened the meeting with the American side, and had a number of points he made. And, and during that period, he handed over a piece of paper. I did not see what was on the paper, but Secretary Perry described what was on the paper as a list of trusted individuals and recommended that President Zelensky could draw from that list for advice on energy sector reform issues. Daniel Goldman: Do you know who was on that list? Holmes: I didn't see the list. I don't know other colleagues. There are other people who've been in the mix for a while on that set of issues. Other people, Secretary Perry has mentioned as being people to consult on reform. Goldman: And are they Americans? Holmes: Yes. 4:18:15 Fiona Hill: As I understood there'd been a directive for a whole scale review of our foreign policy assistance and the ties between our foreign policy objectives and the assistance. This has been going on actually for many months. And in the period when I was wrapping up my time there, there had been more scrutiny than specific assistance to specific sets of countries as a result of that overall review. 4:21:10 Fiona Hill: I asked him quite bluntly in a meeting that we had in June of 2019. So this is after the presidential inauguration when I'd seen that he had started to step up in much more of a proactive role on a Ukraine. What was his role here? And he said that he was in charge of Ukraine. And I said, "Well, who put you in charge Ambassador Sondland?" And he said, "The president." Stephen Castor: Did surprise you when he told you that. Fiona Hill:It did surprise me. We'd had no directive. We hadn't been told this. Ambassador Bolton had never indicated in any way that he thought that Ambassador Sondland was playing a leading role in Ukraine. 4:36:30 Fiona Hill: And one of Ukraine's Achilles heel, in addition to, it's military disadvantage with Russia, is in fact, energy. Ukraine remains for now the main transit point for a Russian oil and gas and pipelines to Europe. And this has been manipulated repeatedly, especially since 2006, by the Russian government. And in fact, I mean many of you here will remember, in the Reagan era, there was a huge dispute between the United States and Europe about about whether it made sense for Europe to build pipelines from the then Soviet union to bring gas to European markets. 4:55:30 David Holmes: United States has provided combined civilian and military assistance to Ukraine since 2014 of about $3 billion plus to $1 billion - three $1 billion loan guarantees that's not...those get paid back largely. So just over $3 billion, the Europeans at the level of the European Union and plus the member States combined since 2014. My understanding and have provided a combined $12 billion to Ukraine. 5:02:05 Fiona Hill: And so when I came in Gordon Sondland was basically saying, "Well, look, we have a deal here that there will be a meeting. I have a deal here with the Chief of Staff, Mulvaney there will be a meeting if the Ukrainians open up or announce these investigations into 2016 and Burisma" and I cut it off immediately there because by this point, having heard Mr. Giuliani over and over again on the television and all of the issues, that he was asserting. By this point, it was clear that Burisma was code for the Bidens because Giuliani was laying it out there. I could see why Colonel Vindman was alarmed and he said this is inappropriate with the National Security Council. We can't be involved in this. 5:03:45 Fiona Hill: And that's when I pushed back on Ambassador Sondland and said, "Look, I know there's differences about whether one, we should have this meeting. We're trying to figure out whether we should have it after the Ukrainian, democratic, sorry, parliamentary elections, the Rada elections", which by that point I think had been set for July 21st. It must have been, cause this is July 10th at this point. And Ambassador Bolton would like to wait until after that to basically see whether President Zelensky gets the majority in the parliament, which would enable him to form a cabinet. And then we can move forward. 6:05:50 Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY): Dr. Hill, turning back to you, there's been discussion about the process of scheduling the meeting between President Zelensky and President Trump, and you testified that there was hesitancy to schedule this meeting until after the Ukrainian parliamentary elections. Is that correct? Fiona Hill: That is correct, yes. Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY): And that's because there was speculation in all analytical circles, both in Ukraine and outside the Ukraine, that Zelensky might not be able to get the majority that he needed to form a cabinet, correct? Fiona Hill: That is correct. Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY): And you also testified that another aspect of the NSC hesitancy to schedule this meeting was based on broader concerns related to Zelensky's ability to implement anti-corruption reforms. And this was in specific relation to Ukrainian oligarchs who basically were the owner of the TV company that Mr. Zelensky his program had been a part of. Is that correct? Fiona Hill: That is correct. 6:21:40 Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX): One of them is headlined "After boost from Perry, backers got huge gas deal in Ukraine." The other one is titled "Wall Street Journal, federal prosecutors probe Giuliani's links to Ukrainian energy projects." Mr. Holmes. Thank you, chairman. You indicated that Secretary Perry, when he was in the Ukraine, had private meetings with Ukrainians. Before he had those private meetings, in a meeting with others, including yourself, I believe, he had presented a list of American advisers for the Ukraine energy sector. Do you know who was on that list? David Holmes: Sir, I didn't see the names on the list myself. Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX): Do you know if Alex Cranberg and Michael Blazer were on that list? David Holmes: I have since heard that Michael Blazer is on the list. Hearing: Impeachment Inquiry Hearing with Laura Cooper and David Hale, House Select Intelligence Committee, C-SPAN Coverage, November 20, 2019 Watch on Youtube: Open Hearing with Laura Cooper and David Hale Witnesses Laura Cooper David Hale Transcript: 45:30 Laura Cooper: I have also supported a robust Ukrainian Ministry of Defense program of defense reform to ensure the longterm sustainability of US investments and the transformation of the Ukrainian military from a Soviet model to a NATO inter-operable force. 45:50 Laura Cooper: The National Defense Authorization Act requires the Department of Defense to certify defense reform progress to release half of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative or USAI funds, a provision we find very helpful. Based on recommendations from me and other key DOD advisers, the Department of Defense in coordination with the Department of State certified in May, 2019 that Ukraine had "taken substantial actions to make defense institutional reforms for the purposes of decreasing corruption, increasing accountability and sustaining improvements of combat capability."  47:15 Laura Cooper: Let me say at the outset that I have never discussed this or any other matter with the president and never heard directly from him about this matter. 48:05 Laura Cooper: I and others at the interagency meetings felt that the matter was particularly urgent, because it takes time to obligate that amount of money. And my understanding was that the money was legally required to be obligated by September 30th to the end of the fiscal year. 49:15 Laura Cooper: I received a series of updates and in a September 5th update, I and other senior defense department leaders were informed that over a $100,000,000 could not be obligated by September 30th. 49:45 Laura Cooper: After the decision to release the funds on September 11th of this year, my colleagues across the DOD security assistance enterprise worked tirelessly to be able to ultimately obligate about 86% of the funding by the end of the fiscal year, more than they had originally estimated they would be able to. Due to a provision in September's continuing resolution, appropriating an amount equal to the unobligated funds from fiscal year 2019, we ultimately will be able to obligate all of the USAI funds. 51:04 Laura Cooper: Since my deposition, I have again reviewed my calendar, and the only meeting where I recall a Ukrainian official raising the issue with me is on September 5th at the Ukrainian independence day celebration. 51:45 Laura Cooper: Specifically, on the issue of Ukraine's knowledge of the hold or of Ukraine, asking questions about possible issues with the flow of assistance. My staff showed me two unclassified emails that they received from the state department. One was received on July 25th at 2:31 PM. That email said that the Ukrainian Embassy and House Foreign Affairs Committee are asking about security assistance. The second email was received on July 25th at 4:25 PM that email said that the Hill knows about the FMF situation to an extent, and so does the Ukrainian embassy. I did not receive either of these emails. My staff does not recall informing me about them and I do not recall being made aware of their content at the time. 53:04 Laura Cooper: On July 3rd at 4:23 PM they received an email from the State Department stating that they had heard that the CN is currently being blocked by OMB. This apparently refers to the congressional notification State would send for Ukraine FMF. I have no further information on this. 53:20 Laura Cooper: On July 25th a member of my staff got a question from a Ukraine embassy contact asking what was going on with Ukraine security assistance. Because at that time, we did not know what the guidance was on USAI. The OMB notice of apportionment arrived that day, but the staff member did not find out about it until later. I was informed that the staff member told the Ukrainian official that we were moving forward on USAI, but recommended that the Ukraine embassy check in with State regarding the FMF. 1:02:40 David Hale: We've often heard at the state department that the President of the United States wants to make sure that a foreign assistance is reviewed scrupulously to make sure that it's truly in US national interests, and that we evaluated continuously to meet certain criteria that the president's established. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): And since his election, is it fair to say that the president Trump has looked to overhaul how foreign aid is distributed? David Hale: Yes. The NSC launched a foreign assistance review process, sometime, I think it was late August, early September, 2018. 1:04:30 Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): In the past year, Ukraine was not the only country to have aid withheld from it, is that correct? David Hale: Correct. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): In the past year, was aid held withheld from Pakistan? David Hale:Yes sir. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): Why was aid withheld from Pakistan? David Hale: Because of unhappiness over the policies and behavior of the Pakistani government towards certain proxy groups that were involved in conflicts with United States. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): And in the past year was aid also withheld from Honduras. David Hale: Aid was withheld from three States in central Northern central America, yes. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): The past year was aide withheld from Lebanon? David Hale: Yes sir. