Last updated on 2019-11-26
Last week, DFP columnist Dave Baumeister said we should forget impeachment and focus on voting the bum out. I guess that shows how much attention Congressional leaders pay to our humble blog.
Greetings, Blogophiles!
It seems like hindsight is 20-20, doesn’t it? I may have spoken too soon last week about not impeaching the president. I have to say, that I still believe impeachment would have played right into Republican hands, but now, I really don’t see much of an option.
Every president since Ronald Reagan has been threatened with impeachment. We’ve heard the word “impeachment” so much that it has become a political sledgehammer more than the tool to deter crime in high office, as the Founders intended.
For that reason, prior to the Ukraine incident, I think Speaker Pelosi and I agreed that “we don’t need to go there.”
But in the back of my mind, I always thought that the House would have to if Trump did something so criminal that impeachment would become that necessary tool.
Well, since I last wrote to you, that threshold has been crossed. The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, clearly used his position to blackmail the Ukrainian president into investigating an American citizen, who also happens to be his biggest rival in the next election, Joe Biden.
Now, in the past, evidence against Trump has always been too easy for him to spin as “fake news” or the “Deep State,” but this time the evidence is the “transcript” [Editor’s note: the assemblage of notes and reconstruction that the White House released Wednesday is not really a transcript] of the president’s own phone call with President Zelensky of Ukraine, as released by Trump himself.
Thus, Trump can’t say it is “fake news” without indicting himself. He authorized the dissemination of the phone call’s content, and he has commented on it as a “perfect” phone call, saying there wasn’t anything inappropriate about it.
Plus, we now have a “whistleblower,” who brought this entire matter to light in the first place. And in his (or her?) letter, he (or she??) talked about what was said that has now been proven true through the release of the “transcript.”
It seems pretty likely that the House is going to impeach Trump. But it is still unlikely the Senate will convict; however, I think a few Republican Senators will vote to remove, and a vote not to remove him will have stronger implications in the next election cycle.
In any case, I strongly believe that people will look at what happens to the president as much more that politics as usual.
But when all this is said and done, it does prove one thing to me which I have said before, Donald Trump is deathly afraid of Joe Biden.
President Trump has only been in two elections and he cheated in both. That’s enough. If you’re caught doping in the Olympics it’s not said, “He would have won anyway.” or “It wasn’t that much of an advantage.” If you’re caught cheating, even in the slightest, you’re out and your medals are rescinded.
Trump is a compulsive cheater and this time he’s been nailed, dead to rights!
Now the deafening silence from Thune, the same Thune who defecated on the American Independence Day with a Moscow visit to perhaps discuss where his condo would be in the Moscow Chubby Tower. We expect the silence from Rounds as he is a practiced lying corrupted official with the EB5 under his belt as proof of his credentials . The same goes with Dirty Johnson and the Red Sparrow issue with the red head Russian spy Butina. The Impeachment inquiry of Trump is the only way to get this corruption to heel.
The big lift is now for Democrats – especially Pelosi – to keep this focused on 1) facts and 2) the Ukraine. If this turns into a greatest hits of corruption then it will be the Muller Report 2.0. Pelosi has to lean into the fact that she has not previously called for impeachment, but this one is DIFFERENT. The facts must show impeachment – then politics will be the reason for denying; shift the political witch hunt narrative 180 degrees.
This will be difficult because there will continue to be a scandal a day – but those have to be ignored to stay focused on this ONE incident that has President Trump dead to rights.
The key to impeachment is to get the digital transcript of the phone call that has been hidden on a classified server. It will not be the same as the redacted memory version that has been handed out.
I don’t understand the calls to focus on “just” the Ukraine business. Ignoring the rest of Trump’s impeachable offenses doesn’t make it any easier to nail him on this particular act of corruption, nor does it make Senate Republicans any more likely to vote for removal if he’s caught “dead to rights.” Instead, it implies that all the other high crimes and misdemeanors aren’t actually serious — in fact, they’re okay, and the next corrupt president should feel free to go ahead and engage in them.
I mean honestly, if a person commits fraud, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, the authorities don’t just investigate the fraud and rush to trial ignoring all the rest because it somehow “helps focus the issue.” All the president’s misdeeds need to be investigated and brought into the sunlight, and each one should be included in impeachment. If it was appropriate for Thomas Jefferson to elaborate a bill of particulars against tyrant King George III, it’s certainly appropriate for Congress to do the same for our own corrupt would-be tyrant.
People need to spend less time playing pundit and gaming out how an impeachment soap opera might go, and more time following the evidence — all the evidence — and the Constitution.
Every day in every way, Drumpf gets impeachier and impeachier.
Drumpf reminds me of “My Little GTO” by Ronnie and the Daytonas. Listen to him taching up now, listen to him whine-ine-ine.
Yahoo News quotes a NY Times piece about the changing public mood on impeachment:
“The surveys, conducted partly or entirely since Nancy Pelosi’s announcement Tuesday, all show an increase in support for impeachment. They even raise the possibility that Americans may now narrowly be in favor of it.
“Overall, 46% supported impeachment and 42% opposed it in an average of the four polls, from YouGov/Huffington Post, HarrisX/Rasmussen, Marist/NPR and Morning Consult/Politico.”
https://yhoo.it/2lVNnLn
The article warns that it’s very early in the process and to expect changes. I recall that in the early stages of Nixon’s impeachment inquiry the public was opposed but as more evidence was revealed that changed. I expect/hope for the same for this crook.
If the USA is lucky, this may mark the end of the NRA too. Then a real gun group can be founded to cater to people who like to hunt and target shoot.
The National Memo provides this story:
“A new report by the Senate Finance Committee’s Democratic staff reveals that the NRA knew about Butina’s links to Vladimir Putin’s regime and welcomed her anyway, offering her access to the conservative movement.
“The same, they found, was true of Butina’s then-boss, former Russian government official Alexander Torshin — a ‘lifetime member’ of the NRA who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury in April 2018.
“According to their investigation, ‘the NRA, its officers, board members, and donors engaged in a years-long effort to facilitate the U.S.-based activities of Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin.’ They also found that some NRA officials who traveled to Moscow for a December 2015 meeting with Butina’s group used the trip for their own business interests, a possible breach of the NRA’s tax-exempt purpose.”
http://bit.ly/2nwaeh1
I still feel strongly that Pelosi wanted to do it the right way and get the goods on him legally, prove that he has committed crimes against the nation and send him away in handcuffs. But I find myself losing faith that that can be done, sad to say. So at this point, I am “liking” whatever will hurt him politically and chop him off at the knees (metaphorically speaking), though I don’t like that in myself.
Per the NYTimes via Axios:
“Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada yesterday became the first Republican House member to back the impeachment inquiry — but is reserving judgment on whether President Trump should be impeached. (N.Y. Times)”
Hurting Trump and Co. politically but not removing from office is almost like a consolation prize. Fine, but not good enough. Pelosi wants him in there with Bernie Madoff. And so do I. Take Mitch with you while you’re at it.
