The Takeaway

Trump Administration Moves Ahead with Major Foreign Policy Overhauls Amid Impeachment Inquiry 

Even as the Ukraine scandal embroils the White House, President Trump has continued to press forward with an often unpredictable approach to foreign policy.

Why Have Civilian Casualties Gone Up During the Trump Administration? 

Civilian casualties have risen in many of the conflicts the U.S. is involved in since President Trump took office.

Will Smart Speakers Be the New Normal?

Products with smart speakers have become very popular with consumers, but they have also been criticized for the way that they erode privacy and hand over personal information to Amazon.

Other segments:

How Facebook Fostered Digital Age Discrimination 

The EEOC recently ruled that certain companies using targeted job ads on Facebook violated civil rights law by restricting ads based on age.

This week, new information about President Trump’s interactions with foreign governments have rattled Washington, D.C. 

While the White House works on beating back the impeachment inquiry, members of Congress are home in their districts checking in with constituents. This task might prove difficult for those representing districts that have supported the president in the past, like Democratic Congresswoman Elaine Luria from Virginia.

Representative Luria joined Politics with Amy Walter to discuss why she decided to support the impeachment inquiry and the response she's received from constituents in a district that voted for Donald Trump in 2016. 

DC-based reporters Yamiche Alcindor of PBS and MSNBC and Rachael Bade of The Washington Post contextualize the ongoing impeachment proceedings. Tim Alberta from Politico chronicles the transformation of the Republican Party and historian Timothy Naftali demonstrates the role of bipartisanship during past impeachments. 

Amy's Final Take

This week, we also got our first polls taken since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House was starting a formal impeachment inquiry. Here’s what they show: Even as support for impeachment has grown, opinions about how the president is doing his job are virtually unchanged. In other words, as we’ve seen over the last 2 plus years, voters are pretty locked into how they feel about this president and there’s nothing that has been able to alter that. 

This is different from what we saw back during the Nixon impeachment. Back then, as support for impeachment rose, Nixon’s approval rating dropped. While support for impeaching Trump is basically at the same point it was with Nixon in 1974, Trump’s job approval rating is 41 percent Nixon’s was just 25 percent.  It is a testament to just how much more polarized the electorate is today than it was 45 years ago. And, a reminder that even as more and more information about Trump’s interactions with Ukraine are revealed — much of it is getting to Americans through partisan, biased filters like social media and cable news - making it harder and harder for any sort of ‘consensus’ to be found either among members of Congress - or the electorate. 

And, we end up where we’ve been all along. A divided country, more deeply and firmly entrenched than ever. And, those who aren’t as politically engaged or aligned, struggling to make sense of it all.

Opening music: I Think Like Midnight

U.S. Asylum Policy is Sending Migrants to Mexico, Where They Face Kidnapping, Assault and Violence

The Migrant Protection Protocols policy sends asylum seekers to Mexico to wait for their day in court.

Can 'Joker' Turn Internet Outrage into Box Office Success?

The Takeaway speaks with Newsday’s Rafer Guzman and New York Magazine’s Alison Willmore about "Joker" and whether the outrage surrounding its release is overblown or justified.

Other segments:

Bahamas Continues Hurricane Dorian Recovery Efforts as Haitians Worry About their Future in the Country

It has been one month since Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas. As the country recovers, deep-seated anti-Haitian sentiments are once again bubbling to the surface.

Trump Inc. Explores Web of Connections Between President Trump and Ukraine

Even before he became president, Donald Trump had ties with the former Soviet Republic.

"It's Fueled My Fire": Formerly-Imprisoned Journalist Reflects One Year Since Khashoggi's Death

Washington Post writer Jason Rezaian reflects on his colleague Jamal Khashoggi's legacy.

Robbie Robertson on His New Album "Sinematic"

Since leaving The Band in the 1970s, Robbie Robertson has put out multiple solo albums and written a memoir. This month, Robertson released his latest solo record, Sinematic. 

Other segments:

Harvard Can Continue to Consider Race in Admissions, Federal Judge Rules

Using affirmative action in the admissions process does not violate any laws.

Amber Guyger's Conviction and the Argument For Self-Defense

The former Dallas police officer was found guilty of killing her unarmed black neighbor in his own apartment last year.