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): And when aid was first held withheld from Lebanon, were you given a reason why it was withheld? David Hale: No. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): So having no explanation for why aid is being withheld is not uncommon. I would say it is not the normal way that we function... Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): But it does happen. David Hale: It does happen. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): And is it true that when aid was being withheld from Lebanon that was at the same time aid was being withheld from Ukraine? David Hale: Correct, sir. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX):And, you've testified that the aid to Lebanon still hasn't been released, is that right? David Hale: That is correct. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): Alright. 1:26:05 Laura Cooper: Russia violated the sovereignty of Ukraine's territory. Russia illegally annexed territory that belonged to Ukraine. They also denied Ukraine access to its Naval fleet at the time. And to this day, Russia is building a capability on Crimea designed to expand Russian military power projection far beyond the immediate region. 1:59:40 Laura Cooper: There are three separate pieces to our overall ability to provide equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces. The first is the foreign military finance system, which is a State Department authority and countries around the world have this authority. That authority is used for some of the training and equipment. There's also the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. That's a DOD authority. Unlike the State authority, the DOD authority is only a one year authority. And then third, there's an opportunity for defense sales. And that is something that we're working with Ukrainians on now so that they can actually purchase U.S. equipment. But the javelin specifically was provided under FMF initially and now the Ukrainians are interested in the purchase of javelin. 2:00:35 Rep. Will Hurd (TX): And there wasn't a hold put on purchasing of equipment, is that correct? Laura Cooper: Not to my understanding, no. 2:04:15 Laura Cooper: There were two ways that we would be able to implement presidential guidance to stop obligating the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. And the first option would be for the president to do a rescission. The second is a reprogramming action that the Department of Defense would do... Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX): In both of those would require congressional notice. There would be an extra step that the president would have to take to notify Congress. As far as, you know, was there ever any notice that was sent out to Congress? Laura Cooper: Sir, I did express that, that I believed it would require a notice to Congress and that then there was no such notice to my knowledge or preparation of such a notice to my knowledge. 2:07:41 Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX): But you can't say one way or another whether the inquiries in these emails were about the whole, is that fair? Laura Cooper: I cannot say for certain. Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX):Right, and you can't say one way or another, whether the Ukrainians knew about the whole before August 28th, 2019 when it was reported in Politico, correct? Laura Cooper: Sir, I can just tell you that it's the recollection of my staff that they likely knew, but no, I do not have a certain data point to offer you. Hearing: Impeachment Inquiry Hearing with E.U. Ambassador Gordon Sondland, House Select Intelligence Committee, C-SPAN Coverage, November 20, 2019 Watch on Youtube: Open Hearing with Ambassador Gordon Sondland Witness Gordon Sondland Transcript: 54:00 Gordon Sondland: As I testified previously, Mr. Giuliani's requests were a quid pro quo for arranging a white house visit for President Zelensky. Mr. Giuliani demanded that Ukraine make a public statement announcing the investigations of the 2016 Election DNC server, and Burisma. 54:30 Gordon Sondland: Mr. Giuliani was expressing the desires of the President of the United States, and we knew these investigations were important to the president. 55:00 Gordon Sondland: I was adamantly opposed to any suspension of aid, as the Ukrainians needed those funds to fight against Russian aggression. 55:10 Gordon Sondland: I tried diligently to ask why the aid was suspended, but I never received a clear answer. Still haven't to this day. In the absence of any credible explanation for the suspension of aid, I later came to believe that the resumption of security aid would not occur until there was a public statement from Ukraine committing to the investigations of the 2016 elections and Burisma as Mr. Giuliani had demanded. 59:40 Gordon Sondland: During the Zelensky inauguration, on May 20th the US delegation developed a very positive view of the Ukraine government. We were impressed by President Zelensky's desire to promote a stronger relationship with the United States. We admired his commitment to reform, and we were excited about the possibility of Ukraine making the changes necessary to support a greater Western economic investment. And we were excited that Ukraine might, after years and years of lip service, finally get serious about addressing its own well known corruption problems. 1:01:15 Gordon Sondland: Unfortunately, President Trump was skeptical. He expressed concerns that the Ukrainian government was not serious about reform, and he even mentioned that Ukraine tried to take him down in the last election. In response to our persistent efforts in that meeting to change his views, President Trump directed us to quote, "talk with Rudy." We understood that talk with Rudy meant talk with Mr. Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer. Let me say again, we weren't happy with the President's directive to talk with Rudy. We did not want to involve Mr. Giuliani. I believe then as I do now, that the men and women of the state department, not the president's personal lawyer, should take responsibility for Ukraine matters. Nonetheless, based on the president's direction we were faced with a choice, we could abandon the efforts to schedule the white house phone call and a white house visit between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, which was unquestionably in our foreign policy interest, or we could do as president Trump had directed and talk with Rudy. We chose the latter course, not because we liked it, but because it was the only constructive path open to us. 1:12:05 Gordon Sondland: After the Zelensky meeting, I also met with Zelensky's senior aide, Andre Yermak. I don't recall the specifics of our conversation, but I believe the issue of investigations was probably a part of that agenda or meeting. 1:12:15 Gordon Sondland: Also, on July 26 shortly after our Kiev meetings, I spoke by phone with President Trump. The White House, which has finally, finally shared certain call dates and times with my attorneys confirms this. The call lasted five minutes. I remember I was at a restaurant in Kiev, and I have no reason to doubt that this conversation included the subject of investigations. Again, given Mr. Giuliani's demand that President Zelensky make a public statement about investigations. I knew that investigations were important to President Trump. We did not discuss any classified information. Other witnesses have recently shared their recollection of overhearing this call. For the most part, I have no reason to doubt their accounts. It's true that the president speaks loudly at times and it's also true, I think, we primarily discussed ASAP Rocky. It's true that the president likes to use colorful language. Anyone who has met with him at any reasonable amount of time knows this well. I cannot remember the precise details. Again, the White House has not allowed me to see any readouts of that call and the July 26 call did not strike me as significant. At the time, actually, actually, I would have been more surprised if President Trump had not mentioned investigations, particularly given what we were hearing from Mr. Giuliani about the president's concerns. However, I have no recollection of discussing Vice President Biden or his son on that call or after the call ended. 1:14:10 Gordon Sondland: I know that members of this committee frequently frame these complicated issues in the form of a simple question. Was there a quid pro quo? As I testified previously with regard to the requested White House call and the White House meeting, the answer is yes. Mr. Giuliani conveyed to Secretary Perry, Ambassador Volker and others that President Trump wanted a public statement from President Zelensky committing to investigations of Burisma and the 2016 election. Mr Giuliani expressed those requests directly to the Ukrainians and Mr. Giuliani also expressed those requests directly to us. We all understood that these prerequisites for the White House call and the White House meeting reflected President Trump's desires and requirements. 1:23:10 Gordon Sondland: There was a September 1st meeting with President Zelensky in Warsaw. Unfortunately, President Trump's attendance at the Warsaw meeting was canceled due to Hurricane Dorian. Vice President Pence attended instead. I mentioned Vice President Pence before the meetings with the Ukrainians that I had concerns that the delay in aid had become tied to the issue of investigations. I recall mentioning that before the Zelensky meeting. During the actual meeting, President Zelensky raised the issue of security assistance directly with Vice President Pence and the vice president said that he would speak to President Trump about it. Based on my previous communication with Secretary Pompeo, I felt comfortable sharing my concerns with Mr. Yermak. It was a very, very brief pull aside conversation that happened. Within a few seconds, I told Mr. Yermak that I believe that the resumption of US aid would likely not occur until Ukraine took some kind of action on the public statement that we had been discussing for many weeks. 1:38:30 Gordon Sondland: I finally called the president, I believe it was on the 9th of September. I can't find the records and they won't provide them to me, but I believe I just asked him an open ended question, Mr. Chairman. "What do you want from Ukraine? I keep hearing all these different ideas and theories and this and that. What do you want?" And it was a very short, abrupt conversation. He was not in a good mood and he just said, I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell them Zelensky to do the right thing. Something to that effect. 1:43:00 Gordon Sondland: Again, through Mr. Giuliani, we were led to believe that that's what he wanted. 