10 things you need to know today: October 1, 2019

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1. Democrats subpoena Giuliani demanding Ukraine documents
2. Reports: Trump, Barr solicited foreign officials to discredit Mueller
3. Pompeo reportedly listened in on Trump's Ukraine call
4. McConnell says Senate will hold trial if House impeaches Trump
5. GOP Rep. Chris Collins resigns
6. Poll: Support rises for removing Trump from office
7. Trump administration hits Putin ally with more sanctions
8. Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters hit streets on China holiday
9. California law lets college athletes make endorsement deals over NCAA objection
10. Netflix orders 4th season of Stranger Things

published 1 October 2019

1. Democrats subpoena Giuliani demanding Ukraine documents

House Democrats on Monday issued a subpoena demanding that Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's private lawyer, hand over documents related to Trump's effort to get Ukraine to investigate Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter. The House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform committees announced the subpoena as part of their investigation into Trump's push for Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. In a phone call reported by a whistleblower, Trump told Ukraine's president to communicate with Giuliani about the matter. The investigations are part of an impeachment inquiry House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced last week, when the whistleblower complaint was made public. Trump and Giuliani have acknowledged pressing Ukraine for the investigation to root out corruption, but said Trump did nothing improper.

President Trump reportedly asked Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison to work with Attorney General William Barr to look into the origins of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russian election meddling investigation in a bid to discredit Mueller's work, The New York Times reported Monday, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the call. Australian officials in 2016 warned the FBI that Russia had offered to help Trump's 2016 campaign. Trump restricted access to records of the call as he did those of a July call with Ukraine's president that sparked House Democrats' impeachment inquiry. Also, Barr held overseas meetings with foreign intelligence officials seeking help investigating U.S. intelligence officials' efforts to dig into 2016 election interference, another apparent effort to raise questions about Mueller's work, The Washington Post reported.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was reportedly one of the Trump administration officials listening in on President Trump's phone call in July with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky that triggered a House impeachment inquiry, a State Department official said Monday. The inquiry is based on allegations that Trump pressured Zelensky into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Pompeo previously said he had not read a whistleblower complaint about the phone call, but said the actions of State Department officials had been "entirely appropriate." Pompeo had not previously mentioned that he was a participant in the phone call. Pompeo was subpoenaed by three House committees Friday for documents related to the impeachment inquiry.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that he would have to move forward with a trial on whether to remove President Trump from office if the House approves articles of impeachment. "I would have no choice but to take it up, based on a Senate rule on impeachment," McConnell said. He added that only a two-thirds vote to change Senate rules would make it possible to refrain from holding a trial if the House calls for one. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the start of an impeachment inquiry last week when a whistleblower complaint surfaced accusing Trump of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential rival in the 2020 presidential race.

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) resigned, effective Tuesday, ahead of a scheduled hearing to change his plea to guilty in an insider trading case. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) received Collins' resignation letter Monday. Collins was arrested last August on insider trading charges, and his plea change hearing was scheduled for Tuesday in New York. A trial was scheduled for early 2020, but Collins was narrowly re-elected last fall to represent his heavily Republican district, although he was stripped of his congressional committee seats. Collins' 2018 Democratic challenger had already pledged to challenge him again next year, while several local Republicans had also announced they'd compete for Collins' seat. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) will likely call a special election to fill the seat.

A Quinnipiac national survey released Monday showed support for impeaching President Trump and removing him from office has jumped since the release of a whistleblower complaint last week accusing Trump of abusing the power of his office. Forty-seven percent of voters now believe Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 47 percent say he shouldn't be. A Quinnipiac poll released five days earlier on Sept. 25 showed a 20-point gap, with 37 percent supporting impeachment and 57 percent opposing it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week announced the opening of an official impeachment inquiry into Trump after the release of the whistleblower complaint, which alleged Trump abused his power in office by pushing for Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

The Trump administration on Monday tightened sanctions against Evgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has been accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election. Prigozhin was indicted as a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian meddling, and accused of running an internet "troll farm" to help President Trump beat his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. The Treasury Department said Monday it was clamping down on more of Prigozhin's assets, including a yacht and private jets, because he tried to again interfere in U.S. elections in the 2018 midterms. There was no indication he succeeded in breaching any 2018 election computer systems. Treasury also said it was hitting six others involved in the Internet Research Agency with sanctions.

Tens of thousands of protesters marked China's National Day holiday with pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong, calling for Beijing to "return power to the people" in the former British colony. "They are squeezing our necks so we don't breathe the air of freedom," said protester King Chan, a 57-year-old homemaker who joined the rallies as China's Communist Party celebrated its 70th year in power. Riot police fired tear gas to break up crowds in at least four places in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. One man was shot in the chest with a live round fired by police in one clash; at another location, two bloodied officers pulled their guns after protesters attacked their van, the South China Morning Post reported.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday signed a law making his state the first in the nation to allow college athletes to hire agents and make money by endorsing sneakers, soft drinks, and other products. The NCAA had called on Newsom to veto the bill, warning it would turn amateurs into professionals and give California schools a huge recruiting advantage. The NCAA said it is working on changing rules on generating income from players' names, but called for any changes to be made nationwide. Newsom and other supporters of the legislation said it was only fair to let college athletes share in the wealth their sports make for their schools.

Netflix announced Monday that it has ordered a fourth season of science fiction hit Stranger Things. The streaming giant also signed the show's creators, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, to a nine-figure TV and film deal. "The Duffer Brothers have captivated viewers around the world with Stranger Things and we're thrilled to expand our relationship with them," Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. Netflix released the third season of Stranger Things, a drama set in the 1980s, three months ago. The Duffers said they were "absolutely thrilled to continue our relationship with Netflix," saying the company "took a huge chance on us and our show — and forever changed our lives."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.