Within Treason: Sooner or Later (The Impeachment Inquiry, Part 1) 

Link to previous thread (previously the Mueller thread) for reference:

Thought we could use a little change. Hope it's okay with everyone.

We do need a new thread for this, thanks.

Trump about Pelosi: "She's no longer the Speaker of the House." Right, whatever.

You know, certain Dems who don't want Biden on the ticket loves this, it's killing 2 birds with one stone.

I'm voting for someone who can beat trump.

Thanks, OP! Brilliant work as usual!

Some wingnut today claimed that Trump asking the Ukraine prez to investigate Biden & son is exactly the same as Obama telling Putin he'd have more flexibility to negotiate after his reelection.

I'm pretty fluent in right-wing insanity but I can't make heads nor tails of that.

How does this hurt Biden, r5? The impeachment inquiry will clarify that Trump's efforts to smear him using Guiliani and Zelensky to do it is nnot only bullshit it's illegal bullshit.

[quote]The impeachment inquiry will clarify that Trump's efforts to smear him using Guiliani and Zelensky to do it is not only bullshit it's illegal bullshit.

Countless Benghazi and email investigations clarified that Hillary wasn't at fault in either case. Nonetheless, tens of millions of Americans, including many swing voters, fell for the Repugs' endless "Hillary-corruption" mantra.

so the repub message is still to back Trump

from Congress to most of the Fox hosts and commentators

they're trying to convince the public that it's the radical left "Democrat Party" that is unreasonably trying to impeach about "a phone call"

just pathetic. There really is no bottom with the repubs

I rather like the change to impeachment inquiry . Impeachment Inquiry... sounds all serious and shit . I like it :) .

I will remember fondly the Mueller Threads. They gave me many smiles. Now that The Dotard is under inquisition I want to drink my best wine and go out for a nice steak dinner. I think I will .

Tell me friends, which Republicans in the House might join the Dems in impeachment ? I saw that Stewart guy from Illinois on Wolf Blitzer and couldn't believe my ears. Stewart kept tried to pull a Biden did it too ! He used his influence for a business deal! See that's treason too ! Even Wolf (who tends to not be highly combative) had to keep reminding him one is a sitting president and one is a former VP + you're talking about his son ( who was not a politician of any kind) . It was like watching a dog chase his tail at a point.

I wonder why none of the retiring Rethugs won't vote for impeachment. I mean... you have nothing to lose (unless you want to be a lobbyist) .

[quote]There really is no bottom with the repubs

Excuse me?

Miss Lindsey is not a member of the House.

She's been trolling Pelosi all day.

Miss Lindsey's been raging on Twitter all day and bitching before the cameras.

Acting director of national intelligence threatened to resign if he couldn’t speak freely before Congress

Joseph Maguire threatened to resign over concerns that the White House might attempt to force him to stonewall Congress when he testifies Thursday about an explosive whistleblower complaint about the president, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

WaPo: The Acting DNI threatened to resign if he can't speak freely before Congress on Thursday

The Hill:

Pelosi: White House memo confirms 'the need for an impeachment inquiry'

Some shit going down with the acting DNI threatening to quit. And Rudy claiming to be some kind of State Dept. emissary to Ukraine (what does Pompeo have to say about this?) AND Trump telling Ukraine to work with AG Barr on this “Biden investigation”?. I’m getting Watergate teas with all this.

So Maguire may grow a pair after all. We'll see...

[quote]Acting director of national intelligence threatened to resign if he couldn’t speak freely before Congress

WH, unsurprisingly, denies this.

Trump and Giuliani are both coming unspooled right in front of us.

I'm a little surprised that Trump's advisors haven't managed to persuade him to shut down Giuliani. This isn't the first time that Rudy's big mouth has gotten both himself and Trump into big trouble. I know that Trump likes belligerent spokespeople but Rudy has now openly admitted to being a part of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and he's been so completely unhinged that Republicans have to be cringing every time they see him on one of these shows.

Pence, Pompeo and Giuliani all need to be subpoenaed to testify before Congress. If they invoke exec privilege they'll just look more guilty. All of them should be in jail along with Trump

They'll all just not bother tho show up. They don't care about being guilty much less looking guilty.

"One Republican senator told me if it was a secret vote, 30 Republican senators would vote to impeach Trump."

– Mike Murphy, fmr. senior adviser to Mitt Romney and John McCain

Video below of La Senatrice back in 1999: “A president doesn’t even have to be convicted of a crime to be impeached. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office”

R23 Someone on MSNBC said Trump and Giuliani feed off each other. They exchange conspiracy theories and get each other all worked up about it, then go on TV to rant (Giuliani) or Twitter (Trump.)

R26 Cowards. It's disgusting that they won't do the right thing.

The way it seems to work is, "Give us the rationale. Give us the justification, the explanation, the talking points, the script." Once the GOP gets its "marching orders" they get out here and say what they're told to say, and it's even better if it is semi plausible...to them. There's safety in numbers. As long as they stick together they can keep convincing one another that what ever it is, is working. It reminds me of that old movie, The Poseidon Adventure, when the cruise ship is hit by a Tidal wave and it's upside down in the water and there are two groups of people. One group says the ship is upside down, so we need to go this way to get out, and the other group says "no, we have to go this way." The first group is right, of course and the rest all die. LOL!

Ooh, DNI is now denying he has ever considered quitting.

Per MSNBC, the count now stands at 216 Dems + 1 Independent = 217. ONE MORE TO GO!