2:06:25 Gordon Sondland: President Trump never told me directly that the aid was conditioned on the meetings. The only thing we got directly from Giuliani was that the Burisma and 2016 elections were conditioned on the White House meeting. The aide was my own personal guess based again, on your analogy, two plus two equals four. 2:10:30 Gordon Sondland: Again, I don't recall President Trump ever talking to me about any security assistance ever. 2:44:00 Stephen Castor: Did the president ever tell you personally about any preconditions for anything? Gordon Sondland: No. Okay. Stephen Castor: So the president never told you about any preconditions for the aid to be released? Gordon Sondland: No. Stephen Castor: The president never told you about any preconditions for a White House meeting? Gordon Sondland: Personally, no. 3:01:10 Stephen Castor: And are you aware that he was also interested in better understanding the contributions of our European allies? Gordon Sondland: That I'm definitely aware of. Stephen Castor: And there was some back and forth between the state department officials trying to better understand that information for the president. Gordon Sondland: Yes, that's correct. Stephen Castor: And how do you know that wasn't the reason for the hold? Gordon Sondland: I don't... Stephen Castor: But yet you speculate that there was a link to the this announcement. Gordon Sondland: I presumed it, yes. Stephen Castor: Okay. 3:07:05 Stephen Castor: And when you first started discussing the concerns the president had with corruption, Burisma wasn't the only company that was mentioned, right. Gordon Sondland: It was generic, as I think I testified to Chairman Schiff, it was generic corruption, oligarchs, just bad stuff going on in Ukraine. Stephen Castor: But other companies came up, didn't they? Gordon Sondland: I don't know if they were mentioned specifically. It might've been Naftagas because we were working on another issue with Naftagas. So that might've been one of them. Stephen Castor: At one point in your deposition, I believe you, you said, "Yeah, Naftagas comes up at every conversation." Is that fair? Gordon Sondland: Probably. 3:14:55 Gordon Sondland: I think once that Politico article broke, it started making the rounds that, if you can't get a White House meeting without the statement, what makes you think you're going to get a $400 million check? Again, that was my presumption. Stephen Castor: Okay, but you had no evidence to prove that, correct? Gordon Sondland: That's correct. 3:44:10 Daniel Goldman: It wasn't really a presumption, you heard from Mr. Giuliani? Gordon Sondland: Well, I didn't hear from Mr. Giuliani about the aid. I heard about the Burisma and 2016. Daniel Goldman: And you understood at that point, as we discussed, two plus two equals four, that the aid was there as well. Gordon Sondland: That was the problem, Mr. Goldman. No one told me directly that the aid was tied to anything. I was presuming it was. 5:02:10 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): What did Mr. Giuliani say to you that caused you to say that he is expressing the desires of the President of the United States? Gordon Sondland: Mr. Himes, when that was originally communicated, that was before I was in touch with Mr. Giuliani directly. So this all came through Mr. Volcker and others. Rep. Jim Himes (CT): So Mr. Volcker told you that he was expressing the desires of the President of the United States. Gordon Sondland: Correct. 5:20:40 Rep. Michael Turner (OH): Well, you know, after you testified, Chairman Schiff ran out and gave a press conference and said he gets to impeach the president and said it's because of your testimony and if you pull up CNN today, right now, their banner says "Sondland ties Trump to withholding aid." Is that your testimony today, Mr. Ambassador Sondland, that you have evidence that Donald Trump tied the investigations the aid? Cause I don't think you're saying that. Gordon Sondland: I've said repeatedly, Congressman, I was presuming. I also said that President Trump... Rep. Michael Turner (OH): So no one told you, not just the president...Giuliani didn't tell you, Mulvaney didn't tell you. Nobody - Pompeo didn't tell you. Nobody else on this planet told you that Donald Trump was tying aid to these investigations. Is that correct? Gordon Sondland: I think I already testified. Rep. Michael Turner (OH): No, answer the question. Is it correct? No one on this planet told you that Donald Trump was tying this aid to the investigations. Cause if your answer is yes, then the chairman's wrong. And the headline on CNN is wrong. No one on this planet told you that president Trump was tying aid to investigations. Yes or no? Gordon Sondland: Yes. Hearing: Impeachment Hearing with Ambassador Kurt Volker and National Security Aide Tim Morrison, House Select Intelligence Committee, C-SPAN Coverage, November 19, 2019 Watch on Youtube: Open Hearing with Ambassador Kurt Volker and Timothy Morrison Witnesses Kurt Volker Timothy Morrison Transcript: 43:20 Timothy Morrison: I continue to believe Ukraine is on the front lines of a strategic competition between the West and Vladimir Putin's revanchist Russia. Russia is a failing power, but it is still a dangerous one. United States aids Ukraine and her people, so they can fight Russia over there and we don't have to fight Russia here. Support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty has been a bipartisan objective since Russia's military invasion in 2014. It must continue to be. 48:00 Kurt Volker: At no time was I aware of or knowingly took part in an effort to urge Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Biden. As you know, from the extensive realtime documentation I have provided, Vice President Biden was not a topic of our discussions. 50:20 Kurt Volker: At the time I took the position in the summer of 2017 there were major complicated questions swirling in public debate about the direction of US policy towards Ukraine. Would the administration lifts sanctions against Russia? Would it make some kind of grand bargain with Russia in which it would trade recognition of Russia seizure of Ukrainian territory for some other deal in Syria or elsewhere? Would the administration recognize Russia's claimed annexation of Crimea? Will this just become another frozen conflict? There are also a vast number of vacancies in key diplomatic positions. So no one was really representing the United States in the negotiating process about ending the war in Eastern Ukraine. 51:20 Kurt Volker: We changed the language commonly used to describe Russia's aggression. I was the administration's most outspoken public figure highlighting Russia's invasion and occupation of parts of Ukraine, calling out Russia's responsibility to end the war. 54:45 Kurt Volker: The problem was that despite the unanimous positive assessment and recommendations of those of us who were part of the US presidential delegation that attended the inauguration of President Zelensky, President Trump was receiving a different negative narrative about Ukraine and President Zelensky. That narrative was fueled by accusations from Ukraine's then prosecutor general and conveyed to the president by former mayor Rudy Giuliani. As I previously told this committee, I became aware of the negative impact this was having on our policy efforts when four of us, who were a part of the presidential delegation to the inauguration, met as a group with President Trump on May 23rd. We stressed our finding that President Zelensky represented the best chance for getting Ukraine out of the mire of corruption and had been in for over 20 years. We urged him to invite President Zelensky to the White House. The president was very skeptical. Given Ukraine's history of corruption. That's understandable. He said that Ukraine was a corrupt country full of terrible people. He said they tried to take me down. In the course of that conversation, he referenced conversations with Mayor Giuliani. It was clear to me that despite the positive news and recommendations being conveyed by this official delegation about the new president, President Trump had a deeply rooted negative view on Ukraine rooted in the past. He was receiving other information from other sources, including Mayor Giuliani, that was more negative, causing him to retain this negative view. Within a few days, on May 29th, President Trump indeed signed the congratulatory letter to President Zelensky, which included an invitation to the president to visit him at the White House. However, more than four weeks passed and we could not nail down a date for the meeting. I came to believe that the president's long-held negative view towards Ukraine was causing hesitation in actually scheduling the meeting, much as we had seen in our oval office discussion. 57:35 Kurt Volker: President Zelensky's senior aide, Andriy Yermak approached me several days later to ask to be connected to Mayor Giuliani. I agreed to make that connection. I did so because I understood that the new Ukrainian leadership wanted to convince those like Mayor Giuliani, who believes such a negative narrative about Ukraine, that times have changed and that under President Zelensky, Ukraine is worthy of us support. Ukrainians believed that if they could get their own narrative across in a way that convinced Mayor Giuliani that they were serious about fighting corruption and advancing reform, Mayor Giuliani would convey that assessment to President Trump, thus correcting the previous negative narrative. That made sense to me and I tried to be helpful. I made clear to the Ukrainians that Mayor Giuliani was a private citizen, the president's personal lawyer, and not representing the US government. Likewise, in my conversations with Mayor Giuliani, I never considered him to be speaking on the president's behalf or giving instructions, rather, the information flow was the other way. From Ukraine to Mayor Giuliani in the hopes that this would clear up the information reaching President Trump. 1:00:15 Kurt Volker: I connected Mayor Giuliani and Andriy Yermak by text and later by phone they met in person on August 2nd, 2019. In conversations with me following that meeting, which I did not attend, Mr. Giuliani said that he had stressed the importance of Ukraine conducting investigations into what happened in the past, and Mr. Yermak stressed that he told Mr. Giuliani it is the government's program to root out corruption and implement reforms, and they would be conducting investigations as part of this process anyway. 1:00:45 Kurt Volker: Mr. Giuliani said he believed that the Ukrainian president needed to make a statement about fighting corruption and that he had discussed this with Mr. Yermak. I said, I did not think that this would be a problem since that is the government's position. Anyway, I followed up with Mr. Yermak and he said that they would indeed be prepared to make a statement. 1:02:10 Kurt Volker: On August 16th, Mr. Yermak shared a draft with me, which I thought looked perfectly reasonable. It did not mention Burisma or 2016 elections, but was generic. Ambassador Sondland I had a further conversation with Mr. Giuliani who said that in his view, in order to be convincing that this government represented real change in Ukraine, the statement should include specific reference to Burisma and 2016 and again, there was no mention of Vice President Biden in these conversations. 1:02:40 Kurt Volker: Ambassador Sondland and I discussed these points and I edited the statement drafted by Mr. Yermak to include these points to see how it looked. I then discussed it further with Mr. Yermak. He said that for a number of reasons, including the fact that since Mr. Lutsenko was still officially the prosecutor general, they did not want to mention Burisma or 2016 and I agreed. And the idea of putting out a statement was shelved. These were the last conversations I had about this statement, which were on or about August 17 to 18. 1:04:00 Kurt Volker: At the time I was connecting Mr. Yermak and Mr. Giuliani and discussing with Mr. Yermak and Ambassador Sondland a possible statement that could be made by the Ukrainian president, I did not know of any linkage between the hold on security assistance and Ukraine pursuing investigatio

