This may duplicate some of what has already been posted, but I believe there is some crucial new information here as well.
Text messages released on Thursday between US diplomats and a senior Ukrainian aide show how a potential Ukrainian investigation into the 2016 election was linked to a desired meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
The text messages, which were released by the House Intelligence Committee, also show how Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was closely connected with US policy on Ukraine and was involved in setting up the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky in which Trump urged an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
They show how cognizant the Ukrainians were about the importance of the election investigation to Trump and Giuliani’s role.
On the morning of the call, in an exchange with a key adviser to the Ukrainian President, then-US Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker made clear that it was important to the White House that Zelensky convince Trump that an investigation into the 2016 election would happen.
"Heard from the White House – assuming President Z convinces trump he will investigate/‘get to the bottom of what happened’ in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington," Volker said via text to the Ukrainian adviser on the morning of July 25.
It was a message that seemed to register with the Ukrainian administration. A source familiar with the matter tells CNN that the Ukrainian government wrote a statement for public release committing to pursue investigations of corruption.
The New York Times was first to report on the existence of the statement, saying instead that it had been drafted this summer by Volker and US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. But the source told CNN that Ukrainians’ purpose in drafting the statement was to try to reinforce with Giuliani, who the Ukrainians knew had influence with Trump, that there was a new team in Ukraine with Zelensky that was committed to cleaning up corruption in Ukraine.
According to the Times, the statement would have committed Ukraine to investigate an energy company that employed former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. The statement also would have called on the country to investigate what Trump has perceived as Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US election to benefit Hillary Clinton, the paper reported.
The statement was shared with Volker and Sondland, who then shared it with Giuliani, according to the source. It was Giuliani who said to Volker that it did not go far enough and suggested inserting references to pursuing probes of Burisma and the 2016 election. Burisma is the Ukrainian company that hired Hunter Biden to be on its board.
Volker and Sondland then exchanged text messages about the draft, which Volker said he would share with an adviser to Zelensky. The Ukrainians told Volker they were not comfortable with the suggested statement, and the matter was ultimately dropped while a meeting between Zelensky and Trump continued to be pursued, the source said.
The source explained the context of the statement about the investigation after the discussion was included in text messages provided to Congress ahead of Volker’s closed-door testimony on Thursday. …
Great job everyone!! Did you see @matt, put us in the newsletter! And we have a new url to share for just this thread
I did not see, where? Also, with how fast stuff is coming out now, I fully expect a lot of these avalanche news days going forward!
Trump can’t claim ignorance of the law since the FEC chair already reprimanded him back in June on this very issue. Now, minutes after Trump publicly solicited help from two different foreign governments (China and Ukraine) in generating dirt on a political rival, the FEC chair reprimanded him again and she did so using the same letter she had sent in June.
Cross-posting 
Two reporters from two different sides of the aisle tell the fundamental truth about the T Impeachment story as they see it. The funny thing is they totally agree…T is grossly misusing his power and dismantling our democratic ideals and laws
Shep Smith Fox
Chuck Todd - NBC
Buzzfeed got ahold of Volker’s prepared remarks.
Former Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker testified before members of Congress on Thursday. While the meeting was private and a full transcript has not been released, his prepared remarks were obtained by BuzzFeed News.
House Democrats on Thursday night also released text messages that Volker gave to Congress during his testimony that revealed him and other US and Ukrainian officials discussing the quid pro quo at the heart of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Mr. Volker spent Thursday on Capitol Hill being questioned by House investigators as Democrats pursued their impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump’s actions.
Late Thursday, House Democrats released a series of texts between Mr. Volker, Mr. Sondland and Andriy Yermak, a top aide to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that also showed that officials in both countries understood that Mr. Trump would not grant Mr. Zelensky an Oval Office meeting he was seeking until Ukraine agreed to make a public commitment to the investigations being sought by the American side.
The texts also showed the three men discussing language for the proposed statement. On the morning of Aug. 13, Mr. Volker sent Mr. Sondland language they wanted added to an earlier draft sent by the Ukrainians.
“We intend to initiate and complete a transparent and unbiased investigation of all available facts and episodes, including those involving Burisma and the 2016 U.S. elections, which in turn will prevent the recurrence of this problem in the future,” Mr. Volker said in what appears to be the language he was proposing.
Mr. Sondland quickly replied, “Perfect,” adding that they should send it along to an adviser to the Ukrainian president.