From Sarah Reese Jones on Twitter:
FEC Chair Ellen L Weintraub had to tweet out the entire FEC weekly digest after Republicans blocked her from publishing it because it contained a draft rule banning foreign election interference.
https://t.co/j7dfrrb0Xv via @politicususa
6/
Information from the @FEC’s Weekly Digest
Week of September 23 – 27, 2019
Commission meetings and hearings
The Commission voted to cancel the executive session scheduled for September 24 and the open meeting scheduled for September 26.
https://t.co/G2nOZ83n3Q
(Read the whole thing at the URL above this line.)
Chris S, spiking only for myself, my reasoning to focus only on the Ukraine is to allow Democrats, especially Pelosi, to take a unique moral high ground on impeachment. Everything else has happened – and that means he HAS gotten away with it. The reality we live in is that Democrats cannot go back in time and do the right thing when it needed to be done; they cannot go back to the first outrage and impeach it, so they must play the hand they have left themselves. Focus only on the Ukraine means that this has not been tried in the press and public opinion as all tother wrong doing has. Even the Muller Report was a road map to impeachment, yet that was litigated into neutrality by Trump and the press.
Make Ukraine different. Impeaching the President is absolute, The House does not need to pile on all kinds of other high crimes and misdemeanors that the President can wiggle out of making the whole process look like a fishing trip/witch hunt.
Pelosi waited for her shot. She was patient. It had to be a perfect kill-shot. Now that she has it, she has to go after that one opening with all for force and vigor, and focus at her disposal.
I am willing to bet that the thing that will bog all this down will be whatever the next corrupt thing the President does, because that will have to be set aside to keep THIS process of impeachment moving forward and the press and younger or less disciplined Democrats will chase the new and release their stranglehold on their winning position on impeachment.
Finally, Chris, once he has been removed from office in disgrace, then let the courts have at this — absent his created Presidential privilege. We will see this ex-President in cuffs, but will be slow.
To use a literary analogy: Speaker Pelosi is Santiago, and she has hooked her marlin, now the real fight starts. 84 Days without catching a fish previously now means nothing. Hold this fish on the line PERIOD
I heard a news story this morning reporting that Jeff Flake was asked whether it was true that 30 Republican Senators would vote to remove Trump if a vote were taken in private. Flake responded that was incorrect, the actual number is 35! Apparently even Fox confirms this:
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jeff-flake-35-gop-senators-impeach-trump
That would be a majority of the Republican majority in the Senate.
That 35 number was bandied about yesterday on the net. Too bad wingnuts are gutless when it comes to standing up for the rule of law.
John McCain would be enjoying this . 😎
I doubt we’ve seen a great deal of the evidence that we shall see over the next coupla months.
I agree with O regarding the inquiry/evidence gathering. An enormous net can be cast, but all the bycatch will simply muddy the waters.
Ukrainegate is plenty of net filler. Sort through it carefully, taking time to lay each fish out clearly so the public can follow along as easily as possible. Don’t rehash his old crimes at this time. I believe the State of New York is on him for several crimes. They’ll probably get Junior, Kushner and perhaps Ivanka too.
Lifetime criminal Jue-Lee-ahh-kne will get to spend time with some crooks he put away. Should be fun for him.
Madam Speaker Pelosi is smarter than everybody on the trump Family Crime Syndicate put together. She’s going to hang them out to dry while getting Prissy Pussy Pency and Barr too while Democrats hold the House and take the Senate and White House. That will be the end of Liar Kaveman.
I agree with Chris S 100%. The fact is that the Dems should have started impeachment proceedings long ago over things they let slide. Now that we are one short year away from voting the bum out all this will be is a distraction. Another drug out and go nowhere “Russiagate”. The press will fixate on this and Democratic candidates will be pushed to the background. And what are they fighting over in the end……who is the bigger crook….. A Democrat or a Republican.
The only way that the democrats figure they can beat the R party is by showing them to be crooks since both party’s are in the same pockets! We can’t come up with different policy’s we have to support establishment candidates like Biden or Harris or someone that has caved to the will of the establishment in the past such as Warren. That is if they have to. They surely don’t want Sanders. Looks to me as if the Democratic establishment might just prefer a Republican!
The alternative is to have the better message and deliver on solutions that work. Actually represent the people…there is an idea!
Having plans that would reduce the federal deficit would be of high interest to independents that either Party needs to win the general election. But the extremes in each party are basically going to grow said deficit.
No surprise that the GOP lies about Joe Biden’s mission in Ukraine are, well, lies. The Daily Beast goes to sources.
“Biden was not simply relaying the message pushed by the Obama administration, but that his position was supported by Ukrainian anti-corruption activists, European allies, and even groups like the International Monetary Foundation (IMF). As Tom Malinowski, former assistant secretary of state under Obama, recalled this week, ‘All of us working on Ukraine wanted this prosecutor gone, because he was NOT prosecuting corruption. So did the Europeans. So did the IMF. This didn’t come from Joe Biden—he just delivered our message.’”
Getting rid of the corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor made Hunter Biden MORE likely to be investigated, not less.
GOP – Grandiose Old Prevaricators.
Regardless, Debbo, Joe Biden and his son made an inordinate amount of money out of Ukraine. Influence peddling at the very least and the Clinton model of pay for play as well. BTW I can’t put much trust on the IMF or politicians that enrich themselves while in office. Alway’s suspect to me.
All of these allegations against Biden have been around for a long time. Nothing new but surprisingly not of interest to our fantastic media.
Biden was dropping in the polls of his own accord….he didn’t need any help.
No Clyde, they didn’t. Do you have a source for your claim?
In the meantime, Wapo’s Fact Checker gives Liar-in-Chief 4 Pinocchios too:
“Trump has falsely claimed that Biden in 2015 pressured the Ukrainian government to fire Viktor Shokin, the top Ukrainian prosecutor, because he was investigating Ukraine’s largest private gas company, Burisma, which had added Biden’s son, Hunter, to its board in 2014.
“There are two big problems with this claim: One, Shokin was not investigating Burisma or Hunter Biden, and two, Shokin’s ouster was considered a diplomatic victory.
“Biden was among the many Western officials who pressed for the removal of Shokin because he actually was not investigating the corruption endemic to the country. Indeed, he was not investigating Burisma at the time. In September 2015, then-U. S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt publicly criticized Shokin’s office for thwarting a British money-laundering probe into Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky.”
http://strib.mn/2mIstQc
In addition to trying to point trembling fingers at Biden, Tubby Traitor is blaming the career diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Masha Yovanovitch.
From the NY Times via the Strib:
“Although largely unknown to the outside world, Yovanovitch has now become a sort of heroine to the State Department’s career staff — as well as a cautionary tale to many longtime American diplomats and national security officials. To them, she symbolizes an atmosphere in which dissenting, or even insisting on established procedures, can get them marked as outsiders, shut out of meetings, excluded from policymaking and in the end publicly hung out to dry as enemies of the administration.
“While the abrupt end to her ambassadorship was widely seen as punitive, one former colleague said that it was possibly motivated by a genuine concern for her, and that State Department officials decided it was safer to bring her home.