R31 yeah but you can't go by what they say in public. As we're finding out, many repubs say 1 thing publicly for optics but their real (and usually more logical) thoughts in private

Love it, OP. Thank you. You’re a rock star.

Bitching Works! I was whining about hating coward Mueller being attached to these thread series! Voila! Here we are. You're Welcome!

R12.. you nailed it.. it's not just about holding their jobs now, but afterwards, the lobbying, the consulting, the radio show host and podcasts hosts, it's the paid opinion talking head on fox news and so on, that is their PRIMARY CONCERN! it's me, me, me, money, money, money!

the even more sickening thing is that most in congress have degrees, law degrees, and what not and COULD make legitimate honest money practicing law, having their own law firms, starting a businesss to help others or whatever after their no longer in office, but they don't give a crap about that! the law degree, the political office were all means to a end, not the end itself!... evil!..

well universities like Harvard need to stop fucking rewarding these people with jobs

I mean Lewandowski, Cohn and others should NEVER have been allowed there

and no one else associated with Trump's admin either

Lots of concern pieces out there, e.g, Frank Bruni in the Times today. The comments in response, from ordinary readers, pack a punch against cowardice.

What are Barr and DOJ and the others planning? What dirty tricks are in store?

R37.. harvard like other institutions of learning and institutions of anything have whored themselves out.. money, it's all about the money, show me the money, show me the connections, show me who you know and how they can help us, etc... it's always been this way, but now it's the proverbial " on steroids" level now....

How desperate are these mediocrities in the executive agencies that they'll subvert the law to keep their jobs. Fuck. They're making $200,000 and have a title, and they're terrified of being fired (e.g., head of DNI Magure). Pathetic.

R41, their NOT pathetic, their selfish, greedy, narcissistic whores... it's not just about the current office they hold, but what they can take take take and get get get afterwards...

half of them are like this and the other half want to be in congress or a political office for 50 years and reaping the free outstanding health insurance, the other benefits, the ass kissing and the attention and semblance of power

Trump sat there next to the president of Ukraine and said he should call up Putin and offer to work with him. Ukraine guy just sat there frozen with a deer in the headlights expression on his face.

Trump also ranted about Clinton’s server with the 30,000 missing emails being in Ukraine sitting there next to Ukraine’s president. He’s a fucking nutcase in PUBLIC.

Bill Barr's fat ass is in the middle of this.

Mindboggling:

[quote]Trump threw his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who’s led the charge on the slipshod accusations against Hunter Biden, under the bus. When asked why he thought it was appropriate to ask his personal attorney to conduct government business, Trump said “You have to ask Rudy.”

We have to ask *Rudy*? Really?

republican thinking "so he bought a knife and went to someone's home and stabbed them, but you know he didn't KILL the person and he NEVER SAID he was going to kill that person or wanted to kill that person, so it's ALL A "NOTHINGBURGER"!...

Now, will Rudy turn, or will Rudy act the obedient toady?

Barr needs locked away.

R45, didn’t he say the same thing about Michael Cohen? It’s probably the kiss of death.

Kamala Harris confronted Mis Lindz's "tubby bear", can't others now?

R49, I predicted on another thread that Dump will throw EVERYONE under the bus before this is over—Barr, Pompeo, Penc3, and Giuliani; anyone who is remotely associated with this.

MSNBC is reporting the Senate Intel Committee now has the whistleblower report. Not specified if it’s redacted or not.

LOL at the rebrand attempt, OP.

I never really paid attention when Trump gets on TV, but this speech just came on while I was watching Judge Judy and I let it roll. Does he always sound so out of breath and rambling and weak? I'm keeping the channel on cause he sounds like he might keel over any second and I wanna see it.

MSNBC is refuting Trump's lies as he speaks.

Trump right now on live TV: “The Democrats went to Ukraine and threatened the Ukrainian president.” ‘Senator Chris Murphy threatened Ukraine.” “Senator Patrick Leahy and others wrote a letter to Ukraine threatening Ukrainian president.”

What the fuck??

Everything's deal, deal, deal with this dotard. Thinks he can run a country like that fakakta "business" of his.

Any live blogs going on? I can’t watch this m-f-er...

[quote]Trump right now on live TV: “The Democrats went to Ukraine and threatened the Ukrainian president.” ‘Senator Chris Murphy threatened Ukraine.” “Senator Patrick Leahy and others wrote a letter to Ukraine threatening Ukrainian president.”

That's what right-wing media has been harping all day ... and will continue to do so until Trump leaves office, however that may be.

Pompeo and Mnuchin standing there onstage beside Trump looking like hostages as Trump rants about “the Witch hunt.”

All Trump’s phone calls were “perfect.”

He sounds like an unhinged lunatic. He darts from topic to topic. And makes no sense about anything.

Damn, hes rambling on and on about his wall!

On MSNBC Frank Figluzzi is saying of course Russia intercepted all of these Ukraine calls, so they have more kompromat crap to hold over Trump's head. McGuire knows it. Trump is fucked.

The expressions on Mnuchin and Pompeo’s faces as they stand there listening to Trump’s ramblings are priceless.

He seems low energy.

ABC News:

[quote]Pres. Trump dismisses calls for impeachment inquiry amid furor over Ukraine call.

[quote]"It's a joke. Impeachment, for that? When you have a wonderful meeting or a wonderful phone conversation?"