Four days later, Mr. Sondland texted Mr. Volker, asking if they still wanted the Ukrainian president “to give us an unequivocal draft” specifically citing the two issues that Mr. Trump has been focused on: Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that had put Mr. Biden’s younger son, Hunter Biden, on its board, and Mr. Trump’s belief that Ukraine had interfered in the 2016 American elections to benefit Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Volker replied: “That’s the clear message so far …”
Desperation, delusion, deceit. Next he’ll say Martians are behind his impeachment.
Three deeply problematic aspects of newly released text messages centered on the Ukraine scandal
Trump suggests Big Pharma behind impeachment
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-suggests-big-pharma-behind-195543514.html
With video
The White House is planning to spurn Democrats’ request for documents sought as part of their impeachment inquiry as administration aides scramble to calibrate a legal response strategy.
White House lawyers plan to argue that until there is a formal vote by the House to begin impeachment proceedings, Congress doesn’t have the right to the information, people familiar with the discussions said.
“Well, we’ll be issuing a letter," President Donald Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Friday. Asked whether he was going to cooperate with any House subpoenas, Trump was noncommittal.
"I don’t know, that’s up to the lawyers," he said. "I know the lawyers think they’ve never seen anything so unfair, never seen anything so unjust."
Trump had said Thursday he would leave the decision up to the lawyers on whether to cooperate with the congressional investigation into whether he used the power of his office to pressure Ukraine to investigate 2020 rival Joe Biden.
House Democrats have said they would subpoena White House officials by Friday if their demands were not met. Democrats said the panels would not consider contempt or any other penalties for noncompliance, and that White House failure to produce the documents would instead be used as evidence of obstruction for impeachment.
WSJ has it now too.
46% support impeaching and removing Trump from office!!!
The poll numbers are in on impeachment, and it’s not good news for President Donald Trump. A clear plurality of Americans approve of the House’s impeachment inquiry into Trump, and they are split on whether they want to impeach and remove him from office.
Americans are more eager to impeach Trump now than they were at similar points in the impeachment sagas of Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon.
Impeachment actions usually start off as being unpopular with the American public. After the House voted to start an impeachment inquiry of Clinton in October 1998, a CBS News/New York Times poll found that 45% approved and 53% disapproved.
But with Trump, those numbers are reversed. In an average of polls taken since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal inquiry last week, 51% support an impeachment inquiry. A minority, 44%, are against it.
When it comes to impeaching and removing Trump from office, the difference is even more dramatic. An average of polls taken since early last week shows that 46% support impeaching and removing Trump from office. That’s about equal with the 45% who are against such an action.
THIS could explain why Kurt Volker so suddenly resigned and seems willing to play ball with congress.
Full story from WSJ
Trump, in August Call With GOP Senator, Denied Official’s Claim on Ukraine Aid
Trump, in August Call With GOP Senator, Denied Official’s Claim on Ukraine Aid - WSJ
President Trump denied that he had linked military aid to Ukraine with a commitment by Kyiv to investigate the 2016 presidential elections when pressed on the matter by a Republican senator in August, according to the lawmaker.
In an interview, Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) said he learned of a potential quid pro quo from the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, who told him that aid to Ukraine was tied to the desire by Mr. Trump and his allies to have Kyiv undertake investigations related to the 2016 U.S. elections.
Mr. Johnson raised the issue with Mr. Trump in a phone call on Aug. 31, shortly before the senator was due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the call, Mr. Trump flatly rejected the notion that he directed aides to make military aid to Ukraine contingent on a new investigation by Kyiv, Mr. Johnson said.
Mr. Johnson, who supports aid to Ukraine and is the chairman of a Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over the region, said Mr. Trump was adamant on the issue. “He said—expletive deleted—‘No way. I would never do that. Who told you that?” the Wisconsin senator recalled. Mr. Johnson told Mr. Trump that he had learned of the arrangement from Mr. Sondland.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Sondland, a former hotel executive and major Trump donor who was confirmed to the ambassador job last year, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment through a spokesperson.
Mr. Johnson’s account, coupled with a release of text messages involving Mr. Sondland by three House committees late Thursday, show Trump administration officials believed there was a link between Mr. Trump’s decision in July to order a hold on nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine and his interest in having Ukraine investigate election interference and Democrat Joe Biden. Mr. Trump ordered the hold a week before he spoke to Mr. Zelensky on July 25, a call in which he pressed Mr. Zelensky to investigate Mr. Biden and election interference.
That July call sparked a whistleblower complaint that has in turn led to an impeachment inquiry by House Democrats.
WSJ writers who wrote this article discuss this incriminating information, with T’s denial. Thanks @Windthin (am posting similar links plus a tweet!)
Mike Pence just received a document request from Engel, Schiff and Cummings dated 10/04/19
Cross-posting