OnPolitics special edition: Wednesday impeachment inquiry news

FROM WASHINGTON AND BEYOND

Wednesday, October 2

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a Vatican U.S. Symposium on Faith-Based Organizations at the Vatican on Oct. 2, 2019. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday criticized governments that wield absolute power as threats to religious freedom, as he scrambled to contain a political crisis back home.

Developments unfold in the impeachment inquiry centered around a phone call between Trump and Ukraine.

Here's Wednesday's update on the impeachment inquiry.

But first, the political world wishes Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders well after he underwent a heart procedure after suffering chest discomfort during a campaign event Tuesday night.

The big updates of the day

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged for the first time that he listened in on "The Call" between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky - a conversation that sparked this whole impeachment inquiry.

•	Pompeo had sidestepped questions about Trump's dealings with Zelensky and said he was not familiar with the details of the whistleblower complaint.

House Democrats threatened to subpoena the White House if it does not turn over documents related to the Ukraine call by Friday.

•	"I always cooperate. This is a hoax," Trump said during a news conference with Finland's president.
•	Tuesday, Pompeo pushed to delay testimony by five State Department officials whom the Dems asked to depose. He accused Democrats of trying to "intimidate" and "bully" career professionals in their quest to impeach Trump.

And some slightly smaller updates

•	Whistleblower protections? "I don't care." Trump dismissed concerns Wednesday - including from some GOP lawmakers - about the need to shield a whistleblower at the center of allegations that sparked the impeachment inquiry.
•	"He's scared," Pelosi says. In an excerpt from an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, "I think the president knows the argument that can be made against him, and he's scared. And so he's trying to divert attention from that to where it's standing in the way of legislation."
•	What's the deal with White House calls to heads of state? Here's a brief explanation of how they work and the rules around them.

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