“Nonetheless, the level of suspicion and paranoia inside the foreign policy and national security agencies, already high since Trump’s arrival, has only risen since Yovanovitch’s saga has surfaced.
“‘It’s more than crazy — it’s ugly, it’s threatening,’ said Daniel Fried, a former ambassador and 40-year State Department official who has long dealt with Russian and Ukrainian issues and retired at the beginning of the Trump administration. ‘Masha Yovanovitch is known as a straight arrow, disciplined, professional.
“‘If you take out Masha Yovanovitch, you send the message to every ambassador that [the administration] will not have your back,’ he said.”
http://strib.mn/2nExqJT
But not to fret, twitter feed.
“According to the pool report, Trump has arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, VA.
This is Trump’s 233rd day at a Trump golf club and 306th day at a Trump property as president.
6,704
8:30 AM – Sep 28, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
3,606 people are talking about this
Adam Parkhomenko
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Trump is taking Lindsey Graham to play golf today. It’s unusual because golfers don’t typically bring their own ball washer.”
There you have it, as reported.
Barrfly tried to keep this secret by forcing DNI to take Whistle blower’s report to the White House. Absolutely wrong and illegal.
https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1178018408895516674?s=09
Debbo, you have your sources that I don’t consider to be all that credible and I have mine so it appears we will just disagree. I put very little faith in the establishment propaganda machine which you cite. My opinion of Biden remains the same. He is a establishment Democrat that will do the bidding of the same people that have have been pulling the strings for a long time. If Trump hadn’t hit so close to home with the Dem’s establishment leader this fop-aw would have slipped by and not become a impeachable offense.
BTW, read the whole of Trump’s phone transcript. Plenty of under the table crookedness to go around when dealing with Ukraine.
I’m thinking this whole “Ukrainegate” thing will sure help to get Trumpy re-elected!
BTW what was Hunter getting paid??? I’ve heard 50K a week? 50K a month??
Clyde makes the point of the Manafort pardon that Chubby will soon be introducing. Not necessarily the truth, but enough falsehoods to allow another quid pro quo as Manafort is still Putin’s man with the plan.
Chubby will not be re-elected as the Ukraine gate is actually a floodgate that opens the whole underbelly of the Chubby/Pence/Barr criminal enterprise for us all to see.
Hunter Biden, a lawyer at the international consultation firm Rosemont Seneca Partners, along with many other westerners were hired by a Ukrainian natural gas company to help them stop corruption in their management and usher in standardized business practices. He was paid $50,000 a month. Investigators have shown he did nothing illegal. It’s another Trump smear campaign like the six million fake, anti-Clinton Facebook messages Trump, WikiLeaks, Russia, and Cambridge Analytica used to cheat in the last election.
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2019-09-25/here-s-what-we-know-about-joe-and-hunter-biden-in-ukraine
One more thing….It appears the GOP could have leaked this just to get the impeachment process started and to make sure the Democratic opposition WOULD become back page new’s. It’s a possibility because, just like Russiagate, it appears to me that it can only help Trump.
Just saying….would Hunter have been hired without his dad being VP? And, yes there are claims of enrichment of the Biden’s because of Joe Biden’s position whether they are claimed to be illegal or not. I’m not a fan…..OK.
Anyway, the point I began to make was that I think this impeachment isn’t going to do the Democrats any good and might just get Trump re-elected.
Elizabeth Warren 2020!! We would get our arse’s bloodied badly with a no win war with Iran so it looks like China will win the trade war and the farmers will develop amnesia to give him the farm belt. This time it will not be enough. Warren 2020!
Clyde. That’s what Washington is. People who know other powerful people getting jobs because they have the ear and access to those people. Hunter Biden is one of hundreds of thousands of consultants in Washington who break no laws but work within the system. The system may be corrupt but it’s not corrupt because Hunter Biden was hired to help a Ukranian gas company get rid of corrupt executives.
Your opinion dovetails with many Trump supporters opinion. That may be hopeful thinking but Trump’s been nailed dead to rights. He withheld money from Ukraine and asked for help in his Presidential campaign against Joe Biden. That’s impeachable and must legally be investigated.
Porter, I’m afraid you are right! That IS what Washington has become and exactly the root of nearly all of the problems.
I watched a new bead of flop sweat appear of Rudy’s bald head with every lie and conspiracy theory he spouted on Stephanopolis this morning. It provided a bit of levity in an otherwise riveting example of complete evil. One gets the idea that Rudy would have been at home defending Hitler. He never answers a question, but makes debunked charges after looney tunes conspiracy theories in such rapid form that poor Stephanoplis was shell shocked. Stephanopolis is not the best interviewer. He let Rudy run on like a rabid dog, but he allowed Rudy to make the point that the guy is unhinged. Rudy pulled out “affidavits” that he said proved his points. Ha. That and and a good enema have the same value. Rudy went on to implicate more people in the Trump impeachment probe. One thing a good lawyer should know is that when you are on your way to prison, you ought not make it worse for yourself. Rudy is NOT a good lawyer.
CLyde’s remarks: “Regardless, Debbo, Joe Biden and his son made an inordinate amount of money out of Ukraine. Influence peddling at the very least and the Clinton model of pay for play as well” make this specific scandal even better for Trump impeachment!
1) The Democrats get to keep their heads down and ignore this “whataboutism”a defense that does not say that what the President did is right in the Ukraine.
2) The press and there rest of us armchair-pundits get to point out the abject hypocrisy of the Trump administration speaking out about children profiting off their parent in the White House. Jared and Ivanka have lined their pockets from the “advisory” roles they hold in Daddy’s administration. It also opens up emoliments issues for the President himself.
Hunter Biden was hired 2 years after the investigation into gas company corruption. He was never part of the investigation and was found to have broken no laws because he wasn’t involved.
It also bears mentioning that the whole impeachment discussion in terms of polling and national “favor” or “disapproval” exists without the context of the case being laid out and the evidence being shown to the public (through hearings and investigations). Again, the Democrats better have learned their lesson from the Muller report: evidence has to be put in context and spoon fed to the public. Keep the evidence clear and focused, and those poll numbers will change. Speak to the patriotism and nationalism that Trump supporters hold dear to demonstrate not only the crime but also the betrayal this President has committed on the American people.
As for Screwdy Rudy, I have yet to hear the definitive answer whether he has security clearance and whether he is registered as a foreign agent. He has been called on the foreign agent question numerous times.
o brings up the issue of how popular the impeachment of Don Trump is and what impacts that will have in the Presidential election. Doris Kearns Goodwin (Presidential biographer and long time Washington observer) noted this morning on Meet The Press that during the Nixon impeachment the country and the opinion of the process was just as divided as it is now. It wasn’t until after it was over that a consensus was reached among American people that, “He was guilty and impeachment had to be done for the sake of American democracy.” That will repeat. It has to be done or precedent will be set for Presidential crime being ignored.
Porter is correct about the public opinion regarding Nixon and Republicans defending him. That was true among the DC crowd, especially, but the good grassroots Republicans were changing gradually through the impeachment inquiry.
