The Smear Campaign: George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for Ukraine, said in closed-door testimony that President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani engineered a smear campaign against former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was removed from office. House investigators released the transcript of Kent’s testimony yesterday.

  Kent testified that Giuliani’s “assertions and allegations against former Ambassador Yovanovitch were without basis, untrue, period.”

  Kent is expected to testify publicly next week.

  He also denounced the attempt to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. Kent said, “Politically related prosecutions are not the way of promoting the rule of law. They undermine the rule of law.”

  Former national security adviser John Bolton yesterday declined to appear for a closed interview, but said he is willing to testify if a court clears him of President Trump’s order not to cooperate. If Bolton talks, it could be a bombshell.

  Yesterday, though, Jennifer Williams, a special adviser to Vice President Pence on Europe and Russia, answered questions behind closed doors for about five hours, defying Trump’s order.

  Trump whined on Twitter that, “It was just explained to me that for next weeks Fake Hearing (trial) in the House, as they interview Never Trumpers and others, I get NO LAWYER & NO DUE PROCESS. It is a Pelosi, Schiff, Scam against the Republican Party and me. This Witch Hunt should not be allowed to proceed!”

Anonymous: Too much of the daily news involves Donald Trump, but the Trump presidency might be the most important thing going on in the world right now, certainly in America.

  The Washington Post has obtained an advance copy of the anonymously-authored book by a White House official who concludes that President Trump is cruel, inept, and a danger to the nation. The author says that at one point last year the entire staff was ready to resign en-masse.

  Some excerpts from “A Warning”:

• “It’s like showing up at the nursing home at daybreak to find your elderly uncle running pantsless across the courtyard and cursing loudly about the cafeteria food, as worried attendants tried to catch him. You’re stunned, amused, and embarrassed all at the same time…”
• “I’ve sat and listened in uncomfortable silence as he talks about a woman’s appearance or performance. He comments on makeup. He makes jokes about weight. He critiques clothing. He questions the toughness of women in and around his orbit. He uses words like ‘sweetie’ and ‘honey’ to address accomplished professionals…”
• “I am not qualified to diagnose the president’s mental acuity. All I can tell you is that normal people who spend any time with Donald Trump are uncomfortable by what they witness. He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity.” 

The Giving Tree: A New York judge has ordered President Trump to pay $2 million in damages to a collection of nonprofit groups as part of a settlement of the lawsuit that accused the Donald J. Trump Foundation of mixing charity with politics and business.

  Among the sleazy things Trump admitted doing with the foundation: Using a Iowa fund-raiser for veterans in January 2016 as a campaign event and giving the campaign control of the $2.8 million it raised; Using the foundation to settle the legal obligations of his companies, including Mar-A-Lago, his private club in Florida, and the Trump National Golf Club in New York.

  The President issued a statement claiming he’s a victim of persecution.

The Gathering Crowd: Billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has staffers in Alabama gathering signatures to qualify for the Alabama Democratic primary. The filing deadline is today, so we’ll know soon whether another serious contender is in the mix. Bloomberg, 77, ran New York like a clock, but he’s not known as a great campaigner. 

The Bulletin Board: Vaping company Juul Labs, the country’s biggest seller of e-cigarettes, announced it will stop selling the mint flavored pods that attract kids and teenagers. — A lawyer representing the Ukraine whistleblower has sent a letter to President Trump demanding that he “cease and desist” verbally attacking his client. The letter says, “The President of the United States, is engaging in rhetoric and activity that places my client, the Intelligence Community Whistleblower, and their family in physical danger.”

The Obit Page: Notable among the many oddballs who make their living posing as movie and cartoon characters in front of Hollywood’s famous Chinese Theater has been Christopher Dennis, who lived posing as Superman with tourists for 30 years. Dennis, who was among the best-known of the boulevard posers, died last weekend at age 52. He said he began posing as Superman after someone told him he looked like the late Superman actor Christopher Reeve. 

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