Monday morning news: November 11, 2019

GOP submits witness requests in impeachment inquiry » As the House prepares for public testimony this week in the impeachment inquiry … Republicans have handed in the list of witnesses they’d like to grill. 

At top the top of that list … Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Texas Congressman Will Hurd said he has plenty of questions. 

HURD: I’m curious to know how someone who doesn’t have any experience in Ukraine nor experience in a natural gas company becomes on the board of a natural gas company in Ukraine. 

Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff … quickly rejected that request. He said the committee will not serve as a vehicle for—quote … “sham investigations into the Bidens or debunked conspiracies about 20-16 U-S election interference.”

Also on that list, as expected … the White House whistleblower who triggered in the impeachment inquiry. That’s a nonstarter with Democrats. California Congresswoman Jackie Speier told ABC’s This Week … 

SPEIER: The whistleblower has great risk associated with his life right now, and he also has the right under the law, under the whistleblower statute to have his whistleblower complaint filed and for him to be anonymous. 

Republicans argue it would not be illegal to unmask the whistleblower… and say the person’s motives should be publicly vetted. 

They also point to past remarks by the whistleblower’s attorney, Mark Zaid. In 20-17, Zaid tweeted about the president saying—quote— “We will get rid of him, and this country is strong enough to survive even him and his supporters.” He also said—again, his words … a “coup has started. First of many steps,” and “impeachment will follow ultimately.” 

John Bolton reportedly inks multi-million dollar book deal » One name on the list of witnesses Democrats want to hear from … is former ambassador and former national security adviser John Bolton. New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney told Fox News … 

MALONEY: I’m not sure the president will want to hear from Ambassador Bolton, but we sure do. 

Bolton has thus far declined to testify voluntarily. But that doesn’t mean he has nothing to say. In a letter to lawmakers on Friday, Bolton’s attorney said his client “personal knowledge” of events that have “not yet been discussed in testimonies thus far.” 

Over the weekend the Associated Press reported Bolton has signed a $2-million-dollar book deal with Simon & Schuster. No word yet on the title or the release date. 

The hawkish Bolton left the White House in September after clashing with President Trump on a range of issues. 

The Javelin literary agency represented Bolton. Its other clients include former FBI Director James Comey … and an anonymous Trump administration official who wrote a book called A Warning, which hits shelves next week. 

Trump to release transcript of second Ukraine call » Meantime, President Trump said he plans to release a record of another phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky.  

TRUMP: Now I’ll give you a second transcript, because I actually had two phone calls with the president of Ukraine. So you’ll read the second call, and you’ll tell me if you think there’s anything wrong with it. 

The transcript is of an April 12th phone call between the two leaders. The president said he’ll likely release that tomorrow. 

Trump’s July phone call with Zelensky is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry. 

Bolivian president resigns amid public, military pressure » Bolivian President Evo Morales announced his resignation on Sunday …

MORALES (spanish): [up for a few seconds, then under and slowly out]

That came after mounting pressure from both the public and the military. 

His re-election victory triggered weeks of fraud allegations and deadly protests.

Earlier in the day, the 60-year-old socialist leader offered to hold a new election. But a short time later, the country’s military chief went on national television and called him to step down.

Morales was the first member of Bolivia’s indigenous population to become president … and was in power for nearly 14 years. That was the longest term in the country’s history.

World War II epic tops weekend box office » 

SOUND (Midway trailer): [start under]

At the weekend box office, the World War II epic Midway soared into first place with a surprisingly strong opening.

SOUND (Midway trailer): The situation in the Pacific is far worse than reported. [up from 30 to 38.5 sec mark, then under and very slowly out]

Last week’s box office champ, Terminator: Dark Fate … was all but, well, terminated. It dropped to fifth place with $11 million dollars in its second weekend. That’s a troubling sign for a film that cost almost $200 million dollars to make. 

As always, you can find WORLD’s reviews of current films — along with ratings and content information — at WNG.org/movies.

Former National security adviser John Bolton gestures while speakings at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

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