Last week, Joseph Maguire, Acting Director of National Intelligence, testified before Congress, as part of the impeachment inquiry launched by Democrats against President Trump.

"I want to stress that I believe the whistleblower and the Inspector General, have acted in good faith throughout," Maguire said. "I have every reason to believe, that they have done everything by the book, and followed the law."

The inquiry revolves around the Ukraine controversy, in which President Trump asked the Ukranian government to investigate political rival Joe Biden’s son.

But at the center of this saga is a whistleblower report that the Trump Administration allegedly attempted to suppress. On Monday, the president told reporters his administration is trying to find out more about the whistleblower, saying his administration was "trying to find out about a whistleblower." Last week, Trump implicitly threatened the whistleblower, in leaked audio published by The L.A. Times, calling them a "spy."

"The spies and treason — we used to handle it a little differently than we do now," Trump said.

This public display by the President and others has brought about questions of the treatment of whistleblowers in both the public and private sectors. In many cases, whistleblowers face retaliation for speaking up about potential misconduct.

Tom Mueller, journalist and author of the forthcoming book, Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud, joins The Takeaway to discuss the risks whistleblowers face when speaking out about state and corporate wrongdoings.

But sometimes speaking up and blowing the whistle can save lives — and may be worth the risks. For two other Takeaway guests, moral and ethical dilemmas are not just abstract concepts. These are daily battles they have been going through since they first blew the whistle in their respective departments.

Robert MacLean is a twice-fired TSA Federal Air Marshal, who blew the whistle on practices by the Department of Homeland Security back in 2003. MacLean found out the DHS would be cutting Federal Air Marshal personnel on long-distance flights that were at risk of terrorist attacks.

Brandon Coleman is a former counselor with the Department of Veterans Affairs, who blew the whistle in 2015 about the lack of treatment for suicidal veterans within the VA. Coleman documented the VA’s neglect of suicidal veterans in Phoenix, who were often not being given necessary treatment. As a veteran himself, Coleman also found out VA staff were inappropriately accessing his own records.

How Should the Media Be Covering Impeachment? 

The latest Trump administration scandal has pushed the impeachment news cycle into overdrive, as mainstream media and right-wing outlets battle over control of the narrative.

A Growing Catalog of Hate Symbols

The Anti-Defamation League added 36 entries to its online catalog of extremist symbols, from logos of extremist groups to numbers that carry secret codes.

This week, President Donald Trump was accused of enlisting the President of Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Vice President Joe Biden. A whistleblower's complaint alleges that the White House tried to hide the transcript of the conversation between the two leaders.

For many, the allegations leveled against President Trump this week broke the dam. Several Democrats from purple districts who previously had not supported impeachment decided to back an impeachment inquiry announced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday. Shortly after, an unclassified version of the whistleblower's complaint was released and the acting Director of National Intelligence went before Congress. 

Purple-district Democrat, Rep. Colin Allred of Texas, joined Politics with Amy Walter to discuss what changed his mind on the impeachment inquiry. 

Guests:

Representative Colin Allred, Democrat, Texas-32

John Bresnahan, Congressional Bureau Chief for Politico

Margaret Taylor, Senior Editor and Counsel at Lawfare

Doug Heye, Republican Strategist and CNN Contributor 

Joel Payne, Democratic Strategist and Former Aide to Harry Reid

The Changing Landscape of Impeachment

Today, the acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire is testifying to Congress about the whistleblower complaint that started this all.

What the Republicans Think About the Push for Impeachment

The Republican response to the latest news about Ukraine, the whistleblower complaint, and moves to impeach President Trump.

The National Conversation Around Sexual Assault, One Year Since the Kavanaugh Hearings

Ana Maria Archila's confrontation of Senator Jeff Flake became a rallying cry for women across the country and still resonates a year later. 

More Democrats Call for Impeachment Amid Whistleblower Reports

Two members of Congress join to discuss whether or not impeachment is inevitable.

Athletes and Sexual Assault: Why Survivors Should be Centered in the Conversation

It is a tremendous risk for women to publicly come forward with their experiences of sexual assault.

How Libraries Are Bridging the Digital Divide

When people don’t have internet at home, or don't know how to use digital tools, they turn to their local libraries.

Other segments:

President Trump's Fraught Relationship with Ukraine

There's a lot of confusion over what exactly Ukraine's role is.