AMERICAN PATRIOTS! They told the TRUTH!

Fact-Checking Tim Morrison’s Claims About Trump-Zelenskiy Call Transcript | The Last Word | MSNBC

NSC aide Tim Morrison was grilled about why he immediately went to the NSC legal advisor to restrict access to the Trump-Zelenskiy call transcript. Tess Bridgeman, former Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council, tells Lawrence O’Donnell that Morrison’s explanation doesn’t quite square. National security expert Tom Nichols also joins. Aired on 11/19/19.

Republican-Requested Impeachment Witnesses Do Trump No Favors | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Rachel Maddow reviews highlights from the testimony of Kurt Volker and Tim Morrison, who, despite being requested by Republicans, still described Donald Trump's behavior toward Ukraine as inappropriate. Aired on 11/19/19.

Jeffrey Toobin | In His Dealings With Ukraine, Did Donald Trump Commit a Crime?

02 November 19

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Jeffrey Toobin | In His Dealings With Ukraine, Did Donald Trump Commit a Crime?

Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker

Toobin writes: "It's long been clear that Presidents can be impeached for 'high crimes and misdemeanors' that are not actual violations of federal criminal law."

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Elizabeth Warren. (photo: Aram Boghosian/The Boston Globe)

Warren Unveils $20.5 Trillion Plan for Universal Healthcare Without Middle-Class Tax Hike
Guardian UK
Excerpt: "Elizabeth Warren released her sweeping plan to overhaul the US healthcare system on Friday, proposing $20.5tn in federal spending over the next decade to provide healthcare to every American without raising taxes on the middle class."
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Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, arrives for a closed-door deposition with House impeachment investigators on Tuesday. (photo: Anna Moneymaker/NYT)

White House Official Who Heard Trump's Ukraine Call Testified That He Was Told to Keep Quiet

Tom Hamburger, Carol D. Leonnig, Greg Miller and Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post

Excerpt: "Several days after President Trump's phone call with the leader of Ukraine, a top White House lawyer instructed a senior national security official not to discuss his grave concerns about the leaders' conversation with anyone outside the White House, according to three people familiar with the aide's testimony."

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman testified that he received this instruction from John Eisenberg, the top legal adviser for the National Security Council, after White House lawyers learned July 29 that a CIA employee had anonymously raised concerns about the Trump phone call, the sources said.

The directive from Eisenberg adds to an expanding list of moves by senior White House officials to contain, if not conceal, possible evidence of Trump’s attempt to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to provide information that could be damaging to former vice president Joe Biden.

The instruction to stay quiet came after White House officials had already discussed moving a rough transcript of the call into a highly classified computer server, and the instruction was delivered by Eisenberg, who would later be involved in the administration’s battle to keep an explosive whistleblower complaint about the call from being shared with Congress.

The interaction between Eisenberg and Vindman suggests there was a sense among some in the White House that Trump’s call with Zelensky was not, as the president has repeatedly claimed, “perfect.” And it threatens to undercut Trump’s argument that the expanding impeachment inquiry is politically driven.

“If this is such a perfect call, why is everybody going to these extraordinary lengths?” said a U.S. official familiar with Vindman’s testimony this week. “Why are people running immediately to the White House counsel? Why is the White House counsel telling people not to talk about it?”

The revelation, first reported Friday afternoon by Politico, comes as the impeachment inquiry is entering a new, public phase after the House voted along party lines this week to proceed with open hearings for the first time while investigating committees begin to map out articles expected to accuse Trump of abusing his power and potentially obstructing justice.

Vindman’s testimony Tuesday pointed to several actions by White House officials that could be interpreted as attempts to cover up Trump’s conduct. The top Ukraine expert at the White House, Vindman was one of several officials who listened to the Trump-Zelensky call from the White House situation room.

He told lawmakers that he was deeply troubled by what he interpreted as an attempt by the president to subvert U.S. foreign policy and an improper attempt to coerce a foreign government into investigating a U.S. citizen. Vindman said he relayed these concerns to Eisenberg within hours of the phone call, according to the people familiar with Vindman’s testimony who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door testimony.

