This seems important We’re following the coverage of another day of televised impeachment hearings. This morning, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland has been testifying, and Betsy Swan and Erin Banco of The Daily Beast got access to his opening statement, so they already knew that Sondland was set to throw Rudy Giuliani under the bus. 
But as has been pointed out before, we’re gonna need a bigger bus. Aman Batheja notes, “Sondland’s testimony at today’s impeachment hearing is expected to link Pompeo more directly to the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Ukraine.” He directs you to Michael Schmidt’s reporting at The New York Times, which revealed Sondland kept Secretary of State Mike Pompeo apprised of key developments in the campaign to pressure Ukraine’s leader into public commitments that would satisfy President Trump. “Remember that Pompeo initially pretended that he wasn’t even on the call? He was in on this up to his waist,” says Nicholas Kristof. Plus, “This seems important,” tweets David Nakamura, referring to the coverage by Aaron C. Davis of The Washington Post, which highlights this part of Sondland’s testimony: ‘Was there a quid pro quo?’ The answer is yes.’ As Wajahat Ali says, “Sondland isn’t going to jail for Trump. Going to be a long day.” Shannon Pettypiece advises, “If you haven’t been paying much attention to impeachment hearings ... now would be a key moment to tune in,” because here’s another thing that seems important: “We followed the president’s orders,” Sondland said. As Josh Lederman reports at NBC News, Sondland pointed the finger at Trump, Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton in explosive public testimony. 
The Republican response: Yeah, so? As David Drucker reports at the Washington Examiner, ‘It doesn’t matter’: House Republicans embrace ‘quid pro quo.’ “Guys, we got a fresh one,” tweets Anthony De Rosa, adding to the growing list of Presidential excuses. Impeachment coffee lady speaks Sure, “Impeachment is hell, but you should all enjoy this fun interview with great McClatchy reporter and coffee hero @Emma_Dumain,” says Benjamin Freed. Slate’s Heather Schwedel caught up with Emma Dumain for An Interview With the Woman Who Strongly Needed Her Coffee During a Live Impeachment Hearing. As Gregory Zuckerman highlights, “Impeachment coffee lady speaks: ‘I’ve seen that narrative perpetuating, like, ‘She looked at that camera, and she just doesn’t care.’ I wish.’” Stephanie Condon says, “I've never identified more strongly with anyone.” You can thank Colin Jones for capturing the moment on Twitter, a moment Dumain says, is “hilarious. It looks ridiculous.” But also, “Thank you @heathertwit for sharing my story with the world,” she tweets. Did she try 12345? 
Moving on, this is sure to upset a lot of people who are very concerned about administration officials sending emails on unsecured systems, so we’ll brace ourselves for the outcry. Nikki Haley Used System for Unclassified Material to Send ‘Confidential’ Information. The reason: “it seems Nikki Haley, Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, had lost her password for classified communications,” writes Christopher Dickey of The Daily Beast. The explanation was revealed in a trove of emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the watchdog organization American Oversight. Among the emails, a “Strangelovian” message from Newt Gingrich to then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, about which Olivier Knox says, “I get that this is not central to this piece, but the only way this gets Newtier is if the strategy involves a Moon colony.” A necessary message of good order & discipline Julie Bloom links to some “Big news from @David_Philipps: Eddie Gallagher is expected to be notified that the Navy intends to oust him from the SEALs, Going Against Trump, Officials Say.” Dave Philipps has that story at The New York Times on the Navy’s plans to inform Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher they are ousting him from the elite commando unit. His lawyer expects President Trump to intervene, Philipps reports. “I am told Navy feels message of good order & discipline needed, even if it puts military leaders on collision course with President,” Jennifer Griffin shares on Twitter. Kurt Andersen thinks it’s “Great to see such courage so lacking in the cabinet and in Congress.” A great + hopeful development for the journalism ecosystem Here’s some exciting news for journalism, although it’s a bittersweet day at The Texas Tribune. As Tribune CEO Evan Smith reveals, editor-in-chief Emily Ramshaw and senior engagement editor Amanda Zamora are launching a national news organization for women. Ramshaw explains, “As many of you know, the only thing I care about as much as informing and engaging with Texans on politics and policy is informing and engaging with women on politics and policy. And that’s what I’m devoting my next chapter to.” Melissa Block thinks, “This project sounds very cool. Also, we should all be so lucky as to have @evanasmith pen our farewell.” On Twitter, Smith calls it a “Sad and happy day at @texastribune — @eramshaw @amzam will leave us soon to start a national nonprofit news org for