'Start Here': Trump pushes back when Pelosi accuses him of 'cover up.' Also: Iran, 'American Taliban,' Indonesia.
Here's what you need to know to start your day.
It's Thursday, May 23, 2019. Let's start here.
She said, he said, he said, she said, she said, he said ...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said President Donald Trump was "engaged in a cover-up," and Trump said, "I don't do cover-ups."
No meaningful discussion with Democratic leadership on a $2 trillion infrastructure plan happened on Wednesday because, according to Trump: "You can't do it under these circumstances. So, get these phony investigations over with."
The current back-and-forth between Democrats and the White House simply isn't sustainable, ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl says today on "Start Here."
"They're not going to stop investigating," Karl says, "and he's going to have to deal with them."
ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce also joins us to explain how Pelosi's comments may have been orchestrated: "I would not be surprised if this was intentional."
Theater, troops
A request by U.S. Central Command could send an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East, but how big of a difference will that actually make as tensions with Iran escalate?
"Is it really going to add that much? Well, it all depends how Iran reads it," ABC News' Luis Martinez tells us.
'American Taliban'
John Walker Lindh, convicted providing support to terrorists, is set to be released from prison today -- about 2 1/2 years before completing a 20-year sentence.
His early release is because of "good conduct," according to the Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons.
ABC News' David Wright, who covered the war in Afghanistan, says on today's podcast officials are concerned about what Lindh, 38, does next.
"It's altogether possible," Wright says, "that he remains a radical or maybe has even become more radicalized in prison."
Election protests in Indonesia turn deadly
At least six people were killed and hundreds more injured after election results were announced in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
The latest election, ABC News Foreign Correspondent Julia Macfarlane says on "Start Here," is in some ways a referendum on the nation's future.
"Is it going to be a beacon of a Muslim country that can be a Democracy," Macfarlane wonders, "or is going to be a country that's going more towards fundamental Islam?"
"Start Here," ABC News' flagship podcast, offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or the ABC News app. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content and show updates.
Elsewhere:
'This is a massive, fundamental misunderstanding Mr. Trump has with Congress': A federal judge in New York declines to block subpoenas from Congress over information on Trump and his family's ties to two major banks.
'Avenatti then spent the money principally for his own personal and business purposes': Stormy Daniels' former lawyer is charged with more crimes.
'The force used during the arrest was unnecessary and inconsistent with Atlanta Police Department training': A white cop is fired after cellphone video surfaces that appears to show him pull a black woman from her car, slam her to the ground, punch her in the face and then shoot her with a stun gun.
From our friends at FiveThirtyEight:
How winning the White House could cost Democrats the Senate (at least temporarily): Even if Democrats pick up exactly three seats and win the White House, they could still miss out on controlling the Senate. How? If the new president leaves behind a vacant Senate seat in a state with a Republican governor.
Doff your cap:
Farrah Fawcett's "Charlie's Angels" co-star Jaclyn Smith often said Fawcett's iconic hair "should have its own phone line." The long, softly feathered locks were an instant "must-have" for both women and men in the 1970s.
"That signature hair will definitely be remembered forever and ever and ever," said celebrity hairstylist Jose Eber, who made his name styling Fawcett's hair. "There was a freedom about Farrah's look. There was something healthy about her. There was something magical, those teeth … that's why she became such a great style icon."
Intimate look at Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer
Fawcett documented her years-long battle with cancer in a series of raw and intimate video diaries compiled in the documentary "Farrah's Story," now the subject of a two-hour ABC News special, "This is Farrah Fawcett," airing tonight at 8 Eastern on ABC.
"She was never, ever someone who cried about why she got cancer and someone else didn't," said her oncologist and friend, Dr. Lawrence Piro, also the chief medical adviser for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation. "She wanted to show everyone that cancer looks the same on one of the most glamorous, beautiful women in the world as it looks on every other woman and every other man."
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