NEW: Rep. Ted Deutch became the 23rd lawmaker to call for an impeachment inquiry since Mueller testified -- and with him, a majority of House Democrats now say they'd vote to take that step.
-Deutch is chair of the Ethics Committee; 12 out of 20 standing committee chairmen would vote for an impeachment inquiry
-17 out of 24 Dems on the Judiciary Committee publicly support an inquiry. (And Nadler has backed it privately)
-Majorities of other investigative committees also support an inquiry, including 9/13 on the Intelligence Committee.
-Backers think there are a lot more to come; a slew of progressive members are still on the sidelines. But 218 is still a long way away, especially w/o Pelosi.
Dems who support an inquiry tell me they're watching two players:
-Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, a Dem leader who is running for Senate and helped elect a lot of the freshmen in 2018
-Rep. John Lewis, who has deferred to Pelosi on the issue.
Their support could move a lot of other Dems.
One more notable fact:
-Though just 2 of the 6 chairmen Pelosi tasked with invsetigating Trump have come out for an impeachment inquiry (Engel and Waters), a majority of all their committee members support such a move.
61 out of the 114 on these panels want to take that step.
WHY SOME COUNTS DIFFER: A lot of the impeachment whip counts vary by a couple members. We included in ours everyone who confirmed - either to us or in statements - that they would vote for an inquiry.
Some members were explicit with us but haven't been public about it otherwise.
That includes members like Reps. Bass and Pallone -- who both say they're not necessarily agitating for an impeachment inquiry but would vote for one if it came before them.
To us, that's the key metric of support in a body that measures things by voting.
Dem #119 who would vote for an impeachment inquiry: Rep. AGUILAR is the 24th lawmaker to back an inquiry since Mueller testified.
There's some confusion out there about Pallone. Here's what he told me on July 18 - the day after the Al Green vote.
"Personally I think that he's obstructed justice and he's done all these terrible things that would qualify for impeachment. So that's why I vote that way..." 1/2
Pallone said he had qualms about whether it was worth the House's time because the Senate would just kill it. But he said he personally supports - and would vote for it.
"If the opportunity comes to vote, I will vote for it."
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GRASSLEY asks if Jeffrey Epstein was a U.S. government or foreig government asset. Patel says he can only speak for the FBI and that Epstein was not a source for the bureau.
PATEL uses his opening statement tosay Alex Acosta's handling of the original Epstein case was the "original sin" of the saga, saying the nonprosecution agreement he struck after initial plea deal locked down many records under court order.
PATEL says the Jan. 6 pipe bomb investigation is "ongoing." He says there's "a lot of evidence" but he can't share it yet.
LAWSUIT INCOMING: FBI leaders fired by Director Kash Patel — including Brian Driscoll and Steve Jensen — have filed some kind of action against the Patel and the bureau. Details TK
UPDATE: In the lawsuit, three senior FBI officials fired by Kash Patel say Patel informed them that he was instructed to "fire anyone" who worked on any investigation related to Trump. And said his own job depended on carrying out the firings. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
The FBI officials say Patel informed Driscoll that his vetting for FBI leaderhsip woudl be fine, so long as he hadn't donated to Dems or voted for Kamala Harris. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
BREAKING: A federal judge has *blocked* the Trump administration from abruptly deporting 600 unaccompanied Guatemalan children — perhaps within a matter of hours — granting an emergency restraining order after advocates called the plan illegal + dangerous. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
NEW: Judge Sooknanan acted quickly to block as many as 600 Guatemalan children from being deported by the Trump administration without due process. A judge in Illinois took a similar step for 4 children whose lawyers sued Saturday.
@joshgerstein MORE: This is reminiscent of the emergency fight over Alien Enemies Act — an overnight lawsuit alleging abrupt deportations and violation of due process, quick restraining order by a judge, hearing set for the afternoon.
HAPPENING NOW: Judge Xinis is leaning toward issuing another restraining order to block Kilmar Abrego Garcia's immediate deportation to Uganda at least through this week — she wants an evidentiary hearing on Friday.
XINIS says law may require Abrego's deportation to his country of choice, given that Costa Rica has indicated a willingness to accept him, give him refugee status and vow not to re-deport him to El Salvador.
Uganda, where administration plans to send him, has made no promises.
XINIS emphasizes that she has serious concerns about the claim that DOJ pressured Abrego into a guilty plea by offering him deportation to Costa Rica — and threatening deportation to Uganda if he refused.
DOJ's Drew Ensign says Abrego's deportation is not "imminent," given pace of third-country removals.
AND WE'RE UNDERWAY: Judge Reyes has taken the bench to consider DC's emergency bid to block Trump's takeover of the city's police department.
REYES notes the attack on DOGE employee Ed Coristine and the prior claim by Trump + allies that crime in DC has been significantly down this year before deciding there was a national emergency.
But she says she will assume, for today, that the emergency claim is legit.
Arguing for DOJ: Yaakov Roth, principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Civil Division.
HAPPENING NOW: President Trump's deployment of the military into L.A. is on trial before Judge Breyer, who will decide whether the effort violates the Posse Comitatus Act.
First witness: Army Deputy Chief of Staff William Harrington.
Lawer for Newsom now underscoring that leaders of the federalized National Guard troops were generally trained to be aware of Posse Comitatus Act and the strict limits it puts on their domestic law enforcement activity.
Newsom's lawyers now eliciting testimony about all of the operations Guard troops participated in during deployment in LA, including 2 against marijuana farms in Mecca and Camarillo
Also, Harrington confirms HEGSETH directly approved guard role in operation in MacArthur Park.