My mother, a staunch Republican, had a different view. She worked for the Republican Party in Minnehaha County and had to deal with the Committee to Re-elect the President during the 1972 campaign. She was under no illusion about those folks. She said the ones she dealt with were just awful, arrogant people. She had no difficulty believing Nixon was a crook, too, given the people he hired to run his campaign.
Democrats need to take the political offensive and throw some shame around now as well: if you are saying that the President is innocent or this is just a political ploy BEFORE you have seen the evidence or that case has been lain out — SHAME on you!!!
Strong points to the House Democratic Sunday talking heads holding the line on political disruption of impeachment: I heard lots of: the House HAS been doing the work to the nation – bipartisan agreements, but Mitch McConnell is sitting on them — HE is killing bipartisan work in DC — that has nothing to do with impeachment. I watched several FOX hosts stammer, crash, and burn when that line was closed off on them.
Public opinion polls are showing that the mood is moving toward impeachment. There is a slight lead now in favor of it. The bigger point is that there’s been steady progress from No to Yes on impeaching the traitorous Liar-in-Chief.
Clyde, Liar-in-Chief admits he solicited election interference from Ukraine. Do you trust that source? Are you okay with a foreign country playing what could be a critical role in our election?
RussiaGate can only help Drumpf if everyone suspends reality and believes Drumpf and his campaign members did not meet over a hundred times with Russian agents and Russia did not interfere with the election in any way.
How many different lies did Drumpf tell just about Russiagate?
Geeez, Debbo, where did I say that I didn’t believe Trump’s admission of solicitation of political favors? I have nooo love or respect of Trump.
Still saying that this isn’t going to do Biden or the Democratic party any good and impeachment proceedings should have been started a long time ago. Even if they had no substance they could have at least pointed out his disregard for anything lawful or decent. They wouldn’t have gone anywhere but this isn’t likely to either.
Remember….you can’t prosecute a sitting president!
Clyde: Remember….you can’t prosecute a sitting president!
That is only a DOJ procedural position. That is not a Constitutional or even policy requirement. It took this President to put that directive to the test. The current President has taken that to mean that by definition ANYTHING he does is above the law. It does not mean that the President has criminal immunity for all his actions while in office. As even Muller points out, that is there because the responsibility to prosecute a President resides with the House and Senate – not the court system (while he sits in office). Statutes of limitation are rolling, waiting for this term to end.
Once the office of the President is not there to protect him, I think we will see the level of respect and loyalty he has shown others repaid back to him in full. This President will not avoid his criminal fate.
Jeez Clyde, I didn’t accuse you of anything. I asked.
Some state they are okay with other nations interfering in our politics. Hence my question. If I’m going to accuse you of something, I’ll be crystal clear.
Republicans held the House & Senate the last two years when the Bidens supposedly broke the law.
Does anyone believe they would have let this slide?
$50,000.00 a month is chump change…even here in South Dakota. Many many farmers make a helluva lot more than $600,000.00 a year. Listen to them sometime, they will tell you that last year they lost a lot more than $600.000.00 on soybeans alone, and they still are loyal to Chubby. Biden’s kid was not cutting a fat hog that’s for sure. But ya gotta admit, $50,000.00 a month sure sounds important, until you do the arithmetic. Rounds makes that standing on his head with his insurance business times many.
Here is a clear sign of saber rattling from panic: This “Presidential” re-tweet –
….If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal.” Pastor Robert Jeffress, @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2019
o’s observations that: (1) “Statutes of limitation are rolling, waiting for this term to end;” and, that (2) “you can’t prosecute a sitting president! That is only a DOJ procedural position. That is not a Constitutional or even policy requirement;” each are worth considering in a bit more depth.
Starting with the second idea, Any implication that the priniciple that “you can’t prosecute a sitting president,” may be a only recent DOJ politically inspired but unsound legal theory seems overly simplistic and hopeful. It appears that the described policy is not, in fact, merely a recent DOJ procedural position,” but is, instead a longstanding position in American constitutional jursiprudence around since at least 1833.
https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1897&context=fss_papers
If this principle holds up, the hope that Trump could be prosecuted after he leaves office, especially if he manages a second term or refuses to leave office despite losing in 2020, is questionable for a couple reasons. o’s suggestion that the idea that the statute of limitations (SL) is running may is correct. While it might seem that if presidental immunity bars prosecution while the President is in office, the SL would be tolled during that time. Equitable tolling of the SL in criminal cases,however, is done only in very rare circumstances that don’t seem to exist in Trump’s case.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/equitable-tolling-and-prosecution-president
It would seem that where we are dealing with the constitutional protection of a President, along with no statutory tolling of the SL, the argument against tolling of the SL could well be a viable defense to post-term prosecution.
In additon to this legal roadblock, if the President is ultimately impeached but then acquitted by Republican Senate majority, it would appear that the double jeopardy clause limitation that “nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb” might also bar any further prosecution of Trump for all crimes that were charged or could have been charged by the House of Representatives. While there are some arguments published online disputing such a notion, I have not found a case indicating the SCOTUS has addressed such a defense. If Kavanaugh and Gorsuch are “loyal” enough to blindly protect Trump and are abvle to convince the other three conservatives (or two if, God forbid, The Notorious R.B.G. dies while Trump is still in office) to go along with protecting Trump, then he may well escape accountability for his known criminal behavior.
Bear, does the double jeopardy fear motivate Pelosi to keep the powder dry? If putting the President in handcuffs is the ultimate goal (the fair conclusion of the rule of law), then wasting that single opportunity to convict in a partisan Senate seems far weaker than a convicting a private citizen in a court of law.
I know that double jeopardy is sometimes set aside to achieve Federal prosecution when the State does not get a conviction — especially in civil rights cases. So I may lean that jeopardy is limited to jurisdictions.
Bear:
After a bit more reading, I still hold that the DOJ memo against indictment of a sitting President is a more recent formalized structure. Certainly a Constitutional argument can be made (as did your Yale Law students), but as much has the specific DOJ internal memo has been referenced, even by Muller himself, as the specific obstacle to external (from the Hose and Senate impeachment process) indictment and prosecution, it still seems more of a recent (Nixon’s Presidency – 1973 and affirmed in 2000) formalized protection. If the framers had wanted an explicit immunity for the President, they certainly could have included one; they did not. I believe that absent the DOJ memo, Muller indicts Trump.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-indictment-explainer/can-a-sitting-us-president-face-criminal-charges-idUSKCN1QF1D3
Whether it be DOJ memo or deeper Constitutional guarantee, both fall apart in the context of partisan acts trumping the rule of law. The Constitution (including the Impeachment process) assumes the houses of Congress acting under the rule of law – McConnell is not in that vein of elected officials.
o, I don’t really know Pelosi’s motivation although I would suspect if may be more political (that impeachment might turn swing voters against Democrats in certain districts) than worrying about being able to hold Trump accountable after he leaves office.