The Guardian:

[quote]The president also suggested that lawmakers should see all of the “perfect” conversations he and the vice president have had with the Ukraine in recent months. Democrats would almost certainly take him up on that offer...

Lies to cover for other lies is digging a deeper hole.

Can’t wait for the questions but especially his “answers.”

Ha, not to burst anyone's bubble but the plan to try to transition out of the old thread titles has been a work in progress before the suggestion in the previous threads. My only regret is that we never got a well placed, "Treason of the Witch!"

But by all means, please use your voices and complaints and put them to good use by flooding your local Reps and demanding they stop coddling Diaper baby.

He sounds defeated, pathetic, and desperate -- I love it!

Sure, Donnie, it's the Democrats who are dividing the country!

And of course, the mysterious "They", who are always telling him how they can't believe how badly he's being treated!

He’s STILL rambling. Lol

And please feel free to contribute your future titles and any appropriate lyrics that suit whatever situation we're in when it's time to start new threads. Thanks!

R71 People are saying!

Note on the rambling:

Trump used to have his rallies to talk about whatever issue he wanted uninterrupted on live TV. Now that his rallies are rarely taken live in their entirety (except by Fox), Trump is taking advantage of this news conference spotlight at the UN

Back to the “Senators threatening Ukraine.”

And the non-answering begins...

[quote]On MSNBC Frank Figluzzi is saying of course Russia intercepted all of these Ukraine calls, so they have more kompromat crap to hold over Trump's head.

He also said that the DNI Chief's testimony tomorrow will likely include SIGINT of how Ukraine and Russia reacted to Trump's calls ... stuff we'll never know about, but could conceivably sway some Repubs.

[quote]People are saying!

“You see what’s going on.”

Back on Hillary and the Electoral College.

2016's over, Dotard...the issue is you asking a foreign country to help you in 2020.

He’s not answering the question.

He's soooo medicated

"But Obama!!!!"

Someone please ask Pompeo about Rudy Giuliani being “called by the State Department and asked to go to Ukraine.”

CNN:

Whistleblower complaint about Trump delivered to Congress

Sounds like he also threw Pence under the bus with that comment.

VP was just there a couple of weeks ago. Do we have transcripts for that?

Is he on quaaludes? It’s business as usual, but slooooooow. Is this his idea of sounding presidential? Ooh! Is this the "pivot" we were all promised?

He took one question on Ukraine, gave a long rambling answer about how he won the electoral college in 2016 and how he “won" the Mueller investigation, then called in Pompeo and Mnuchin "to say a few words." This is crazy.

The Pompeo break put a little more pep in his step.

Chinese are “very big on pork.”

Fuck this, is cupcake wars on?

I just listened to some woman, an analyst, didn't catch her name basically say that because Biden's name was only brought up once, it was no big deal. Ukraine said the conversation was good so that means nothing to be seen. She said, "there's no there there."

When asked if she had concerns that this was not a transcript but rather notes made by people trying to recall a conversation, she skirted it and said this was just another attempt at lame Dems, like the Mueller Report, to try to discredit something when there's no basis for it. Pressed again as to whether she had concerns that it wasn't an actual transcript, she replied, "not at all."

Imagine if it were a Democrat who just submitted notes from their recollection. Give me a fucking break.

Don’t bother with the Food Network. It’s Guy Fieri.

What is it that goes on in Pompeo’s head that justifies being part of this travesty?

Lindsay was shocked he could be so nice on a call?! Lol

Plateaus?? What the fuck is he talking about?

“Nice call.”

🙄

Good God but he’s dispirited! So nice to see!

NYT:

Among those unhappy with Giuliani is Pompeo, per multiple sources. Among other things, he believes Giuliani's public statements have been problematic as as his involvement overall with the Ukraine issue.

He has dry mouth. Is he sniffing yet?

"I thought the Russia investigation was dead?"

Well, it was dead, Donnie, until you opened your "beautiful chocolate cake"-hole and admitted to soliciting a foreign country to spy on a political opponent.

Looks like LG has some explaining to do.

Oh, yes, let's invoke the names of "greats" like Limbaugh, Hannity, et al.

What a sorry excuse for a man. The psychic injury this lowlife has done to our nation and its individual citizens will stretch for decades unless he is impeached or imprisoned.

"Schiff must go in to a room with Nadler and they must laugh their asses off. They must laugh their asses off."

“Little Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler must laugh their asses off.” Camera cuts to Jared Kushner looking mortified.

r100 - there is sniffing. Must be snorting xanax today.

I hope they hang all of them.

[quote]he believes Giuliani's public statements have been problematic

You mean the comments where Rudy claims the State Department called him and asked him to go to Ukraine? That’s”problematic?”

Trump knows that the whistleblower's memo is being viewed at this very moment. He's depressed and trying to lash out.

MSNBC's Kristen Welker: Some of the President's closest allies in Congress are saying publicly that there's nothing to see here but behind the scenes they're telling me they're concerned.

[quote]Some of the President's closest allies in Congress are saying publicly that there's nothing to see here but behind the scenes they're telling me they're concerned.

Look how furrowed my brow is!

I can furrow my brow even deeper!

Yeah, they're so concerned... so what? They won't do anything but continue to cover up for him and themselves.

The media keep saying It’s a transcript. It’s not. We need the recording, from Ukraine.

schumer was holding up the whistleblower report....anyone caught the front page? what does it say?

Nicolle made it clear it is a memo not a transcript. Fucking no nothing reporters out there saying transcript.