Week two of the public impeachment hearings started on Tuesday November 19. This hearing was jam packed with testimony from four witnesses with legitimate knowledge of the details surrounding the July 25th phone call in which the president attempted to pressure the President of Ukraine to launch an investigation into his top political opponent Joe Biden in return for critical military aid for Ukraine’s fight against Russia. We heard from Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine specialist on the National Security Council, Jennifer Williams, a foreign service aide detailed to Vice President Pence's office. Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to Ukraine, who along with Sondland and Energy Secretary Rick Perry was part of the "three amigos" tasked by the president to handle Ukraine policy and Tim Morrison, a former National Security Council aide. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/factsdriven/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/factsdriven/support

Podcast: The Energy Exchange: An EnerNex PodcastEpisode: Season 2 Episode #2 | The Path Forward for Resiliency: From Policy to SimulationPub date: 2019-09-25EnerNex Senior Consultant Sean Morash brings on special guests Rob Gramlich with Grid Strategies and Ryan Hruska with Idaho National Laboratory to talk resiliency in the electric power sector. This topic has been widely discussed for many years, seemingly coming to a head in 2018 as Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry questioned whether a shift was necessary in evaluating our resource generation mix in the light of resilience and national security. Utilities and other entities are considering how to plan and include resiliency amid their operations, planning, and general business processes. In this episode, we hear from Rob and Ryan on why resiliency is important, how we plan for it and a forward-looking perspective on what’s next for the electric sector, as well as other critical infrastructure sectors. To download the 2-page brief on this topic, visit: https://www.enernex.com/theenergyexchange/.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from EnerNex, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the EU finally speaks in public before the House Intelligence Committee, and he says top administration officials knew about the requests to Ukraine for investigations at the heart of the impeachment probe. This includes his former "amigo on Ukraine policy", Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Also, the Democratic debate finally gets some time at the Democratic debates. Find more on the show at politico.com/energy-podcast.