Given the SCOTUS recent Gamble
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/17-646_d18e.pdf
decision, however, double jeopardy would not prohibit New York nor any other state from prosecuting Trump for state crimes. And Gamble implicitly raises the issue whether the principle that a President cannot be indicted while in office limits only the federal government but not a State from indicting and prosecuting a sitting President under the “dual-sovereignty doctrine.”
o, your link provides thought provoking analysis, and correctly points out that there has not been a SCOTUS ruling on this idea. And given the SCOTUS’s ruling in Heller that disregarded long standing historical positions about the meaning of the 2nd Amendment, it certainly would be a possibility that the current SCOTUS could do the same with Presidential immunity issues.
The main problem I see, however, is basd on the politicalization of the Court. In Heller conservative ideology (apparently formed in large part by NRA money) strongly encouraged the Scalia conservative majority’s somewhat arbitrary rejection of historical analysis, while here it is unclear whether conservative ideology, if such a concept even exists anymore, would induce today’s Trump influenced conservative SCOTUS to reject the historical position of highly respected scholar and SCOTUS Justice Joseph Story, especially when that old theory works to protect Trump.
If there was an actual reason to impeach him, I’d say go for it.
But to try to impeach him for up-ending the deep state’s forward operating base in Ukraine is not a good reason.
Trump, when it comes to Biden’s son and the nefarious activities of the Clinton (aka Bush Sr.) State Department, IS THE WHISTLEBLOWER!
What’s why we elected the ol’ orange warrior!
Well Debbo say’s I misread her intent and I think my tongue in cheek statement about not prosecuting a sitting president was taken other than how I intended it. It was supposed to raise a hearty laugh!
John Dale, then with your blessing, “go for it” the House shall!
o – in the words of Admiral Ackbar, “it’s a trap!”
Like I said, full steam ahead, anti-patriots!
Donald “The George” Trump would like to be passing USMCA, but Brennan wants his little war.
Well, he’s got one.
Do RICO statutes apply to the Republican Party helping this President in his criminal enterprise? I am thinking of the next step for the Government’s handling of this “mob boss.”
Debbo, I do not think it OK that other governments interfere in our elections but lets get real here. It is happening all over the world with us, read that US, being one of the biggest interferer’s. What’s your opinion of what we are doing to Venezuela?? How about what we have done in central America? How about when we put the Shah of Iran in power? The list goes on and on yet we are suddenly really indignant that it appears another country might have pulled it on us.
Mr. Dale, Admiral Ackbar won that battle, and the Emperor was destroyed – destroyed from within as I remember. Maybe a lesson on loyalty that will be repeated (for this is a President who does not learn from history). We disagree on what is a patriot: I say it is one who respects the rule of law and believes no-one – not even a bellicose President – is above that law. Donald Trump should be passing many, MANY House approved pieces of legislation — minimum wage increases, health care improvements, election security . . . — but “Grim Reaper” McConnell has all that wasting away in the Senate.
And at the end, after all your GOP talking point distractions, were are still here considering the impeachment of a President who attempted to extort a foreign nation for personal, political gain over his rival; then tried to cover it up.
o – that reminds me of a fantastic book I read a couple of years ago by Jay Dobbins. It’s called “No Angel”, and it’s about a former University of Arizona Football player who is the only DEA agent to successfully infiltrate the Hells Angels. In the book, he tells a CRAZY story, and RICO is brought-up a lot.
But, ppplying RICO to Trump for blowing the whistle on Hunter Biden?
If Trump survives and gets re-elected, he’s going to go completely skull-shark on the Democratic party.
This self preservation of the deep state is insane and totally un-winnable since the movement is not about Trump.
MR. Dale, I’m afraid my reading of the Hell’s Angels is limited to Hunter S. Thompson.
We agree that an exonerated and re-elected President Trump will be a scourge. I think your belief that will be limited to the Democrat party is grossly underestimating the man: he will go full-on Caligula!
It’s been noted that the United States interferes with other countries elections, true that. It should also be noted that practice is against the law in those country’s as it is in our’s. Solution, stop doing it world wide and let the people decide. However, if you’re caught, you should be punished to the full extent of the law you broke.
Democrats are missing a huge opportunity in Venezuela by not having a dialogue. We cannot seem to get our heads around what we need to do…as Democrats.
From National Memo about Faux Noize Judge Andrew Napolitano:
“Was Trump offering to bribe the Ukrainian president? The circumstantial evidence is: Yes. The transcript of Trump’s critical conversation with the Ukrainian president shows he asked his counterpart to coordinate with American authorities to prosecute the son of his likely political opponent in 2020. That is the solicitation of something of value from a foreign government — a felony.”
is.gd/ZanO2p
Trump was not offering a bribe to the Ukrainian president.
Debbo – he was looking into this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCF9My1vBP4
Some are saying Trump can’t do this because Biden is a candidate for President, but Biden’s son was not qualified for the position he held in a Ukrainian energy production business.
Taking down Brennan leave-behinds in Ukraine is though to be the lynch pin behind a trove of damning evidence leading to global banking interests capable of controlling our congress from a distance (case in point, the third impeachment attempt of Trump in as many years).
The DNC, like Admiral Ackbar, wins if it recognizes that this is a civil war trap.
The country doesn’t want to go through impeachment .. you are correct that there will be both neoliberal and neoconservative elements destroyed by Trump’s skull sharkery.
“exonerated and re-elected President Trump will be a scourge”
The deep state is a scourge. Did you see the kind of skullduggery executed by Schiff? Did you agree with that tactic?
Dems, beware the barrage of lies and obfuscations thrown at you by Drumpf and Drumpf sycophants. The flak will be heavy and relentless from now until who laid the rail. There are some here that engage in the scurrilous bombardment of these posts with stuff to see what sticks. Be strong and vigilant and we will win in the end.
Let me say, for the record, if Drumpf is exonerated by wingnuts the process, like Drumpf’s ascension to the czardumb in the kremlin annex is rigged.
The thick plottens…..https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/attorney-general-barr-personally-asked-foreign-officials-to-aid-inquiry-into-cia-fbi-activities-in-2016/2019/09/30/d50cd5c4-e3a5-11e9-b403-f738899982d2_story.html
Helpful little hardware man, wasn’t he?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/us/politics/trump-australia-barr-mueller.html
Trump Pressed Australian Leader to Help Barr Investigate Mueller Inquiry’s Origins
Paywall involved.
Does this guy get frequent flyer/liar miles or what?
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/09/ag-barr-sought-help-from-united-kingdom-in-his-investigation-into-the-cia-and-fbi-report/
Australia and Italy, too.
Trump has a nose. IMPEACH HIM!
Trump is doing his job. IMPEACH HIM!
Trump is fighting corruption and keeping campaign promises. IMPEACH HIM!
“[When you take on the deep state, they have seven ways from Sunday to get back at you.]” — Chuck Schumer
“Game on!” — Wayne and Garth
Nobody wants the corruption of this establishment, but few want to do something about it.
Trump is fighting corruption and keeping campaign promises.
Two Drumpf-sized lies in one short sentence. Alternative facts make you a nut.
Did those “DEEP STATE” assassins get Kurt Evans, too? Or, did some poor woman take pity on him?
