Monday Oct. 14

· President Donald Trump issued an executive order placing sanctions on Turkey by doubling tariffs on steel and suspending negotiations on a $100 billion trade deal. A statement from Trump criticized Turkey’s military offensive against the Kurds on the Syrian border for “endangering civilians and threatening peace, security, and stability in the region,” without mentioning Trump’s public support on Oct. 6 for this same military offensive.

· Fiona Hill, aide to former national security advisor John Bolton, testified that Bolton so strongly objected to the pressure campaign in Ukraine run by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani that he instructed her to alert White House lawyers. Hill quoted Bolton as saying, “Giuliani’s a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.”

Tuesday Oct. 15

· Giuliani announced he would not comply with a congressional subpoena for documents related to the pressure campaign in Ukraine. A letter written by Giuliani’s attorney Jon Sale to the House Intelligence Committee argued the subpoena is "overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry."

Wednesday Oct. 16

· Trump publicly released an Oct. 9 letter to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, citing it as proof he did not approve of Turkey’s military offensive on the Syrian border. “You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people,” the letter said, “and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy — and I will.”

· Federal judge B. Lynn Winmills of Idaho temporarily blocked the Bureau of Land Management from weakening protections for the greater sage grouse, a bird that lives in oil-rich sagebrush lands. The New York Times describes this as “a blow to government efforts to allow more drilling, mining and logging in the west.”

Thursday Oct. 17

· The Senate again failed to end Trump’s declared national emergency on the southwestern border in its second attempt this year. The 53-to-36 vote did not reach the two-thirds majority needed to override Trump’s veto.

· Secretary of Energy Rick Perry told Trump he would resign from his post due to his connection to the pressure campaign in Ukraine. Perry admitted his role in a recent Wall Street Journal interview in which he said he was in contact with Giuliani concerning Ukraine under Trump’s direction.

· After five hours of deliberation during a rushed diplomatic visit to Turkey, Vice President Mike Pence agreed to a deal with Erdoğan that lifted Trump’s Monday sanctions and accepted Turkey’s military presence on the northern Syrian border in exchange for a five-day cease-fire.

· Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney gave conflicting statements regarding whether or not Trump offered a quid pro quo deal to Ukraine. In a White House briefing, Mulvaney first admitted the U.S. withheld military in exchange for information on whether Ukraine assisted Democrats in the 2016 election. After the Times reported on the briefing, Mulvaney released a statement denying any such deal and saying “the media has decided to misconstrue my comments.”

Friday Oct. 18

· Perry refused to cooperate with a congressional subpoena seeking documents related to the pressure campaign in Ukraine. A senior Department of Energy official wrote a letter to the House Intelligence Committee arguing that the requested documents were protected by executive privilege.

· The New York Times reported on the findings of the State Department’s three-year-long investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server, which was shared with Congress during the week. Investigators found “no systemic or deliberate mishandling of classified information.”

Saturday Oct. 19

· Trump tweeted he would not host next year’s G-7 meeting at his luxury resort in Miami due to “Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility.” He announced his plans to use the resort on Thursday, but after two days of backlash, in which House Democrats argued this was one more instance of the president using his executive power to further his personal business interests, Trump reconsidered.

· CNN reported on the testimony of diplomat George Kent, who was interviewed behind closed doors on Tuesday. He reportedly said Giuliani asked the White House and State Department to grant a visa to former Ukrainian prosecutor-general Viktor Shokin, whom former Vice President Joe Biden helped remove from office in 2016 due to corruption concerns.

Sunday Oct. 20

· Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, his first since taking over the position. Esper said, “The aim is to still get a peace agreement at some point, a political agreement,” referring to the ongoing war in the region between the Taliban and the U.S. and Afghan militaries.

· House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a congressional delegation on a visit to Afghanistan. According to the Associated Press, the delegation met with Afghan leaders, society representatives and U.S. troops with the general focus on “combating corruption and ensuring women are at the table in reconciliation talks.”