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the EU, once referred to himself, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker as the three amigos in Ukraine policy. But will he remember the only one of these "amigos" in his public hearing before the House Intelligence Committee? Plus, a preview of the Democratic presidential debate from a climate perspective with Climate 2020 podcast host Jeff Nesbit. And, the House Ways and Means Committee presents draft legislation that would extend expired renewable energy tax breaks and create new ones.  Find more on the show at politico.com/energy-podcast.

Tuesday's testimony by Army Lt. Colonel  Alexander Vindman to House Democrats puts Energy Secretary Rick Perry in the room as top administration officials discussed a possible investigation into Joe Biden by Ukraine. POLITICO Pro's Ben Lefebvre discusses what we know of Perry's involvement in the scandal that sparked the impeachment inquiry. Plus, despite Trump's promises on the campaign trail, coal companies continue to go bankrupt in key political states. And, the House will pick up public lands bills later this week. Find more on the show at politico.com/energy-podcast.

The E.P.A.’s decision to repeal the Water of The United States rule without introducing a replacement is forcing agencies to use a decades-old regulation. POLITICO Pro’s environmental reporter Annie Snider discusses the administration’s decision and the lawsuits that it is already facing. Also, Energy Secretary Rick Perry defends the president’s call with the leader of Ukraine that sparked the impeachment enquiry. And on Sunday, California governor Gavin Newsom issued a state-wide state of emergency as wildfires burn north and south of the state. Find more on the show at politico.com/energy-podcast.

As technological innovation is spurs opportunities in the energy sector, the U.S. government wants to facilitate a major shift in how the nation generates its power, top federal energy officials said during a new S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. "We are in this incredible American moment where we are really seeing a fascinating transition in our energy landscape," Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said on S&P Global Market Intelligence's second episode of Energy Evolution. "The challenge is that this transition is putting pressure on traditional forms of baseload power, namely coal and nuclear. As the regulator responsible for the reliability of the grid, ensuring that we can make that transition while maintaining reliability is a challenge." The administration has taken several steps to try to support coal and nuclear power. However, agencies like FERC and the U.S. Department of Energy are also supporting the development of policies and technology that would support the growing role renewable energy plays in U.S. electricity generation. "If the cost of renewables, the cost of storage, gets to a point where it can compete, I think that's great for consumers," Chatterjee said. "It's great for the economy. It's great for the environment and it's great for America." The U.S. electricity grid has already undergone a massive change as cheap natural gas from new shale gas drilling technologies pushed coal-fired generation out of the market. Now, growing renewable energy deployment is causing a "bit of a strain on the system," said Brian Anderson, director of the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory. "What we're looking for in the future are the options for large scale grid storage of electricity," Anderson said on the Energy Evolution podcast. "There are only a few options: battery packs — the costs are coming down tremendously — and other grid-scale storage options for storing electrons. We're going to start seeing a grid that is much different than we are used to because we need to be able to follow the dynamic nature of intermittent renewables." The DOE is working on finding a part of that solution. For example, they are studying materials that could be used to create a new generation of battery storage technology that does not have the same limitations as current batteries utilizing lithium-ion. "Lithium ion's done a great job for the last two or three decades, providing storage capabilities," said Dan Brouillette, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy who has recently been tapped to succeed outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry. "But it is limited and the ability to do utility-scale or large-scale storage still eludes us. That's why we've seen perhaps a slower adoption of some of the renewable technologies and we might otherwise have had." DOE is examining the possibility of using magnesium-ion instead of lithium-ion, for instance, which may prove to be a better means of storing power for later use. Battery storage research and development, he added is a high priority for the DOE as the technology is expected to be a "very important component" of the U.S. electricity generation mix in the coming years. The agency is also looking to more futuristic technology such as being able to beam power from one point to another without the use of wires. "Think about that," Brouillette said on the podcast. "Think about a world in which hurricanes matter perhaps a little bit less for the provision of electricity or the recovery from a major catastrophe like that. Those are some of the things we're thinking about at the DOE. And it's a very exciting place to be." Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud to catch future episodes. (Photo: AP)

As technological innovation is spurs opportunities in the energy sector, the U.S. government wants to facilitate a major shift in how the nation generates its power, top federal energy officials said during a new S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast. "We are in this incredible American moment where we are really seeing a fascinating transition in our energy landscape," Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said on S&P Global Market Intelligence's second episode of Energy Evolution. "The challenge is that this transition is putting pressure on traditional forms of baseload power, namely coal and nuclear. As the regulator responsible for the reliability of the grid, ensuring that we can make that transition while maintaining reliability is a challenge." The administration has taken several steps to try to support coal and nuclear power. However, agencies like FERC and the U.S. Department of Energy are also supporting the development of policies and technology that would support the growing role renewable energy plays in U.S. electricity generation. "If the cost of renewables, the cost of storage, gets to a point where it can compete, I think that's great for consumers," Chatterjee said. "It's great for the economy. It's great for the environment and it's great for America." The U.S. electricity grid has already undergone a massive change as cheap natural gas from new shale gas drilling technologies pushed coal-fired generation out of the market. Now, growing renewable energy deployment is causing a "bit of a strain on the system," said Brian Anderson, director of the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory. "What we're looking for in the future are the options for large scale grid storage of electricity," Anderson said on the Energy Evolution podcast. "There are only a few options: battery packs — the costs are coming down tremendously — and other grid-scale storage options for storing electrons. We're going to start seeing a grid that is much different than we are used to because we need to be able to follow the dynamic nature of intermittent renewables." The DOE is working on finding a part of that solution. For example, they are studying materials that could be used to create a new generation of battery storage technology that does not have the same limitations as current batteries utilizing lithium-ion. "Lithium ion's done a great job for the last two or three decades, providing storage capabilities," said Dan Brouillette, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy who has recently been tapped to succeed outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry. "But it is limited and the ability to do utility-scale or large-scale storage still eludes us. That's why we've seen perhaps a slower adoption of some of the renewable technologies and we might otherwise have had." DOE is examining the possibility of using magnesium-ion instead of lithium-ion, for instance, which may prove to be a better means of storing power for later use. Battery storage research and development, he added is a high priority for the DOE as the technology is expected to be a "very important component" of the U.S. electricity generation mix in the coming years. The agency is also looking to more futuristic technology such as being able to beam power from one point to another without the use of wires. "Think about that," Brouillette said on the podcast. "Think about a world in which hurricanes matter perhaps a little bit less for the provision of electricity or the recovery from a major catastrophe like that. Those are some of the things we're thinking about at the DOE. And it's a very exciting place to be." Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud to catch future episodes. (Photo: AP)

President Trump says a key phone call at the center of the Ukraine scandal was Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s idea. But Perry asserts that in his conversations with Trump, “not once, as God as my witness, not once was a Biden name ever mentioned."  On this episode we connect the dots between Perry and Ukraine with Jeff Brady, energy reporter for NPR. Get your whiteboards out. There are a lot of names. 

