PBS News Hour - Politics

John Carlin, who previously served as the top national security official at the Justice Department, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why he finds the details of President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy so disturbing, and what it would mean if White House officials tried to suppress that information.

In our news wrap Thursday, Sec. of State Mike Pompeo said that among the "innumerable atrocities" committed by the Assad regime, the U.S. has concluded that Syrian government forces used chlorine as a chemical weapon during a battle with insurgents in May. Also, the death toll from a severe lung illness tied to vaping has risen to 12 people in the U.S., while the number of cases is now above 800.

The release of a five-page memo describing President Trump's July phone call with Ukraine's president revealed new details of Trump's actions regarding Ukraine. The text shows that immediately after Volodymr Zelensky brought up military aid, Trump asked him for "a favor." Lisa Desjardins reports, then joins Yamiche Alcindor and Judy Woodruff for more on reactions from Trump and Congress.

According to the Justice Department, the original whistleblower account of President Trump's actions on Ukraine raised the possibility of a criminal act by Trump, related to campaign finance. But federal prosecutors reportedly decided that they could not identify a campaign finance violation from the two men's phone call. John Yang learns more from Devlin Barrett of The Washington Post.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., says the memo summarizing the conversation between President Trump and the president of Ukraine is "absolutely devastating" and "underscores the need for the [impeachment] inquiry the House began yesterday." Murphy, who this month met with Ukraine's leader, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why he doesn't believe Trump was just trying to clean up corruption.

How does the White House capture a conversation between a president and another foreign leader? And who gets to review that material afterward? For more context on the phone conversation between President Trump and Zelensky, Judy Woodruff talks to Larry Pfeiffer, former senior director of the White House Situation Room.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally announced the beginning of an impeachment inquiry Tuesday after a whistleblower alleged that the president tried to force a foreign leader to aid his reelection. At the United Nations, Trump faced questions about his own actions, and he seemed to confirm and defend the fact that he withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from Ukraine. Lisa Desjardins reports.

To Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., what's most troubling about the latest allegations against President Trump is that he allegedly pressured a foreign government to dig up dirt on a political opponent, and that he potentially sought to use taxpayer dollars to create that pressure. But Spanberger also told William Brangham on Tuesday that impeachment is not a "foregone conclusion."

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said that the news that the House is going to move forward with an impeachment inquiry into President Trump's actions "is nothing new." Harris said that "the American people need to see the transcripts," but also echoed Trump's call to investigate Joe Biden. Harris talks to William Brangham, predicting that Democrats would be "punished at the polls."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced an official impeachment inquiry -- but what exactly ramped up Democrats' political momentum toward impeachment? And what's next for President Trump and Republicans? Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join William Brangham for a broader look at the latest developments.