Good links Mike. Evidence keeps piling up against him and his addle-brained band of idiots.
Treasonous Tot doesn’t really make a good criminal. He’s too clumsy and awkward at it and easily caught. That, and surrounding himself with dolts like Jue-Lee-ahh-kne is sinking his tiny tugboat.
Can’t make this stuff up….. even the rats are abandoning Drumpf as Karma bites Drumpf’s orange derriere hard. Hillary-ously funny.l
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/baltimore-residents-hilariously-mock-trump-after-rodent-falls-out-of-the-ceiling-at-his-infested-white-house/
It is hilarious! Rotten Rodent’s relatives are coming to visit. One just took a wrong turn because we know they’re all afraid of answering questions from the media.
That is genuinely funny, Debbo. Thanks for the cheer on such a dreary miserable drizzly day.
Within the past 72 hours, Donnie DarkHeart has …
– Called three times for arresting a House Democratic chair
– Demanded to meet a whistleblower
– Attacked his own watchdogs
– Repeatedly defended as “perfect” the Ukraine call where he pushed for election interference from a foreign government – Axios
~ Trumpie’s very first time in politics he cheated to beat Hillary. As is usual with criminals, if not stopped early their crimes escalate. He now blatantly cheated in an election that hasn’t even been fully defined, yet. American democracy demands Trump be removed.
Just listened to a pod cast by Thom Hartman and have a new respect for the Biden’s. Still not a fan but I have new respect. The coverage covered some of the GOP’s dirty tricks back to Nixon that Thom covered in his book on the supreme court.
Sen. Ron Wyden Exposes Secret NRA Connection To Russia!
Note repubs shut down FEC investigation involving Butina and Russian funding election resistance thru NRA. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gMGZdTjl1mQ&list=PLDIVi-vBsOEyETRGoRP9y8zhyu6bHl6iK&index=2&t=0s
Watch here https://youtu.be/FLw1kdBo1W0I
You know where i stand: impeach the mthrfkr now. ThommHartmansums up the cost of trumps machinations in a tweet link.
Good link, Leslie. Traitor Tot has indeed surrounded himself with “the best people.” They’re best for Pootie and best for Traitor Tot. They’re dim bulbs who haven’t figured out that Traitor Tot will throw them under the bus in a nanosecond per his whim.
Yes Debbo you were on top of this out of the gate. Atlantic or someone has an article about the viability of the constitution. The archaic 25th amend treason and the high crimes and misdemeanors impeachment solutions are being illegitimately skirted by Republicans.
The Federal criminal and civil process of the Justice system is polluted with political malfeasance from the top (Barr), McConnell’s Gorsuch, the justice /harasser Thomas now paired with sex bad boy Kavanaugh and God forbid RBG’s Conservative replacement waiting in the Federalist Society wings (another infamous think tank scheming for decades on billionaire money). Of course the GOP has for decades been turning states, local prosecutors and politicians into a red majority. This cold longterm Republican calculation and 11 years now of solid obstruction has brought us to Trump’s knees. That he could win (electoral college—wise) makes it incumbent on us now to clean house, repair the damage and creatively, sustainably act on 1) climate, and 2) income inequality which embraces ALL OTHER 2020 ELECTION ISSUES.
Bernie, God bless, and Liz, Kamala, and Joe, and every other Democratic candidate of good conscience and qualification, MUST melt thru the fat bologna the Republicans will desperately throw out to manipulated voters by the free press endangering Faux, Murdoch, Limbaugh, Mercer ect conspiracy promoters.
A bit wordy trying to remember yesterdays lost post.
That’s a good summation Leslie, especially your longest paragraph. Well done.
Not only has Tempestuous Toddler openly flaunted the law by asking Russia (2016) and China to get him some dirt on opponents, he tried to bribe Xi.
“Trump also told Xi he would remain quiet on Hong Kong protests as trade talks progressed.”
amp.cnn.com
He’d sell out the pro democracy protesters to get what he wants. Of course. Who wouldn’t Morals-free Moron sell out? Well, other than Ivanka, and we know what he wants to do with his daughter. Eeuuwwww.
A new Washington Post-Schar School poll shows Americans support the House impeachment inquiry, by a 58-38 percent margin, and 49 percent say the House should impeach Trump and call for his removal, compared to just 6 percent who back the inquiry but do not want to see the president removed from office.
Y E S S S S S S ! ! ! ! !
Thanks Mike. Makes me feel more hopeful. 😊 I think a lot of Americans are fighting for hope while we’ve got Treasonous Traitor and his GOP enablers in DC.
Fox News reports polling that 51% support President Trump’s impeachment AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE.
This will be the tipping point. Now that this has become the majority opinion, more people will be open to listen to the facts and less dismissive of it as only partisan hackery. Even under the assaults of this President, the truth seems to be finding its way out, and that truth is not on the President’s side.
o – Fox News hired Brazil, who gave the debate questions to Hillary. Fox News is definitely compromised if true (it’s true).
There is no shame in the MSM, and most polls that are 50/50 seem to end-up that way by design.
It’s a common tactic in the wireless industry, too, for instance, to fund opposition research, strong arm it until there is debatable balance to the research findings even when there is a clear result like “wireless radiation causes cancer”.
I think that an army of Southern Poverty Law center and adjuncts are making sure to participate in the Fox poll when they normally would not.
So, you end-up with Fox News polls, which expect more conservative participation, with unexpectedly more liberal participation.
It is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophesy and a classic deep-state, intel “confidence game”.
I had little faith in polling before 2016. But when Trump won with polls picking Hillary by 800+ points, I have absolutely no faith in polling now.
The real indicators, it would seem are two fold. First, you have to look at the rally attendance. Trump’s rallies are off the hook and packed because people want a corruption fighter. Also, the betters.
Betters are saying that Trump will be impeached by ~60/40. This is why Trump may use the Marines to apprehend, tribunal, and shoot people like Pelosi, Schumer, Biden, and Obama – all of whom have made a lot of money after taking office (especially Pelosi’s husband). I think maybe add Schiff to that list.
That’s where we are in American politics. This type of thing is not unprecedented. It’s sad, but interesting.
In other news, we had waffles for brunch. 100% of our crew loved it.
The idea that “Trump’s rallies are off the hook and packed because people want a corruption fighter,” seems a bit naive. I would suspect the majority of his rally fans are pro-wrestling and circus/carnival fans who attend for the show rather than any strong political views.
https://www.thewrap.com/are-donald-trump-supporters-more-likely-to-enjoy-violent-sports/
This just in. Marines declare Dale to be a nutter. Marines also declare that they can rescind an order to protect the Constitution. Noted today. Two Ruskies arrested with ties to Ghouliany and the impeachment inquiry.
“Ghouliany.” That’s a good one Jerry, and fitting.
Yes indeed O, when Lying Lunatic loses his Faux Fiends he’s in deep trouble. Bwahahahahaha!!!
“prosecutors [from Manhattan” say..”
Also, according to WSJ the were from Ukraine.
But, never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Got your 5G, yet?