Somebody tweet Wolf Blitzer and tell him to get it together. He keeps calling it a transcript among other idiotic actions.

When do we get to hear what Mike Pence discussed when he was in Ukraine?

He was probably more explicit face to face given that he had more time with the guy.

[quote]What a sorry excuse for a man. The psychic injury this lowlife has done to our nation and its individual citizens will stretch for decades unless he is impeached or imprisoned.

Who’s that? You’re gonna have to be a lot more specific. The GOP is a very big party.

[quote]When do we get to hear what Mike Pence discussed when he was in Ukraine?

I'm on pins and needles!

Reuters:

U.S. House intelligence panel chair Schiff says whistleblower complaint credible, disturbing

If Trump was smart, he’d give Pence the boot and make either Ivanka or Rudy his VP. They’d never impeach him then.

[quote]If Trump was smart, he’d give Pence the boot and make either Ivanka or Rudy his VP. They’d never impeach him then.

Even he's aware that he'd need confirmation from the Senate and the House.

He threw both Pence and Rudy under the bus.

We need a statement from Pence as to what he discussed in those meetings a few weeks ago.

In the meantime, I expect this whistleblower report is going to leak soon. And hopefully the name of the patriot behind it.

It’s 10-12 pages long, breaking in CNN.

Why aren’t their more whistleblowers coming forward?

Like from the department of justice for example.

What about all the other departments?

Philip Rucker @PhilipRucker Trump says Congress should ask for VP Pence's conversations with Zelensky.

I think Dan Coats and Sue Gordon are both "the whistleblower".

Are there any leaks about what's in the full report? This whole Biden thing can't run that many pages.

R127, there was an IRS whistleblower who complained about someone trying to influence the audit of fat Donnie's taxes.

That has been buried under the threat to national security.

Rachel spoke about it last week but she didn't have any details.

So there are others.

Wow. I got word this was coming the other night (and posted I had news) but I was hesitant to post it since the Dems hadn't formally met. My friend said she was almost certain impeachment was on.

Everything has been admitted. Anybody saying there isn't any there there is just full of it. The memo had it all. They've all admitted it. Does it go deeper than Barr, Pompeo, Mulvaney, Pres Bone Spurs? Is Barr the most corrupt AG in history?

This whole debacle should be enough for anybody to never vote GOP again. The rot is complete.

Because, r127, they will be fired. The sad fact is that in government and in private corporations, you might as well put a target on your back. It always leaks—always. I’ll tell you my experience—I worked for a very large company where a whistleblower was not fired, but harassed and transferred from division to division until she finally quit. We all knew she was the whistleblower.

[quote]rump says Congress should ask for VP Pence's conversations with Zelensky.

If Cheeto wants to drag Pence with him in the mud, I'm sure 'Third in line for POTUS" Nancy won't object.

DIdn't you get the memo, R134? Trump fired Pelosi today.

With whistleblowers, there is strength in numbers. Now is the time for more of them to come forward.

Did you guys see the front page? It was held up by Chuck S.! Could you read it? I'm on mobile, too small!

[quote]Chinese are “very big on pork.”

Has Sarah ever even visited Beijing?

Even better, R135, I got the White House talking points.

After the talking points were apparently sent in error to much of Capitol Hill, Tori Symonds, a White House staffer, appears to have sent a raft of "recall" messages to many of the unintended recipients, requesting that they voluntarily delete the talking points from their inboxes.

"I've heard from a lot of colleagues who are incredulous at how bad the talking points are and laughing hysterically at the incompetence of the recall message," Aaron Fritschner, communications director for Congressman Don Beyer, recounted to Newsweek. "[Symonds] has not responded but I do think that my reply made her realize that she had made a huge mistake, the recall attempt came just afterwards!"

Before the recall attempt, Fritschner had sent an e-mail in reply to the talking points chastising her for their dissemination.

"Did you ever think you would grow up to be someone who got paid to tell people that obvious corruption was okay?" Fritschner wrote in an e-mail that was posted on his Twitter account.

Symonds and the White House did not respond to individual requests for comment.

The email talking points mistake is really this entire dumpster fire of an administration in a nutshell.

Where's Kellyanne?

Dana Bash sounds so Republican, as does Chuck Todd. Isn't she the one that just melts when interviewing Rudy Giuliani? CNN may have intervened with that.

Chuck fucking Toad needs to eat a cold booger.

Wow. Did anyone hear Eric Swalwell on Chris Mathews???

R144, what did he say?

"Shakedown" is the Dem word of the day.

Every HoR and Senate Dem is on message today.

I only half heard, but it does sound like it is much worse than we know. The whistleblower apparently includes a road map for Congress on who knew and where to investigate.

ABC: 'I didn't threaten anybody': Trump calls Democratic impeachment push 'a joke'

Asked by reporters if he felt any pressure from Trump to investigate former Joe Biden and his son -- as Democrats say the transcript shows -- Zelenskiy responded in fractured English: "I'm sorry but I don't want to be involved to democratic ... open .... elections, elections of U.S.A. No, you heard that we had, I think, good phone call. It was normal, we spoke about many things, and I, so I think and you read it that nobody pushed it, nobody pushed me."

"In other words, no pressure," Trump quickly added. "Because you know what there was no pressure. And you know there was no pressure, all you have to do is see it, what went on in the call."

Swalwell didn't say much but mentioned the WB complaint leads them to people to call as witnesses, and documents to request / subpoena.

Witnesses that did NOT report...