While meeting with Eisenberg, Vindman said he heard the legal adviser turn to another attorney in the room and propose steps to restrict access to the rough transcript — a move described in the whistleblower report as an attempt to “lock down” what lawmakers now consider the most damaging piece of evidence about Trump’s intent and conduct.

Vindman also testified that the transcript failed to capture several potentially important words or phrases, including a reference by Zelensky to a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, that had employed Biden’s son and that Trump wanted investigated. Vindman said he sought to correct the transcript but that his suggestions were not incorporated.

New details from Vindman’s testimony also shed light on other aspects of the tense aftermath of the call inside the White House. The NSC aide said that Eisenberg approached him several days after the call and said that a CIA employee had raised internal concerns about the call, and that the agency’s top lawyer had relayed those concerns to the White House, people familiar with the testimony said.

Eisenberg asked Vindman whether Vindman had spoken to other officials about his concerns, and then instructed him not to have any further conversations about the matter, the people said.

But by that point, Vindman had already done so, according to his testimony, in which he disclosed that he had spoken to at least two “interagency peers,” meaning officials in other positions beyond the White House who also closely followed Ukraine issues.

Vindman did not reveal in his testimony who those other officials were.

The CIA employee who went on to file a whistleblower complaint also supplied a memo he had made for his own records commemorating a July 26 conversation with a White House official about the Trump-Zelensky call.

The White House official had “listened to the entirety of the phone call” and was “visibly shaken by what had transpired,” the CIA employee wrote. The official described the call as “crazy,” “frightening” and “completely lacking in substance related to national security.”

In his statement to lawmakers this week, Vindman said, “I do not know who the whistleblower is and I would not feel comfortable to speculate.”

Vindman also testified this week that the official record and rough transcript of the call included an inexplicable change. A vague eight-word phrase was added and attributed to Zelensky that the foreign leader never said. The specific word that Zelensky did say was omitted from the official record: “Burisma,” the Ukrainian company that employed Biden’s son Hunter. In its place, the official transcript used this instead: “the company that you mentioned in this issue.”

The reason for the insertion of a potentially fabricated phrase, which has not been previously reported, is unknown. Some argue that the transcribers simply misunderstood or missed the word but used a generic description. But it could be helpful to the president’s claim that he did not engage in a quid pro quo.

Zelensky mentioning Burisma by name holds significance, Vindman told lawmakers. It suggested the Ukrainian leader knew in advance of the call that the American president was seeking an investigation of his Democratic rival before Trump would agree to meet with Zelensky.

Vindman testified that he tried to get the rough transcript corrected to add the word “Burisma” and to match his notes of the call, but learned later that he was unsuccessful. He told lawmakers he doesn’t know the reason, nor does he assume there were nefarious motives. Moving the record of the call to a separate secure server interrupted the normal process for handling a review of the transcript for a president’s calls with a head of state.

A senior White House official sought to persuade impeachment investigators this week that there was a more benign explanation for the transfer of the call transcript to the highly classified server.

Timothy Morrison, a senior NSC official responsible for policy on Russia and Ukraine, testified that the call record had been moved to a classified system, known as NICE, by mistake after subordinates were instructed to restrict access to the file, according to two people familiar with Morrison’s account, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door testimony.

Morrison’s account was that “nobody actually intended” for those aides to put the file in NICE and that “the decision to do so was widely seen as a mistake” inside the White House, said an official familiar with Morrison’s testimony. Presidential call records are customarily handled in a separate computer system that also has mechanisms for restricting access.

The official said that investigators have not ruled out Morrison’s version of events, but that it wouldn’t alter the overriding impression from witnesses that White House officials “recognized that [the call] was problematic for a variety of reasons and that it would therefore not be good for the details to leak.”

Vindman’s interactions with Eisenberg about the presidential call continued to be of keen interest to House investigators. On Wednesday, the day after Vindman’s testimony, the House impeachment committees announced they had asked Eisenberg, the legal adviser to the National Security Council, and his fellow White House lawyer, Mike Ellis, to testify.