Democrats subpoena Energy Secretary Rick Perry for documents, Sources: Trump political appointee froze aid to Ukraine, Trump says "I hope not" when asked if he's worried Giuliani will be indicted, Trump weighs sanctions on Turkey amid growing bloodshed in Syria, Democratic Presidential candidates discuss LGBTQ issues tonightTo learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

As Trump shifts policy, U.S. troops withdraw from northern Syria; Turkey ready to move inhttps://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-10-06/turkey-will-invade-syria-isis-fighters- what’s the economic impact? Trump tweeted he would “obliterate the economy of Turkey” if Turkey does anything he doesn’t like.Iran says Chinese state oil firm withdraws from $5B dealhttps://www.apnews.com/b11873fcb1ed49cf9ad2d0bfdc38798c- Total already withdrew from this deal back in 2018- Win for the Trump administration? - Sign that things are going badly for Iranian oil and gas industry- China to remain Iran’s primary trading partner. Energy Secretary Rick Perry eyeing exit in Novemberhttps://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/03/rick-perry-expected-to-resign-000189- apparently Rick Perry refuted this and does not plan to leave his position.- currently working on deal with Ukraine, Poland and Baltic states for LNGEcuador to quit OPEC in 2020 in search of bigger export revenuehttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-opec/ecuador-to-quit-opec-in-2020-in-search-of-bigger-export-revenue-idUSKBN1WG4KBEcuador protests: State of emergency declared as fuel subsidies endhttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49929272Will leaping OPEC help relations with South and North America?- Constraining production has done nothing for Ecuador- Look for Ecuador to move closer to MexicoBP to make Bernard Looney CEO as climate challenge loomshttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-ceo/bp-names-bernard-looney-as-next-ceo-dudley-to-leave-in-2020-idUSKBN1WJ0JX- will he bring changes to BP? Will strategyRobin Goodman - Bush China Foundation- Focus on national security, international relations issues, nuclear non-proliferation in light of legacy of George HW Bush - CNCP pulling out of Iran natural gas deal - china’s goals are long-term stability and growth of country. Planning out things in long-term. Shortest term planning they tend to do is 5 years, but leadership is looking much farther.- whenever a deal comes across, leadership are looking for long-term whereas we tend to plan for right now, base on current market conditions.- China understands its history and civilization as one that goes through ups and downs and are players in a long story. Make decisions based on those timelines.- How does this apply to CNPC’s recent decision to pull out of gas field development of Iranian field? Does China think that Iran is no longer a good long-term investment? Last 5 year plan contained directive to double natural gas consumption. Ultimate goal to get off of coal. China also has a great deal of natural gas resources. China is not just looking for energy independence in terms of domestic production, they are looking for a diversified supply of energy. Natural gas will be China’s largest area of growth. Thinking has shifted around Iran in terms of the overall mix Iran was providing to China.- China and Venezuela: To Venezuela, China is a very different kind of partner. - Upcoming conference on China-US relations. Energy included in conference looking at many issues (agriculture, etc.) First conference since passing of fmr President George HW Bush.Rgoodman@bushchinafoundation.orgWww.BushChinaConference.orgHappy Birthday to Ryan’s daughter Scarlett and happy anniversary to Ryan and Haylee!

As Trump shifts policy, U.S. troops withdraw from northern Syria; Turkey ready to move inhttps://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-10-06/turkey-will-invade-syria-isis-fighters- what’s the economic impact? Trump tweeted he would “obliterate the economy of Turkey” if Turkey does anything he doesn’t like.Iran says Chinese state oil firm withdraws from $5B dealhttps://www.apnews.com/b11873fcb1ed49cf9ad2d0bfdc38798c- Total already withdrew from this deal back in 2018- Win for the Trump administration? - Sign that things are going badly for Iranian oil and gas industry- China to remain Iran’s primary trading partner. Energy Secretary Rick Perry eyeing exit in Novemberhttps://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/03/rick-perry-expected-to-resign-000189- apparently Rick Perry refuted this and does not plan to leave his position.- currently working on deal with Ukraine, Poland and Baltic states for LNGEcuador to quit OPEC in 2020 in search of bigger export revenuehttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-opec/ecuador-to-quit-opec-in-2020-in-search-of-bigger-export-revenue-idUSKBN1WG4KBEcuador protests: State of emergency declared as fuel subsidies endhttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49929272Will leaping OPEC help relations with South and North America?- Constraining production has done nothing for Ecuador- Look for Ecuador to move closer to MexicoBP to make Bernard Looney CEO as climate challenge loomshttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-bp-ceo/bp-names-bernard-looney-as-next-ceo-dudley-to-leave-in-2020-idUSKBN1WJ0JX- will he bring changes to BP? Will strategyRobin Goodman - Bush China Foundation- Focus on national security, international relations issues, nuclear non-proliferation in light of legacy of George HW Bush - CNCP pulling out of Iran natural gas deal - china’s goals are long-term stability and growth of country. Planning out things in long-term. Shortest term planning they tend to do is 5 years, but leadership is looking much farther.- whenever a deal comes across, leadership are looking for long-term whereas we tend to plan for right now, base on current market conditions.- China understands its history and civilization as one that goes through ups and downs and are players in a long story. Make decisions based on those timelines.- How does this apply to CNPC’s recent decision to pull out of gas field development of Iranian field? Does China think that Iran is no longer a good long-term investment? Last 5 year plan contained directive to double natural gas consumption. Ultimate goal to get off of coal. China also has a great deal of natural gas resources. China is not just looking for energy independence in terms of domestic production, they are looking for a diversified supply of energy. Natural gas will be China’s largest area of growth. Thinking has shifted around Iran in terms of the overall mix Iran was providing to China.- China and Venezuela: To Venezuela, China is a very different kind of partner. - Upcoming conference on China-US relations. Energy included in conference looking at many issues (agriculture, etc.) First conference since passing of fmr President George HW Bush.Rgoodman@bushchinafoundation.orgWww.BushChinaConference.orgHappy Birthday to Ryan’s daughter Scarlett and happy anniversary to Ryan and Haylee!