This is incredible:

[quote]@NicolleDWallace cuts away from President Trump's news conference:

[quote]"We hate to do this, but the president isn't telling the truth ... what Trump appears to be trying to do is to turn his own impeachment into a big deflection."

[quote]Attention press corps: Does it really take a Republican political operative who worked for George Bush to illustrate how political coverage should be done in the era of a gaslighting President? Kudos to you, @NicolleDWallace !

[quote]Ben Sasse releases a statement warning the GOP to be cautious and to read the complaint before defending Trump saying: “Republicans ought not to be rushing to circle the wagons and say there’s no there there when there’s obviously a lot that’s very troubling there.”

I love that Pence is being thrown under the bus. The only question is if he resigns like Spiro Agnew or is forced out.

Sasse basically tripled the "both sides" narrative.

What do you mean, R154?

He's not resigning. Mother just joined Twitter.

Ben Sasse is basically Susan Collins with a dick. So concerned.

Ukrainians are talking.

[quote]An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told ABC News on Wednesday that President Trump's desire for the two leaders to discuss a possible investigation into Joe Biden was a precondition for their now-infamous July 25 phone call.

[quote]"It was clear that Trump will only have communications if they will discuss the Biden case. This issue was raised many times. I know that Ukrainian officials understood." — Serhiy Leshchenko

This phone call is the kind of shit Trump had Michael Cohen do for him back in the day before he was President. “I have a favor I need you to do for me...” like a fucking mafia thug.

Trump really should be toast this time.

But who knows?

I appreciate Ben Sasse’s statement. He’s a Republican in Nebraska, he has to tread lightly. Romney has more leeway—I think Utah doesn’t like Dump at all.

I don't know, R160. This one hasn't been letting up.

BUSTED @r158.

The U.S. can’t take this for 5 more years. He has to go.

Sasse was consistently a NeverTrumper, despite not doing much against Trump once he was in office, so there's that.

I think everybody’s about to throw everybody under the bus before the witness testifies.

.

We're gonna need a bigger bus, r165.

'Mother' was asked to help spread the Trump-Pence campaign message. It did not go well. Backlash on Twitter was intense.

I love Jill Wine-Banks!

Mother Pence expects to be measuring for new White House curtains any day now.

I have to wonder if this was the real reason Mother joined Twitter. Almost as though she knew the odds of her being FLOTUS were about to go up.

R168, you are going to have to wrestle ME for Jill Wine-Banks!

Jill Wine-Banks is a national treasure.

NYT : Intelligence officer "identified multiple White House officials as witnesses to potential presidential misconduct"

Miss Lindsay is taking a break from Sean Hannity tonight. She was with Martha MacCallum tonight on Fox. She does that some days. She's been all over Twitter today, and spoke with reporters, conversed with Trump, etc. Busy beaver she is.

And Tucker Carlson is hosting Devin Nunes.

Lindsay & Nunes are Trump's attack dogs. Other Republicans are very cautious, subdued, or are avoiding the media.

That article at r158 is a doozy. A whole box of nails in Trump's coffin.

2016, but Lindsey is more engaging and clever than Nunes.

I hate Lindsey Graham. I've never forgotten the role he played in Clinton's impeachment trial some 20 years ago.

He's an ass kissing cunt suck up.

R169. She does have an unusual taste.

Hunny this is better than a best selling political thriller. I mean......shit.

I totally forgot that Manafort was weaseling his way around Ukraine all those years.

Yeah but this suggests Trump Rudy and Manafort are all scheming together and I will not be surprised if eventually it ties in to Putin. I hope all the real journalists out here stay safe and keep doing their jobs.

Reading the article at R179 from the NY Review of Books shows how deep into this morass that tRump, Manafort, and Rudy are. Up to their beady little eyeballs. Fucking low-life criminal thugs.

Yeah, this one feels like it is different from all his other scandals. Maybe we can finally get rid of this despicable dirt-bag.

And, since Pence was over in the Ukraine likely adding pressure to Zelensky, Mother should stop measuring Oval Office drapes and start measuring curtains for Mike’s jail cell.

This will probably not make some Democrats happy but CNN is reporting that apparently Pelosi wants a narrow probe that is focused on the Ukraine issue.

Not all this other stuff that people want to be part of the impeachment inquiry.

R183, you’re posting that same thing verbatim everywhere.

I'm only posting it in the pertinent threads r184. I think people should know the latest.

And what do you care?

That doesn't jibe with what we already know: that the various committees will continue with their ongoing investigations, all under the larger umbrella of an impeachment investigation. She may be referring to just a single committee here.

When did Miss Lindsey start sucking Trump's dick?

R185, it just seems unnecessary to say “some Democrats will be mad.” It feels divisive.

And I’m not sure that piling on fifteen different offenses in the articles impeachment actually improves our case. A tightly narrated presentation of the very clear abuses evident in this Ukraine story might be a much easier sell. And it being the most recent atrocity committed by Trump also helps.

October 9, 2017, R187, and I'm not even really joking. It really was just about that abrupt, as Graham was a vocal opponent of Trump in 2016 and has had his lips firmly planted on Trump's ass since late 2017. I doubt the usual conspiracy theories about blackmail but there is no question that it was a pretty abrupt reversal.

r188, You could be right. Maybe I shouldn't have put the "mad" part in the post. I didn't mean it be divisive, but I could see how it could be taken that way.

And I actually agree with Nancy's strategy.

Chris Cuomo is debating/arguing with one of Trump's lawyers right now.