If Trump gets 5G installed on our side of the border, he’ll lose my support.
But then, perhaps my ramblings about 5G mind control are true, an the 5G that was installed in the WH is affecting Trump’s candor.
I think there will be plenty more juicy and dramatic things happening in DC to distract from what is important.
For instance, Spearfish, a small city of about 9k people, just transferred over a million dollars to fund its departments. It was part of planned budgeting. But in a country the population of The US, this transfer might be thought to represent .0023% of the population.
Maybe we ought to all be paying more attention to 5G, how our municipalities are integrated with the deep state, federal government, and how the money gets spent.
Or, we could keep talking about Trump’s mammoth balls. Next step is for him to drop classified documentation that swings the pendulum the other way.
The way humanity does its business – as described here – has to change.
One Ukrainian and one Belaroossian. Both sidekicks of Screwdy Rudy and Johnny Fraud. Guilty as charged.
Anybody ignorant enough to believe anything Drumpf says is institution bait and should be locked up and away from polite society.
Or as Gryphen at Immoral Majority says, they have cerebral groin pull.
Screwdy Rudy’s buds were arrested trying to leave the US with one way tickets. Arrested for campaign violations. Where have we heard that, before?
“Both sidekicks of Screwdy Rudy and Johnny Fraud”
Are you saying I’m a Russian agent? It’s difficult to say sometimes.
In a public forum?
At some point, this approach will surpass a karma threshold.
“Anybody ignorant enough to believe anything Drumpf says”
The ease with which you tell untruths here would seem to imply you’re projecting.
A *ahem* little bit.
The guy who tried to knock off the Phillips 66 gas station here in Spearfish committed a more egregious crime, didn’t he?
As far as Trump goes .. these guys donated 1/125 of what Trump pulled in week before last, which is allowing President Trump to advertise on Maddow this week.
John Dale, you remind me of a rat which can’t comprehend its ship is sinking.
I have a certain amount of affection for you, since you believe (I guess) that people should be able to smoke weed if they want to, but your affinity to twitterpate45 is disconcerting.
On the other hand, you have initiated at least two cannabis campaigns without attempting to coordinate with people who know something.
When a donkey flies, I ask “How long?”
Kurt Evans is sitting on a stool in his kitchen, staring into a coffee cup. His laundry is fermenting in his washing machine, because he is too depressed to transfer it to the dryer. He’s hoping god will do it for him.
CIRD has a certain amount of affection for John Dale because in places where weed is illegal it brings people together against a common enemy. In places where weed is legal, that’s worthless. It was the gay, lesbian, black, Muslim, redneck, A-hole, haters who cast the deciding votes to legalize in CO and they’re still sickening to be around. The comraderie is gone but the reality of rejecting crappy people makes life better.
The ease with which you tell untruths here would seem to imply you’re projecting.
Which untruths would those be, know it awl.
Certain Inflatable Recreational Devices – “I have a certain amount of affection for you, since you believe (I guess) that people should be able to smoke weed if they want to, but your affinity to twitterpate45 is disconcerting.”
I’ve been hearing that for three years now.
If you want to be taken seriously, like an adult, sign your name.
Your behavior toward me leads me to believe my ideas are right over the target, taking lots of flack.
NO 5G.
Dismissed.
Another reason to HATE alleged kristian wingnuts…..
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/wisconsin-gop-withholds-accommodations-from-disabled-lawmaker-to-force-dems-to-strip-power-from-their-governor/
Porter Lansing – you’re welcome for reducing the echo in here.
My stances on Cannabis are clear, consistent, straightforward, and honest.
That’s what it takes to get the attention of the people in SD who matter.
FWIW, I have their attention.
You?
Do you even LIVE here?
mike from iowa – which untruths?
Let’s start with your veiled assertion that I’m a Russian operative.
:)
You know. In the same post where you call Trump a liar?
Aye yay yay .. #facepalm
I lived in Spearfish before you were born. 5G is good. Huawei is bad. There’s no cancer involved in the choice.
I love the endearing manner in which John Dale feels compelled to respond to EVERY comment that references his silliness.
Porter Lansing – “I lived in Spearfish before you were born”
liveD.
“D”
I Lived in Spearfish in 1980 before moving to Guantanamo Bay (on base). Somehow, I found my way back here after decades and I’m doing my best to stay.
Yet ..
I shoveled a Spearfish sidewalk today.
Why don’t you get involved in your local/state politics, move back, or stfu?
Certain Inflatable Recreational Devices – you should try this style.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_listening
When Soros’ operatives came to me this Spring, I wasn’t really interested. I thought it would be like selling my soul to the devil. I decided to just continue pushing my message, gaining mind share, and acting on my conscience.
MPP ended up having to go with their second choice ..
Trump is in MN tonight .. he just went wheels-up. It looks like there is a lot of support for him there. If you can stand his poor nonverbal skills, watch the rally. Trump usually lays-out exactly what he’ll do next. Then he’ll do it.
Completely unlike a politician.
CIRD, I’ve noticed that about Dale too. Apparently he suffers from an interesting variety of compulsions.
As you said, he MUST answer every comment that might even tangentially be about him. In addition, he MUST have the last word. He has creative excuses for those compulsive behaviors– while he continues to do them.
I’ve chosen to ignore the large majority of his comments because they’re just hero worshipping silliness. 🙄🙄🙄
Ukraine’s parliamentarian Andriy Derkach, who is heading a criminal case on interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, revealed on Wednesday that former Vice President Joe Biden was funneled $900,000 for “lobbying activities,” by Burisma Group, where his son Hunter Biden has sat on the board of directors since 2014.
Impeachment is profitable for both sides .. don’t even really have to produce a product.
Is Old Sarge back? I’m fully involved with CO politics. Liberal state liberals adopt second states where politics stinks so bad it ruins everyone’s happiness. We liberals expand like that.
Debbo – I’m not sure what to think about the fact that so many of your posts are about me, other than what ER is supposed to have said.
Small minds discuss individuals.
Great minds discuss ideas.
Porter Lansing – think of how much more involved with CO politics you could be if you redirected your DFP energy locally!
“Liberal state liberals adopt second states” — I think SD will be just fine without your saviorship. BTW, don’t take this too personally. I don’t think you’re a bad person as much as your consciousness has somehow been infiltrated by a lot of strange and backward ideologies.
Honestly, compared to mike from iowa, you’re a real gem and important contribution to the forum.
:D
Not a single mainstream media outlet is covering right wing conspiracy theorists claim Biden was paid 900k, which means it is a fabrication and attempt to smear another Democrat.
And of course Alex Jones junior is all over it like white on bread. Come on, JF, tell me all about HRC’s emails some more.
Ukraine’s parliamentarian Andriy Derkach, who is heading a criminal case on interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, revealed on Wednesday that former Vice President Joe Biden was funneled $900,000 for “lobbying activities,” by Burisma Group,
Screwdy rudy says JF’s source is alleged to have papers saying what he claims they say. Fake news. False flag. Made up garbage. About what you should expect from desperate despicable deplorable drumpfbots.
mike from iowa – you’re a hoser. :)
This is quote from a Ukrainian MP. It says what it says. Who cares if the MSM covers it? Really? You are an intel cutout.