El Segundo Times Says Homeless Are Mentally Ill And Drug Addicted 4 homeless men murdered in NYC by a homeless man CA bans "deep fake" videos Garcetti going to Copenhagen for climate summit LAT opinion - glad another highway project got scrapped Former Employee Rampaged Through OC Maggiano's Restaurant With Baseball Bat Phantom fentanyl deaths skyrocket in CA. Trump says Energy Secretary Rick Perry pressured him to investigate Bidens and Ukraine dealings Mayoral candidate in Boise, Idaho says Californians don't come here iden snaps at reporter in LA LAT analysis shows that most of the homeless have mental health, drug or alcohol problems Should peanut butter come with a cancer warning? Lawsuit challenges California food label Public Policy poll on what concerns CA residents - homeless #1

Good morning, it's Wednesday, October 2nd, I'm Moneen Daley with your Mid-Columbia news from The Tri-City Herald. There could be areas of frost this morning around the Tri-Cities. Otherwise, it will be sunny by this afternoon, with a daytime high near 64. Some clouds will move in overnight and it will be partly sunny tomorrow. with highs expected to be near 65. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry was back in the Tri-Cities yesterday to congratulate workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation.

EnerNex Senior Consultant Sean Morash brings on special guests Rob Gramlich with Grid Strategies and Ryan Hruska with Idaho National Laboratory to talk resiliency in the electric power sector. This topic has been widely discussed for many years, seemingly coming to a head in 2018 as Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry questioned whether a shift was necessary in evaluating our resource generation mix in the light of resilience and national security. Utilities and other entities are considering how to plan and include resiliency amid their operations, planning, and general business processes. In this episode, we hear from Rob and Ryan on why resiliency is important, how we plan for it and a forward-looking perspective on what's next for the electric sector, as well as other critical infrastructure sectors. To download the 2-page brief on this topic, visit: https://www.enernex.com/theenergyexchange/.

In May of 2019, Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and other high-profile politicians met at the Governor’s Energy Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah — but their discussion and promotion of a carbon-based energy future in the West was disrupted by more than a dozen young climate activists who took the stage to make the case for climate justice. SUWA Latinx organizer Olivia Juarez speaks with activists Brooke Larsen (UPLIFT) and Eliza Van Dyk (Wasatch Rising Tide) about the protest, and about the intersection between the fight for climate justice and efforts to protect Utah’s remaining wild lands. Wild Utah is produced by Jerry Schmidt and is made possible by the contributing members of SUWA. Our theme music, “What’s Worth?” was written and performed in Moab by Haley Noel Austin.

04-4-19 Hour 2 Guests: ABC's Brad Garrett and Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Cybersecurity is becoming a bigger focus for the United States as it strives to protect critical infrastructure from foreign adversaries and other intruders, and no infrastructure is more vital than that involving the delivery of electricity and other forms of energy. In this edition of the Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless sits down with Karen S. Evans, a recently confirmed assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Evans heads DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response, which was established earlier this year by Energy Secretary Rick Perry to place more accountability at the agency for these critical responsibilities. Bill stopped by DOE headquarters in Washington this fall to discuss with Evans what the establishment of her new office means for DOE’s responsibilities in cybersecurity and what she will focus on in the days ahead. They also talked about the type of risks facing the U.S. electric grid, how the government and industry are responding to them.  They also discussed the relationship between Evans' cybersecurity responsibilities and a broader effort at DOE to promote resiliency throughout the U.S. grid, including coal, nuclear and other types of electric power generation.  As DOE’s highest official for cybersecurity, Evans brings a long record of experience in information technology, having served as Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology (IT) at the Office of Management and Budget during the administration of George W. Bush. More recently, she was national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, a public-private program to help address the skills gap in the cybersecurity field.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry talks about how ND is leading the way in our nation's Energy Revolution, and much more about his visit today to our GREAT state.

Today on the Eye on NY podcast:  In the 24th Congressional District race, U.S. Rep. John Katko proposed a series of debates this fall and Democratic challenger Dana Balter wants joint town hall meetings.  Will the candidates debate in Cayuga County? And why are debates and town hall meetings such an issue in this race every two years? I'll provide some answers to both questions.  PLUS: An interview with Alex Beauchamp, northeast regional director of Food & Water Watch. Beauchamp discussed Energy Secretary Rick Perry's recent visit to the FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Oswego County and why the issues surrounding the state's bailout of nuclear power plants. 

Grid nerds have spent the last few months whipped into a frenzy over Energy Secretary Rick Perry's hastily-written plan to prop up aging coal plants in the name of grid resiliency.And then, last week, federal energy regulators rejected it. Secretary Perry's team couldn't come up with the basic legal argument needed for FERC to consider the proposal.The door is not fully closed, however. Regulators say they want to revisit the idea of grid resiliency -- and now they're asking regional grid operators to report back on their actual needs.So, it's worth stepping back and asking the same question. What does the grid actually need? In an age when renewables -- and already, in some cases, batteries -- are the lowest-cost resources, how should we really be planning?This week, we're joined by two grid experts who've been asking this question for years: Sonia Aggarwal and Robbie Orvis of the analysis firm Energy Innovation.Sonia is the vice president of Energy Innovation. She heads up the firm's work on power sector transformation and energy policy. And she also launched America's Power Plan, a collection of insights about rapid change underway in the electric sector. Robbie is the policy design projects manager at Energy Innovation, where he works on power sector transformation issues. He's a contributor to America's Power Plan.This podcast is brought to you by Fiveworx, a turnkey customer engagement platform for utilities. Find out more about how Fiveworx can help your customer engagement program succeed -- and get you beyond the meter.Recommended reading:A Year-End Update on Electricity Policy from the FieldWind and Solar Are Our Cheapest Energy Generation Sources: Now What Do We Do?Grid Flexibility: Methods for Modernizing the Power Grid (PDF)A Roadmap for Finding Flexibility in Wholesale Markets (PDF)Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dan Kovalik, the author of “The Plot to Scapegoat Russia.”Senator Dianne Feinstein has released the Senate Committee testimony of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson against the wishes of Chuck Grassley, the chair of the committee, in the latest twist to the “Russiagate” saga.Tenants in Maryland are suing that a property management firm controlled by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s real estate company and an Israeli Corporate entity provided $30 million to Kushner’s properties before Trump sent Kushner to Israel and the Middle East and before Trump announced that the US was recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Matt Hill, an attorney representing aggrieved tenants in a class action suit brought against Kushner and his companies, joins the show.North Korea announced yesterday that it would send a team of athletes to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, while South Korea confirmed the first high-level talks between the two countries in more than two years. Brian and John speak with Professor Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network.After ignoring a court order about racial profiling, being convicted of contempt of court, and being pardoned by President Trump, America’s former “toughest sheriff” Joe Arpaio threw his hat in the ring today for an Arizona senate seat. Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, joins the show.The Trump Administration is likely to re-impose sanctions on Iran this week, even though it would hurt U.S. manufacturers doing business with the country. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins Brian and John.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this week unanimously rejected a proposal by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would have propped up nuclear and coal power plants struggling in competitive electricity markets. Four of the five members of the commission were appointed by President Trump. Fred Magdoff, author and professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, joins the show.With a ceasefire set to expire, Colombia’s government and ELN guerrillas are pushing for a permanent peace deal. Brian and John speak with James Jordan, a member of the Alliance for Global Justice.