women. A loss, but a great + hopeful development for the journalism ecosystem.” And take note: He adds, “As they move on + move forward in next two months, so do we. Look for job postings soon as @texastribune begins own next chapter. **These will be two of best gigs in all of journalism**” Why journalism is still powerful John Sudworth of BBC News reports that Simon Cheng, a former UK consulate worker in Hong Kong, says he was tortured in China during a 15-day detention in the mainland last month. Karen Cheung highlights “this detail in the bbc report: ‘The secret police clearly stated that batches after batches of Hong Kong protesters had been caught, delivered and detained in mainland China.’” Judy Trinh wonders, “Will this story bolster domestic and international support for the Hong Kong protests?” Jerome Taylor says, “While we likely have no way of knowing 100% what happened to Simon Cheng, arbitrary detention, forced confessions & torture are widespread & well-documented in mainland China which is precisely why millions marched against the extradition bill.” Meanwhile, notes Adrian Rauchfleisch, “Why is journalism still powerful? International coverage about the disappearance of Simon Cheng (former UK consulate worker) in #China might have had a positive impact on his treatment during detention.” The 1619 Project’s next phase AP News is reporting that The New York Times’ acclaimed “1619 Project” will be the basis for a series of books, for readers of all ages. As Sam Dolnick tweets, “1619 didn’t just get a book deal. 1619 will become a series of books, from kids to adult. The project continues in a giant way. Huge the most congrats to @nhannahjones and @jakesilverstein and the 1619 family.” The books will be overseen in part by Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, the initiator of the “1619 Project,” and by Jake Silverstein, editor in chief of The New York Times Magazine. Really, truly, honestly not from the Onion 
Oof. Eoin Higgins has been “Staring at this headline for the last 14 minutes.” Rachel Yang of Entertainment Weekly reports that, when screenwriter and producer Gregory Allen Howard started working on the movie “Harriet” in 1994, one studio exec suggested Julia Roberts for the role of Harriet Tubman. “When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn’t be Harriet, the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.'” As Joe Keohane says, “This is almost as egregious as when Tilda Swinton was originally cast to play Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing.” But “Really, truly, honestly not from the Onion. That sound you hear is the world's largest sigh,” says Julie Hinds. Anyway, “Imma head out,” tweets Errin Haines Whack. Bravo, seriously  Alright fine, this one may not be for everyone, but for the rest of us...at Vulture, Molly Fitzpatrick serves up her dispatch from BravoCon in A Pilgrimage to the High Church of Bravo. Even for the haters, read the lede, because as Kelsey McKinney says, “Me? I'm never going to even try to write a lede again after reading this one by @mollyfitz.” Adds Ben Williams, “As a man who has watched more hours of Bravo than he might have independently chosen, I can authoritatively say that this is some high-level writing.”
Wednesday round-up -
Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has been indicted on 11 counts of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy in the ‘Healthy Holly’ book scandal. Luke Broadwater and Kevin Rector have the details at The Baltimore Sun. -
Toluse Olorunnipa and Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post report that Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham is facing backlash over her claim that Obama aides left ‘you will fail’ notes around the White House on the day Trump was inaugurated. It does seem a bit odd that we’ve never heard or seen anything about this before. Thank goodness we have Kara Swisher to break it down for us: “Hello she lied.” -
At The Nation, activist Ady Barkan, who has ALS and is a leading advocate for Medicare for All, explains, in detail, Why I’m Endorsing Elizabeth Warren. -
There Are Two Rhodes Scholars Running For President. Only One Gets Mentioned. As HuffPost’s Amanda Terkel reminds us, the other one is Cory Booker. We’re assuming you knew the first one, because when HuffPost searched mentions in U.S. publications for 2019, it found that news outlets cited Pete Buttigieg’s Rhodes scholarship 596 times. Booker had just 79 mentions. -
An AP News investigation by Erika Kinetz reveals, Fake doctors, misleading claims drive OxyContin China sales. Tweets Alison Kodjak, “A Sackler-owned co. in China is telling doctors that Oxycontin is ‘less addictive than other opioids—the same pitch that Purdue Pharma, the U.S. company owned by the family, admitted was false in court more than a decade ago.’” -
As Sushant Singh tweets, “The saga of explosive revelations from @nit_set on opaque electoral funding under the current central govt continues. From RBI to Election Commission to now, the PMO connection to electoral bonds.” The latest from Nitin Sethi of HuffPost India, Modi PMO Ordered Illegal Electoral Bond Sale Before Vital State Polls. | 
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