Oh God.

Bill Barr is deep in this Ukraine shit. Barr needs impeached as much as Trump. Barr ignores the Constitution, tries to prosecute Trump's political rivals, and doesn't tell the truth.

Why have any of the other side on these talk shows? They just lie lie lie lie nonstop. And they let them, usually. They muddy the waters and we need to stop letting them.

Look. All the relevant committee chairs will talk to their members, and then get together to discuss strategy overall with Nancy. They will decide together on the best approach. That's how it works. She doesn't sit there and TELL them they have to do things a certain way, etc. I hate the way the media frames stuff. So ignorant.

Interesting statement.

I hate to see the Mueller threads end. I wish we could have changed the name and just said Part 118. I am sentimental about them. They are a living document we need to see through to the end.

What a fucking liar. They are all so stunningly corrupt. And yes, it appears the Deep State is another projection. They have a Deep State against us. Otherwise, this would have ended long ago. Conservatives are snakes.

Think of the Mueller threads as being Vol. 1 of this saga, r196.

Yes, I would be in favor of making this the impeachment thread. And, I agree with R197, this can be Volume II.

Just like there were two volumes of the Mueller report.

lmao the pathetic Fox cult hosts are calling this all "left spin" and "fake outrage"

I just don't get how they can look at themselves in the mirror, sleep well at night or hold their head high in public with the lies and propaganda they spew daily

R200 Same. You never see MSNBC behave this way. They lie so egregiously it is funny. What they do is so dangerous. They are knowingly and with great intent, blurring the lines between truth and lies. The Right left spin a long time ago for outright lies and don't care.

We knew Manafort was pulling strings in the Ukraine.

Wasn’t it also true he had a partner in crime over there and that partner went on to be on Bernie’s campaign team?

Who is that again - and does anyone else suppose his name might pop up when the Impeachment Investigation (love the sound of that) into this latest Trump fiasco gains speed?

CNN and Twitter both say the whistle-blower’s complaint has just been declassified and they encourage everyone to read it.

So where’s the link?

Tad Devine....he supposedly left the Bernie campaign a few months ago

[quote]I just don't get how they can look at themselves in the mirror, sleep well at night or hold their head high in public with the lies and propaganda they spew daily

Because they're deranged morons who know they're job is to feed even more deranged morons so they feel justified.

I think the whistle-blower is Kellyanne’s husband. From The NY Times:

Mr. Atkinson also found reason to believe that the whistle-blower might not support the re-election of Mr. Trump and made clear that the complainant was not in a position to directly listen to the call or see the memo that reconstructed it before it was made public, according to the Justice Department memo, which referred only to a single phone call between Mr. Trump and an unnamed foreign leader.

Instead, the officer heard about the call secondhand from unidentified White House officials who expressed concern that Mr. Trump had “abused his authority or acted unlawfully in connection with foreign diplomacy,” the memo said. Still, Mr. Atkinson concluded after an investigation that the information in the complaint was credible.

yeah I checked the ratings for last night

Rachel Maddow won the key demo handily and came in #4 for all cable shows

sadly the next 2 were Ingraham and Hannity at #7 and #8.. Hannity even had more total viewers than Maddow.

So regardless of when news is negative for repubs or Democrats, the deplorables tune in reliably. I wish more of the rest of the US would do the same

I bet a lot of Americans don't even know what's happening this week still

R207 I know staunch Democrats who vote reliably but have no idea what is going on, don't watch the news and don't read any websites. When I tell them what is going on, their mouths drop and say "no way" and shit like that. To be fair, I know Republicans like this as well but they have reason to be ignorant- see and hear no evil.

I suppose the real question is how do moderates, independents and casual news viewers feel about this scandal?

we keep hearing tonight that there are "more dimensions" to the complaint than first reported. I hope it all gets revealed

Hopefully in the hearing tomorrow we get answers and not more stonewalling

R209 They are tuned out as well. If the news can focus on this and not become distracted by whatever hell he will unleash to distract, this will stick. It is easy to follow (unlike Mueller) and clear.

hopefully the mainstream media will cover this responsibly. So far they've been pretty good at not chasing the false accusations against Biden

but who knows what will happen by the weekend

We are witnessing history on an epic scale. When we watch the movie about this time will it have a happy ending? Will someone emerge as a true hero?

[quote]We are witnessing history on an epic scale.

1968 laughs at you. 1974 too.

BREAKING:

the whistleblower complaint has indeed been declassified as someone posted earlier but it won't be available until tomorrow morning

The Hill: SPONSORED: IRAN: THE UNTOLD STORY TheHill.com Whistleblower complaint declassified on eve of high-stakes testimony BY OLIVIA BEAVERS - 09/25/19 11:17 PM EDT 60 0 Just In... Whistleblower complaint declassified on eve of high-stakes testimony NATIONAL SECURITY — 11M 37S AGO Ocasio-Cortez on impeachment: 'I think the ground has shifted' HOUSE — 1H 20M AGO Democrats ask Pentagon to probe delayed Ukraine aid SENATE — 2H 47S AGO Whistleblower raised alarm over White House handling of Ukraine call records: report ADMINISTRATION — 2H 13M AGO VIEW ALL Whistleblower complaint declassified on eve of high-stakes testimony © Getty Images The whistleblower complaint at the center of the political firestorm involving President Trump's contacts with Ukraine's leader has been declassified, a member of the House Intelligence Committee announced late Wednesday.