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The CHC altar includes the pictures of 14 people - most of them minors - who died attempting to migrate to or stay in the United States. (photo: Rafael Bernal)

Hispanic Caucus Dedicates Day of the Dead Altar to Migrants Who Died in US Custody
Rafael Bernal, The Hill
Bernal writes: "The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) installed this week its first official Day of the Dead altar, dedicated to migrants who have died in U.S. custody or while trying to enter the country."
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Speaking to supporters in Des Moines, former Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas pledged to support the Democratic nominee in 2020 'with everything that I've got.' (photo: Jordan Gale/NYT)

Beto O'Rourke Drops Out of 2020 Race
Hanna Trudo and Jackie Kucinich, The Daily Beast
Excerpt: "Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) is ending his presidential campaign after struggling for months to gain momentum, as the crowded Democratic primary thins out less than 100 days before the Iowa caucus."
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A boy looks at a Colombian army armored vehicle in Cauca on Wednesday. (photo: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images)

Five Indigenous Leaders Massacred in Colombia; New Wave of Violence Feared as 2,500 Troops Deployed
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: "The massacre of five Indigenous leaders in Colombia has shocked the country. The killings took place in the southwestern region of Cauca. Among the victims was Cristina Bautista, the leader of the semi-autonomous Indigenous reservation of Nasa Tacueyo. Four of the community's unarmed guards were also killed, while six others were wounded."

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A dozen birds survived the fire at La Granja. (photo: Allison Zaucha/NPR)

As California Wildfire Neared, a Family Raced to Save Its Animals
Emma Bowman and Allison Zaucha, NPR
Excerpt: "Samantha Hull had less than 30 minutes to pack up her life. As powerful winds drove the Tick Fire through acres of dry brush hills encircling Hull's family's farm in Canyon Country, a community within the Los Angeles County city of Santa Clarita, Hull was thinking about how she could get her animals to safety."

Samantha Hull had less than 30 minutes to pack up her life.

As powerful winds drove the Tick Fire through acres of dry brush hills encircling Hull's family's farm in Canyon Country, a community within the Los Angeles County city of Santa Clarita, Hull was thinking about how she could get her animals to safety.

Hull, 24, and her partner, Sammi Lanthier, 29, were living on the small farm, affectionately nicknamed "La Granja" ("farm" in Spanish). It sat atop a canyon and was home to about 80 animals, including dogs, birds and livestock. Hull and Lanthier raised a sheep named Gwen by bottle and set up an oasis for their birds over the years.

But on Oct. 24, a devastating wildfire broke out in Southern California, forcing some 50,000 residents to evacuate. Since the Tick Fire started, it has scorched more than 4,600 acres and damaged more than 70 homes and buildings. A week later, the blaze was 94% contained.

When the flames charged up the hills, engulfing their home, Hull and Lanthier were able to rescue only 20 animals, including Gwen and Cupid, their 100-pound pot-bellied pig.

Hull would watch her home of three years burn to the ground.

That afternoon, Hull had been at work in Valencia, about a 20-minute drive from the farm, when a co-worker received a warning on her phone that emergency services were responding to a fire in Tick Canyon. The canyon is just 5 miles from Hull's farm.

She raced home to corral as many of her animals as she could and get them into a van. She then took the first of many perilous trips. Despite the 3 p.m. daylight, the smoky air and a power shutoff exacerbated the mission. Because of the high-wind forecast, Southern California Edison had preemptively turned off the electricity as a preventive measure to reduce the risk that the power company equipment might ignite another fire.

"We were running through a pitch-black house trying to grab animals," Hull said.

By about 3:30, the house had caught fire. The family left behind most personal belongings.

Hull and Lanthier are now staying with Hull's father indefinitely in Palmdale, Calif., less than an hour away.

On Wednesday, Hull returned to the farm to look for her missing dog, Casey. Rubble dominated the scene.

"I feel so detached," she said, noting that she has become increasingly aware of the fire risks posed to the arid grass valleys of Southern California.

Hull said she had been preparing for a fire emergency since last year. "I've been looking to move to a place outside of this hill," she said. "It feels like a lot of this is preventable."

Hull said she had queued up kennels and animal crates in case of such a fire emergency. None of those resources had arrived at the property before the flames took over.

Hull says she didn't hear about the evacuation orders until 5:30 p.m., about an hour after they were issued. By then, the flames had already engulfed her house.