Debbo – close your eyes. Do not read this.
“This was the transfer of Burisma Group’s funds for lobbying activities, as investigators believe, personally to Joe Biden through a lobbying company. Funds in the amount of $900,000 were transferred to the U.S.-based company Rosemont Seneca Partners, which according to open sources, in particular, the New York Times, is affiliated with Biden. The payment reference was payment for consultative services,” Derkach said.
mike from iowa,
Th Blaze is a conservative rag founded by Glen Beck and other rightwing conspirators. Need I say more?
https://www.google.com/search?q=biden+and+china+fact+check&oq=biden+and+china+fact+check&aqs=chrome..69i57.17058j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Here is the truth about the lies Drumpf , Screwdy Rudy and Alex Jones Redux spread about Seneca Rosemont and Biden.
I am through with you, junior. Everyone else have a great evening.
Hate to have to remind your sorry arse, but the MSM doesn’t go around making stuff up like your favorites do. But, then you aren’t interested in truth as truth is spoken among men. You just prefer to prattle on and get paid for each character you spew on someone else’s site.
mike from iowa – “Glenn Beck is a Judas Goat” — Alex Jones
DONALD TRUMP, more than any modern-day president, has employed racially charged rhetoric. In today’s Trump #FalseVictimHood cry baby whine, he compares himself to a black American during Jim Crow. All I can say is, “Where’s the tree? I don’t see strange fruit. How long will Republicans continue to stand up for a president who keeps making highly questionable decisions?
THIS MORNING, at 7:52 a.m., TRUMP tweeted this: “So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching.” – POLITICO
I know Porter. I saw that and was reminded yet again, Rancid Racist knows no shame.
For the Trump administration, not being able to obstruct the process = “no due process.” I suppose if one comes from a background in business and politics where every wrong committed was derailed in process and cover-up and having your people interfere to get the result you want, a fair trial seems very “unfair.”
Desperately despicably, deplorably childish wingnuts have taken to barging into secure hearing rooms and holding up impeachment testimony.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/house-republicans-resort-to-physically-obstructing-justice-as-impeachment-inquiry-delivers-bombshells/
Wah, wah, wah widdle spoiled brats.
Like what they did in Florida to stop the vote recount in 2000. The GOP history of trying to subvert lawful processes is very long.
mike from iowa – the secret process only benefits your team at the moment, and you would be against it if this tactic were being used against your candidate/side.
Schiff should count himself LUCKY it isn’t the military barging into that room and removing him for tribunal.
GOP committee members are present at the hearings Every. Single. Time. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
“Tribunals.” Ohferpetessake. 🙄😖🙄
Debbo – this thing is a sham and you know it.
https://youtu.be/Fjn6hb6u9-c
“Adam Schiff’s bunker.”
Dale knows Shams!
Dale, you’ve taught me well not to take anything you say seriously. I paid attention and I learned. Thank you. 😄
Debbo – notice how I talk about issues or ideas, and try my best not to attack individuals .. it doesn’t always work, but I have a pretty good success rate.
This process is a sham. 50 Republicans just bounced Schiff from his own meeting, where he had gathered a fiefdom of shills befitting a USSR process.
The secrecy around this proceeding is pathetic.
It won’t work ..
Merry Christmas!
Just a couple of observations:
Remember during the 2016 campaign when Trump said he could shoot somebody on 5th Ave. and get away with it? Well, he wants to shoot someone again.
“Phony Emolument Clause”, this is how Trump refers to the Constitution that he has sworn to protect.
“Human scum”. This is how he has referred to members of the Republican that question or oppose him. You’d think a guy like Trump would have read ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’.
I do notice the goofiness of your comments, Dale. Yes, I do.
Adam Schiff is the new Ken Starr. Didn’t matter how maligned Starr became, Clinton still got impeached. Schiff loves it. Bring it on.
FOX News and CNN have both reported there were two dozen congressmen that stormed the committee room, not 50.
Adam Schiff was not bounced from the room, the hearing was delayed for 5 hours.
It was clear that Trump was behind this childish behavior and may have even planned it.
Those America loving wingnuts violated protocol by having electronic devices in a secured room. That is a big no no. These wingnuts discussed this with Drumpf so he knew all about it in advance. Drumpf is sitting up on his hind legs begging to get impeached for various and sundry crimes far worse than WJC was ever charged with.
The secrecy around the process is necessary as drumpf would be tweeting about the findings every day. Devin Numbnuts staffer has been walking info from hearings to drumpf just as Numbnuts himself did. All these wingnuts must go and be removed from the halls of power. They flaunt the rules of law and the constitution with impunity.
Schiff loves taking naps:
https://youtu.be/1PORzc4wIXk
“Back Room Due Process” – give me a break.
If you have to do it in secret, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
You know this is horse isht and so do I, and so do the best and most discerning hard working people in the US.
What is horse isht is Johnny Fraud applauding continuous wingnut efforts to obstruct justice in a serious investigation. These thugs have breached national security and should all be booted from congress immediately. They make America look like a joke all around the world.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/467160-former-nunes-staffer-fueled-trumps-ukrainian-corruption-claims
Numbnuts fed Drumpf info directly from House select committee on Russia investigation that Numbnuts chaired. Now his former aid is the one feeding drumpf twitter drivel. Dems are smart to hold secret hearings when wingnuts leak like sieves to the garbage in the kremlin annex, Johnny Fraud’s hope to be bestest bud, drumpf.
The hearings were to be held in the electronically secure room especially built and maintained for this purpose, and it’s not the first time closed hearings have been held in this room. It was built and has been used by both parties and there is nothing partisan about initial hearings being closed. The only thing that’s new is the Republican party choosing to follow their president in establishing new and perilous norms for law- and rule-breaking in order to save his skanky behind and their own dishonorable jobs.
Republicans sign a condemnation of Dems impeachment process. Ha!
“Democrats have been intent on taking down this president since day one.” – Mike Rounds
You got that right, Senator. Trump’s a liar, a cheat, and an ongoing crime in progress.
“The president deserves the same rights as every American when faced with a charge or allegation.” -Mike Round
Senator Rounds – Name me the accused who gets to have a Grand Jury that’s not behind closed doors and has the accused legal team present to ask questions. Nor does the accused at a Grand Jury get the ability to confront his accusers, call witnesses on his behalf, and have a basic understanding of the accusations against him that would form any basis for indictment.
~ Hey, Republican condemnation resolution signers. Do you even know what you’re doing? We do. Trump has no chance and you’re trying to attack the process. Tough toenails!
Democrats are following the process the GOP created, just as it is written.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/10/how-a-veteran-reporter-worked-with-giulianis-associates-to-launch-trumps-favorite-ukraine-conspiracy-theory/
Wingnuts have been pushing John Solomon as a reputable source of anti-Dem drivel. He was an opinion writer for the Hill and now has a gig at….dare I say it……Fake Noize.