"BREAKING NEWS: The whistleblower complaint has been declassified. I encourage you all to read it," tweeted Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah).

Another source familiar with the matter told The Hill shortly before Stewart's announcement that the declassification process was complete.

^^Well, that was a disaster. In any case, The HIll confirms that the complaint has been declassified.

I'm not getting my hopes up this time. It's in the hands of the smarties to whom we give our hard-earned tax dollars to solve boring problems like this.

I don't want to be like the horror movie heroine who gathers the kiddies and gasps, "We're safe- the Boogeyman is dead". Then you see a reflection in the glass and...

That's Trump.

Not getting my hopes up as well. Seen this play so much from this administration.

R214 This makes those times look small. Our president is compromised to an enemy, Nazi's are ascendant in the country and the rich and powerful (including foreign money) are stifling our progress. 1968 and 1974 can kiss 2019's big FAT ass. lol

No one should get their hopes up. There is a lot of covering up. I am suspicious a Republican is the one who said we all should go read the complaint.

The Republicans have declassified the whistleblower complaint for one reason.

They want to publicly attack the whistleblower as completely partisan and corrupt

R220 Oh right...back-to-back assassinations and riots in the streets are totally small compared to the sad clown that is Trump self-destructing. Riiiiight.

Have we confirmed that Kellyanne was the leaker in the NYT piece months ago?

R221 The guy who tweeted the news that CNN and MSNBC are reporting is in fact a Republican, and was on Fox News tonight saying that there’s NO BIG DEAL in the whistleblower’s complaint:

[quote]BREAKING NEWS: The whistleblower complaint has been declassified. I encourage you all to read it.

So if the WB is a neverTer or partisan Dem that somehow takes away that phone call and all the words said?

Cuz that makes sense.....

R222 Mass shootings all the time, our actual President is a foreign asset leaving our country open to god knows what, giving away the store, the GOP completely corrupt to the core, our institutions disintegrating before our eyes, big money owning every thing to the point we are allowing our planet to hurl towards apocalyptic weather crisis's. Yeah, 2019 wins this one.

R225 That’s how they’ll spin it.

Girls, girls! All those years were shitty!

So...guess we’ll be looking at a President Pence in the near future? And a Pence vs Warren presidential race next year because let’s face it, Biden’s not gonna last much longer.

You gotta admit tho, 1968 had much better music.

Does anyone know if articles of impeachment are voted on separately or as a group in the Senate? If Trump is impeached on eight different grounds, will the Senate have to vote not guilty eight times or just once?

I'm trying to figure out whether a narrow or wide focus for the impeachment inquiry would be better. Is it better to give the Repugs an overwhelming number of charges to force their hand or just a couple? I'm thinking it would be easier for the Repugs to dismiss a couple of charges, no matter how concrete the evidence.

Kellyanne has been unusally quiet.

....

Every day as this unfolds, we need to remind ourselves and one another that Mueller laid out 11 SEPARATE instances of Trump obstructing justice - with documentation. So narrowing the focus just to Ukraine would deprive Americans of the continuing investigation of those instances, such as when Lewandowki ADMITTED UNDER OATH, that Trump had asked him to approach Jeff Sessions to fire Mueller. (Which is textbook obstruction of justice). Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. The American public needs to have shoved in its collective face the amount of criminality that Trump has been operating under since 2 years before he was elected (illegally).

R234 I'm hoping if this Ukraine story keeps in the news that more of the public will lump the Mueller findings onto it as additional instances of impeachable behavior but who knows. Barr was so successful in setting the initial narrative on Mueller's findings that many in the public didn't think it was a big deal

The more charges, the longer it's going to take for both sides to prepare for the trial. And the longer the trial, the more likely the public are to tune out. Better to go fast and narrow.

Here's what Sarah Huckabee Souse was saying.

Pence is getting out of town heading to Indiana.

Did 'Mother' catch him being tempted to sin with Miz Lindz?

[quote]I'm trying to figure out whether a narrow or wide focus for the impeachment inquiry would be better.

Nancy wants to focus on Ukraine-national security only.

Where is the WB complaint available online?

[quote]He's an ass kissing cunt suck up.

Why thank you. Thank you so much r177!

I agree with you R237. Chris Hayes and Jill Wine Banks on and she was arguing for a broader inquiry, but the other guest argued for the narrow. The one time I disagreed with JWB. Broader will get bogged down. We need to keep it fast and narrow.

I would only be in favor of a broader inquiry if they stumble across something even bigger in the course of drafting Articles of Impeachment during this process. They don't need to nail him with everything he's done wrong, and this is the clearest-cut we've had to date.

Although at the risk of being accused of concern trolling, I have to wonder why they were so quick to declassify the complaint. I mean, I know it has to be bad if both the Inspector General and DNI thought there was something criminal, but do they think something in the document is exculpatory?

FCI, I've been reading on other sites that the rumor going around is that John Bolton (!) is the whistleblower. Is there any chance that's true? Because it seems like the only person less likely to do this would be Trump himself. Although I guess if he wants war with Iran, getting Trump out is a necessary step.

Here's my thinking. The corruption in this administration is breathtaking. There is not a day that passes without something ugly coming out. It's been this way ever since Trump was sworn in. That a lot of this shit was available to the Media and the public ahead of time, in terms of human trafficking, money laundering, grifting and scams, bank fraud, filing false documents, paying off prostitutes, etc.etc.etc. is almost beside the point.