Hull is still reeling from the escape. Her anxiety in the aftermath has driven her to take multiple trips to the doctor.

"I've had panic attacks all week," she said, "just from not knowing if we're ever going to be safe again."

She says she has fire insurance, but "It's not going to bring back my dog."

Hull and Lanthier had hoped to buy their own place soon, although their options seem to be narrowing in California. Living far from the threat of wildfires and close to their animals is at the front of their minds.

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Robert Reich | 6 Ways Trump Has Sold Out America

31 October 19

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
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The mandatory evacuation order has been lifted in the county where RSN’s headquarters are located, but a “Red Flag” alert remains in effect until 4 p.m. Pacific Time. There is now a firefighting force of nearly 5000 on duty. According to our publisher, Marc Ash, the crews are making headway and appear to have the upper hand, but the situation remains in flux. The fire may continue to burn for weeks. Power remains off at the office, and Marc’s car is packed with the essentials to run RSN, in case he needs to leave. Please continue to donate — we appreciate all of your financial support. – Angela Watters, Managing Editor, Reader Supported News

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Robert Reich | 6 Ways Trump Has Sold Out America

Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog
Reich writes: "One of Donald Trump's main campaign promises was to put 'America First' and defend American interests above all else. It was a theme that riled up his base at rallies across the country, but this has turned out to be yet another big lie."

At every turn, he has sold out America for his own personal interest. Instead of putting America first, here are 6 ways Donald Trump has put himself first:

1) He has encouraged foreign powers to interfere in our democracy. Trump is using the power of the presidency to encourage foreign leaders to interfere in our elections – asking the President of Ukraine to investigate Trump’s political opponents in exchange for military aid. He has also publicly called on Russia and China to investigate his political opponents.

2) He receives money from foreign governments through his hotels and real estate business. Since taking office, representatives of at least 22 foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Russia, have spent money at properties owned by the Trump Organization. These payments are clear violations of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which forbids the president from accepting anything of value from foreign governments. Trump had even planned to host next year’s G-7 meeting at his Doral golf resort, in Florida, but this brazen corruption was apparently too much even for his supporters in Congress.

3) He is making foreign policy on the basis of where his business is located around the world. The simplest explanation for why he cozies up to Turkey’s dictator Recep Erdogan, even withdrawing US troops from the Syrian border, is the Trump Towers Istanbul is his first and only office and residential building in Europe, and businesses linked to the Turkish government are also major patrons of the Trump Organization.

4) He has called on foreign powers to investigate Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who concluded that Trump’s campaign sought help from Russia during the 2016 election. The Trump administration has encouraged officials in Italy, Australia, and the United Kingdom to investigate details of Mueller’s investigation in an effort to discredit his report.

5) He is favoring authoritarian regimes around the world, turning his back on America’s allies. Beyond Turkey’s Erdogan, Trump has said he’s “in love” with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and, of course, praised Vladimir Putin.

6) He has ignored American intelligence agencies, relying instead on foreign governments. He has repeatedly disputed that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, favoring Vladimir Putin’s version of what happened over the findings of our own intelligence community.

Donald Trump claims to be a patriot at the same time as he sells out America. He has brazenly sought private gain from foreign governments at the expense of the American people. Instead of putting “America First,” he has repeatedly put “Donald First.”

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Tim Morrison, a key aide on the White House's National Security Council, is expected to leave his post imminently. (photo: Sarah Silbiger/Reuters)

Trump's Russia Director to Leave National Security Council Amid Impeachment Inquiry
Franco Ordoñez, NPR
Ordonez writes: "Tim Morrison, the top Russia official on President Trump's National Security Council, who is scheduled to testify in the impeachment inquiry on Thursday, is set to leave his White House post imminently."
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A sign for early voting stands outside El Centro College on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 in downtown Dallas. (photo: Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)

Democrats Challenge New Texas Limits on Polling Sites, Claiming It's GOP Response to Youth Surge in 2018
Paul Cobler, Dallas Morning News
Cobler writes: "Democrats are suing Texas in federal court, alleging a new state law banning temporary voting locations unconstitutionally depresses voter turnout among young people."

emocrats are suing Texas in federal court, alleging a new state law banning temporary voting locations unconstitutionally depresses voter turnout among young people.

The Texas Democratic Party and the party’s Senate and U.S. House campaign arms — the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in Austin, asking a judge to block the law.

“Many of the locations where early voting will no longer be available are on or near college campuses, and the impact of this reduction in early voting locations will almost certainly fall disproportionately on young voters, who already suffer from limited automobile access compared to the general population,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit challenges House Bill 1888, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June.

The law bars temporary or “mobile” polling sites that counties have used during early voting, typically for a day or two at a time.

Backers of mobile voting call it a cost-effective way to reach as many voters as possible.

“Mobile voting is an essential pillar of making voting more accessible,” said Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, calling the rollback “their latest attempt to curb the Democratic rise in the state and steal an election from the rising Texas electorate.”

During the 2019 legislative session, supporters of H.B. 1888 argued that temporary polling sites benefit some populations but exclude others that don’t get assigned a temporary polling site.

State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood and author of the bill, said the temporary voting locations allowed for a “selective harvesting of targeted voters.”

His bill required any polling place to remain open for the entirety of the early voting period, which he said would minimize selective targeting.

Democrats argue that Texas counties can’t afford to keep such sites open throughout the early voting period, and that temporary sites make it easier for many voters to cast ballots.

DCCC chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., called it a “blatantly partisan attempt to shrink the electorate.”

The lawsuit points to an uptick in voter turnout among young people in the 2018 midterms, which propelled Democrat Beto O’Rourke to within 2.6% of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race.

Mobile voting locations on college campuses were a factor in the increase. Voter turnout among young people increased 234% between the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

The lawsuit centers around the “undue burden” on young peoples’ right to vote, but Democrats pointed out that the law could also depress turnout in areas across the state.

“We won’t stand by while Republicans work overtime to undermine Texas voters’ ability to access the ballot, particularly elderly Texans, people with disabilities, and college students,” Bustos said. “I look forward to the day when access to the ballot is treated like the universal American value that it absolutely must be.”

The chairwoman of the DSCC, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, said that “the gains Texas made in boosting turnout prove that when we remove obstacles to voting, more people cast their ballots.”

“We won’t stand by while others work to disenfranchise Texans who want to lawfully participate in our democracy,” she said.

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Demonstrators hold a banner calling for the end of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. (photo: Getty)

Gay Couple Separated by ICE, Denied Release Despite Judge's Order
Matt Baume, Out
Baume writes: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appears to be illegally holding a gay asylum seeker from Honduras, refusing to release the man even after a U.S. District judge ruled that the agency must issue an 'individualized determination' in his case."
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Robert E. Murray, right, CEO of Murray Energy with Energy Secretary Rick Perry. (photo: Washington Post)

Major Coal Producer and Trump Booster Files for Bankruptcy
Taylor Telford and Dino Grandoni, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "Murray Energy Corp., the private coal giant whose founder pushed the Trump administration for an overhaul of what it called 'anti-coal' environmental policy, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Tuesday."

EXCERPTS: 

It’s the fifth coal company to land in bankruptcy court this year, in a rapidly shrinking industry that’s being squeezed out of the U.S. power market by cheaper options such as natural gas, solar and wind power.

The long-anticipated bankruptcy is another sign that President Trump’s efforts to save the sputtering coal industry, a central promise of his 2016 campaign, have largely failed.

It also speaks to the “significant stress on the coal industry today,” said Benjamin Nelson, a coal analyst and Moody’s vice president. Coal once fueled about half of all U.S. electricity; now it powers less than a quarter.

The legal maneuver also could imperil the solvency of a major pension fund that covers tens of thousands of coal miners and has renewed calls for the federal government to step in and help support the retirement payments.

“We’re talking about 82,000 miners who are going to lose their pensions, and we’re fighting this,” Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), whose state is home to large Murray Energy operations, said in a radio interview on West Virginia MetroNews on Tuesday.

In 2017, Murray met with White House energy officials to offer an “action plan” calling for deep cuts in the Environmental Protection Agency’s staff, withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, a rollback of safety and pollution regulations, and the repeal of President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

Within a year, the administration followed through by pledging to withdraw from the Paris accord, delivering cuts at the EPA and beginning to repeal and replace the Obama-era plan to curb climate-warming emissions from coal-fired power plants.

“Coal’s decline in the U.S. is driven by market forces, notably cheap gas and renewables, not by policy,” said Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and co-author of the study.

While three of Murray Energy’s rivals — Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal and Peabody Energy — trimmed debt and shed unprofitable assets during their bankruptcy proceedings in 2015 and 2016, Murray was scooping up mines in West Virginia and Illinois.

The spending spree helped saddle the company with about $2.7 billion in funded debt, as well about $8 billion in actual or potential obligations to fund pension and benefit plans, according to court filings.

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Vendors sell fruits, vegetables, and cooking utilities to refugees outside of Badarash IDPs camp which has continued to swell for Syrian Kurdish refugees fleeing the recent Turkish incursion in Rojava October 24, 2019 in Dohuk, Iraq. (photo: Byron Smith/Getty)

"Turkey Is Reviving Islamic State in Rojava"
Steve Hudson, Jacobin
Excerpt: "Turkey has now invaded Rojava in an attempt to destroy this self-government and to resist all forms of Kurdish self-determination."

EXCERPT:

The immediate impact of the Turkish invasion has been disastrous, forcing as many as 300,000 civilians to flee their homes. Today, the Turkish-led forces are continuing their attacks even beyond a nineteen-mile buffer zone negotiated with Russia last week, from which SDF fighters have withdrawn. At the same time, the invasion by Turkish and jihadist forces has also allowed the release of IS prisoners, who are now reestablishing their presence in the region.

In this interview, Steve Hudson spoke to the pro-Rojava activists Rosa Burç and Kerem Schamberger about the reasons for the invasion, the proliferation of jihadists, and the threat to Rojava.

Steve Hudson: Tell us what Rojava is, and what has been going on there over the last few years.

Rosa Burç: Rojava literally means “the land where the sun sets” in Kurdish and is used as a synonym for West Kurdistan. For seven years, amidst the wider war in Syria, Kurdish forces as well as the civilian population have been fighting for a new form of self-determination. Over the last years they built up their autonomy. They did not do this in a vacuum, but through the fight against the IS. Rojava is a symbol of self-determination for the peoples in the Middle East and especially in Syria.

Steve Hudson: I often read it discussed in terms of democratic self-government — a grassroots democracy that upholds the rights of women and minorities.

Rosa Burç: Rojava is the natural response to the rise and breakdown of nation states in the Middle East. The Kurds and other minorities in the region have been systematically excluded from political life for almost a century. So, Rojava is something new — and has something of a grassroots character, because it circumvents the suppressive hegemony of the dominant nations and their respective states. Rojava is essentially a project for self-determination by those who have been denied fundamental rights by the existing nation-states.

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The Keystone XL pipeline would ship more Canadian oil-sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast. (photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg)

Keystone Pipeline Leaks "Unknown Amount" of Oil in Northeastern North Dakota
James MacPherson, Associated Press
MacPherson writes: "A pipeline that carries tar sands oil from Canada through seven states has leaked an unknown amount of crude oil over more than quarter-mile swath in northeastern North Dakota, state environmental regulators said Wednesday."

EXCERPT:

State regulators were on the scene Wednesday afternoon, and they estimated that the area of the spill was 1,500 feet long by 15 feet wide. Glatt said some wetlands were affected, but not any sources of drinking water.

The company was still working to contain the spill Wednesday afternoon.

Crude oil began flowing through the $5.2 billion pipeline in 2010. It is part of a system that also is to include the proposed $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline designed to transport the oil from western Canada to terminals on the Gulf Coast.

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. State Department held the sole public meeting on a new environmental review of the long-stalled proposal. A federal judge blocked it last year, saying more environmental study was needed.

The original Keystone is designed to carry crude oil across Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri on the way to refineries in Patoka, Illinois, and Cushing, Oklahoma. It has experienced problems with spills in the past, including one in 2011 of more than 14,000 gallons of oil in southeastern North Dakota, near the South Dakota border.

In 2017, the pipeline leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil onto agricultural land in northeastern South Dakota, in a rural area near the North Dakota border.

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