The Trump administration got handed one of its first big losses on energy policy by a Republican-leaning independent agency this week. Climatewire energy reporter Benjamin Storrow explains what happened when Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, shot down a coal and nuclear subsidy proposal by Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Energywire reporter Saqib Rahim recounts his trip to Brattleboro, Vt., which is still finding its way after its nuclear plant shut down three years ago, and what that means for other communities facing closures. And the E&E staff shares favorite acronyms and acronym stories on a beat and a city heavy with them. "FERC rejection exposes Trump's limits in helping coal" (Climatewire, 01/09/2018), by Benjamin Storrow: www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/01/09/stories/1060070463 "FERC rejects Perry's bid for coal‑based grid resilience" (Energywire, 01/09/2018), by Pete Behr and Sam Mintz: www.eenews.net/climatewire/2018/01/09/stories/1060070463 "The committee to save nuclear towns is not in session" (Energywire, 01/03/2018), by Saqib Rahim: www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1060069931

We all remember the financial and auto bailouts during the Great Recession. They arguably saved significant parts of the economy from even further damage. The Trump administration says the federal government now needs to step in to save the coal and nuclear industries. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has proposed a rule that will force the electric grids in some parts of the country to basically guarantee profits for coal and nuclear plants. But who will pay for that guarantee? Anyone who gets an electric bill. On this episode, we pick through this plan with someone who's been following it closely. Ben Storrow is a reporter for E&E News and he says the most important thing to understand is that the grid, like so many aspects of our economy, is changing because of new technology.

Liam Denning, an energy, mining and commodities columnist at Bloomberg Gadfly, talks about Energy Secretary Rick Perry's plan to subsidize coal and nuclear plants. Jonathan Adams, a senior insurance industry analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, tells Pimm Fox and Lisa Abramowicz how reinsurers face a long recovery. Scott Dorf, a Bloomberg Prophet and managing director at Amherst Pierpont Securities, discusses the bond market and his latest column, "Buy the Dip Is a Losing Strategy in the Bond Market." Finally, Alex Webb, a technology reporter at Bloomberg, gives an inside look at Apple's struggle to get the iPhone X to market on time. 

Thought that controversial grid resiliency report ordered by Energy Secretary Rick Perry was only an intellectual exercise? It didn't take long for the Department of Energy to put it into action -- in exactly the way that critics feared when the report was first announced. Last week, Perry asked federal energy regulators to consider new rules that would value coal and nuclear plants with 90 days of fuel on hand. In other words: find a way to help keep struggling baseload plants open by offering them a new financial incentive. Or, as a supposed free-market proponent like Perry might put it for any other technology, "pick winners and losers." After months of prebuttals from renewable-energy interest groups, the final DOE study was widely considered a straightforward account of power plant retirements on the U.S. grid. Travis Fisher, the project coordinator at the DOE, joined us on the podcast to talk through the process and his team's findings. While many cleantech enthusiasts disagreed with the lack of attention on distributed resources in the report, there was wide agreement that it was not a political document. That is, until Perry issued his letter to FERC last week. Now the politics are center stage. And it's going to get messy. In this week's Interchange podcast, Shayle Kann interviews Ari Peskoe, a senior fellow in electricity law at Harvard Law School. They'll talk about the specifics of Perry's "flimsy" request, and, more importantly, what it could mean for regulatory priorities under FERC. Has the government found a new way to keep coal alive? Or is this a half-baked attempt to prop up struggling plants? "This seems to be a total retreat from market-based principles," explains Peskoe in the podcast.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced the Department of Energy is releasing 500,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves. We discuss the impact and importance of the move.

Al Gore is back in the climate spotlight with the release of "An Inconvenient Sequel." This week, we’ll revisit his role as the unofficial spokesman for climate action. There’s still an active debate over how effective Gore has been in that role throughout the last decade. Then, Energy Secretary Rick Perry didn’t give away any nuclear secrets in his 22-minute call with Russian phone pranksters. But that may be the least of our worries. We’ll talk about a blockbuster new piece from Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair about the disordered transition in the Department of Energy. Finally, Britain makes some bold battery moves. We’ll glance at two new plans to boost distributed battery storage and ban gas-powered cars. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. Visit Mission Solar at the upcoming Solar Power International conference at Booth 3975. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Atlantic piece on Al Gore: https://newrepublic.com/article/143966/troubling-return-al-gore-profile-inconvenient-sequel Michael Lewis' piece on the DOE: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/department-of-energy-risks-michael-lewis

In April, Energy Secretary Rick Perry requested an analysis on whether renewable energy poses a threat to baseload power plants and the broader health of the grid. Last week, an early draft of that highly-anticipated report was leaked. It concluded that renewables are not destabilizing the power sector. The leaked version pointed to a natural gas glut, aging power plant fleets and flattening demand as the cause of baseload retirement -- not wind and solar. Now the question becomes: how will the final version change? And does it now put the department in an awkward position? We debate the ethics and consequences of the leak. In the second half of the show, we talk with Hervé Touati, managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute, about the latest trends in corporate renewable energy purchasing. The federal government may have walked away from its climate commitments, but corporations are doing more than ever -- and we'll look at how deals are getting more complex. Read the full text of the leaked study: fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/reuterscom/1/32/32/GRID%20Study.pdf This podcast is brought to you by Wunder Capital, an award-winning investment platform that allows you to invest directly in solar projects and earn up to 8.5% annually. Create an account for free at WunderCapital.com/gtm.

We've heard a lot about record low prices in utility-scale solar. Get ready for more records in offshore wind. In the last two months, we've seen offshore project developers in Europe bidding for pennies per kilowatt-hour -- easily beating 2020 price estimates. Now the Europeans want to export that learning to America. In this week's episode, we'll look at how the two markets compare -- and why some of the market and policy conditions that favor offshore wind in Europe don't exist in the U.S. Then, Energy Secretary Rick Perry wants to know if renewable energy is a danger to America’s grid. His recent memo on energy markets was only a page and a half long, but it was packed with a lot of assumptions –- and we'll unpack them ourselves. Finally, we'll discuss Plug Power’s deal with Amazon. It’s not just about fuel cells -- it’s about finding any cost advantage in the ultra-competitive retail sector. This podcast is sponsored by KACO New Energy, a leading solar inverter company with superior engineering and unmatched customer service: http://kaco-newenergy.com/ Make sure to subscribe to our other podcast, The Interchange! iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-interchange/id1221460035?mt=2 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/theinterchangepodcast

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Jay and Ross about liquor regulators partying on the taxpayer dime, Energy Secretary Rick Perry's high interest in a historic Texas A&M student body election and the likelihood of a special legislative session.

Mike Pesca with today’s rundown: A dual U.S.-Israeli citizen has been arrested for allegedly phoning in bomb threats to Jewish centers in the U.S., a former Russian MP was shot dead in Ukraine, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry moonlights as dean of student affairs at Texas A&M. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices