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Political Cornflakes: The Trump-Zelensky transcript contains an obscure conspiracy theory reference

(Andrew Harnik | AP file photo) Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for President Donald Trump, waves to people during White House Sports and Fitness Day on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington in 2018.

Happy Thursday!

Remember the name Crowdstrike. It’s among the more bizarre aspects of the just-released rough transcript of the call between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart.

It turns out Crowdstrike is the name of a U.S. cybersecurity firm that, according to a conspiracy theory propagated by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, helped Ukraine frame Russia in the 2016 hacking of a Democratic National Committee server. [NYTimes]

Topping the news: Utah Sen. Mitt Romney called the rough transcript of the Trump-Volodymyr Zelensky phone call “deeply troubling,” while Rep. Ben McAdams says it shows an abuse of power on the part of the president. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Sen. Mike Lee said he sees no problem with the conversation and claimed as he reads it the president did not ask a foreign leader to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and his son. [Trib]

-> The state has scrapped hydropower elements of the proposed Lake Powell pipeline in a move that could save $100 million but also sacrifice future revenue from the projects. [Trib]

Tweets of the day: From @DanRather: “This story is moving faster than a hummingbird’s wings.”

-> From @SteveEngelberg: “As the editor in chief of ProPublica, I’m always telling reporters to read their work out loud. As an experiment, I tried that with today’s rough transcript of President Trump’s phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The results are illuminating.”

Also in the news: Polygamy foes in favor of what’s called “bigamy reform” are going door to door in a Utah neighborhood with polygamists to initiate conversations on the issue. [Trib]

-> Utah faith leaders and law enforcement officials gathered for a safety meeting that follows a seemingly increasing number of threats and attacks on places of worship across the world. [Trib] [DNews]

In Salt Lake County, Draper’s mayor defends Riverton’s mayor in a bizarre lawsuit that also involved Sheriff Rosa Rivera. [Trib]

-> UTA board members get an immediate $11,000 salary increase. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake City mayoral candidate Erin Mendenhall released her plan for affordable housing. [Trib] [DNews]

-> The Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council disciplined 20 officers on Wednesday. [Trib]

-> Following issues with sexting and/or masturbation by police officers on duty, the Utah police oversight council amended the lack of a rule explicitly forbidding the practice in a unanimous vote on Tuesday. [Fox13]

-> Despite “intense overcrowding” in the Salt Lake City International Airport, Salt Lake finished No. 11 among 27 large airports in an annual customer satisfaction ranking by J.D. Power. [Trib]

-> Weber County commissioners are moving ahead with a law to cap property tax refunds after four years. [StandEx]

-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke discusses the options for “ambitious development” happening near Moab. [Trib]

Nationally: President Donald Trump put pressure on Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate his political opponent Joe Biden and his son as “a favor.” [NYTimes] [WaPost]

-> A majority of House members — 218 — back an impeachment inquiry of President Trump. [WaPost]

-> Read the transcript of Trump’s phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky. [CNN]

-> And, read the letters that show the whistleblower, who drew attention to Trump’s call with Zelensky, tentatively agreeing to meet with Congress. [CNN]

-> In a news conference, the “subdued” president defended his actions and confronted new allegations. [Politico]

-> The White House reportedly sent impeachment talking points to Democrats before trying to recall them. [NYTimes]

-> The Federal Trade Commission tried to serve a civil subpoena on Steve Bannon, who is the former Trump campaign CEO and chief White House strategist. [Politico]

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- Dan Harrie and Clara Hatcher