BUT: It seems the House has a choice: At first glance, they would be justified in a broad investigation because the depth of corruption is so extreme. But like good prosecutors, they have to focus on their best shot, and Ukraine really is their best shot right now. It looks like it may well be the thread that unravels all of it. This is a strategic decision.

And remember: Like Watergate, this Ukrainian caper may very well demonstrate a pattern of corruption. Because I firmly believe that Trump has used extortion and coercion with other leaders to enrich his kids and himself from day one. And I believe he has misused and abused his power to direct federal agencies to investigate or withhold resources based on his own petty vindictive beliefs.

He has done it on a grand scale and in millions of small ways. There's always a quid pro quo with Trump, and the only interest it serves is his personal interest. My point is that while this may appear to be narrowly focused, it really isn't. And if we go too broad, the impression we will give, is that this is a political vendetta and we are piling on with a lot of grievances. It will confuse the general public who is much less informed than we are. But after all is said and done, I will not be surprised if two or three of the issues Mueller's report included find their way into the Articles of Impeachment. Especially as regards Obstruction.

The main goal is to present this to the public in such a way that Trump is removed. And honestly, the possibility that McConnell himself or Graham may be implicated at some point, along with Barr, Mnuchin, Mulvaney, Pence, etc is icing on the cake. We need 67 Senate votes for removal. We have a long way to go. Those 20 Republican senators will either do the right thing, or they will go down in flames in 2020.

[quote]Because I firmly believe that Trump has used extortion and coercion with other leaders to enrich his kids and himself from day one

I mean, the Ukraine president even stated he'd stayed at Trump Tower. You think he's the only one?

Eggzackly, R247!

Every time I hear a Republican say “it’s no big deal,” I just want to punch them in the face. Lifted right from their talking points...

Whistleblower complaint released and being discussed now on MSNBC. COVER UP by Trump and Barr.

Complaint here (pdf):

Holy moly! No way he gets away with this one.

Right now, are they sitting together on the couch in a frantic and panic?

The Vapors Smelling salts Wet farts Tears etc.

"Please Kavanaugh, help! I did so much for you_.

The QAnon crew is lighting up Twitter: "All hearsay! Nothing to see here!"

WaPo's Greg Miller:

The complaint, citing multiple US officials, alleges that White House lawyers have been stuffing politically troubling records of presidential calls into highly classified storage to hide them from scrutiny throughout Trump’s presidency. This just got much bigger.

No kidding! Fox News is ignoring the report while CNN & MSNBC Are hyperventilating!

The poster yesterday who questioned how a 30 minute conversation could be summarized in a 5 page "transcript" called it. There is a hell of a lot more here.

Are the Repubs really going to continue to try to defend this?? Really?

[quote]Are the Repubs really going to continue to try to defend this?? Really?

Yep, just watch today's hearing, already in progress.

Nunes is such a piece of shit.

So, there really IS a complete transcript of the call? Hidden in some secret storage unit?

Can a PolySci nerd summarize the doc for me please, my hole is recovering from a gangbang so I don't feel like doing using my brain rn.

FEW MINUTES AGO. that thing called jason chavetz stated that the whistleblower is a PARTISAN! of course he is! (sarcasm).. and he knows this as fact because????

and corrupt ass kissing who loves to make secret late late night visits to the white house nunes just started his statement with of course, it's a conspiracy cooked up with the help of the mass media, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

r262, not only that, but there might even be a TAPE.

R262, yes there is. They were lying about it not existing.

I can't stand Devon Nunes and I can't figure him out. What an ass licker. And he's gotten fatter.

NUnes removes his tongue from trumps butt hole long enough to lie to the anerican people again by defending trump the criminal against the whistleblowers complaint.

Disgusting.

Sometimes I hope/dream that the backlash against Trump will gather enough momentum to result in defeat of some of the worst in the system... Nunes, Moscow Mitch, Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, Marsha Blackburn etc. The really fierce partisans who put their personal agenda above country.

[quote]So...guess we’ll be looking at a President Pence in the near future?

That's highly unlikely. Republicans are all in on Trump and they're not deserting him now, not even for something as serious as this. I think the House will end up impeaching but there is zero chance that the Senate will convict.

JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS, CAN'T ANYONE GIVE A DAMN SIMPLE YES OR NO ANSWER AND TELL THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE DIRECTOR RIGHT NOW "WELL, IT'S NOT FOR ME TO JUDGE, IT'S NOT MY OPINION THAT MATTERS" AND SO ON AND SO ON!....

WTF! what the hell does this guy and others think they are under oath and brought in for? to discuss their favorite color?!..

What a weasel!

These jokers get up and say they love America and serve but when it comes down to protecting our institutions they choose to suck on the Orange Turd's dirty asshole.

Fucking cowards.

Of course, Guiliani better not be indicted in the SDNY.

This guy is tanking!

Nunes is suing twitter because people on it made fun of him. Seriously. And this is a guy who spoke out against frivolous lawsuits

Not watching Nunes. He's just going bullshit about "Democrat conspiracies" and do his best to cover for criminal Trump.

So Schiff’s entire line of questioning was cross-examining the DNI director about how and why he refused to send the complaint to Congress, like he was a criminal or something. And DNI guy refuses to say whether he found the complaint credible and urgent.

[quote]I think the House will end up impeaching

You THINK?

As bad as this is, there is absolutely no chance they won't skip the "inquiry" part and start drafting Articles of Impeachment ASAP. This is not something Trump is going to be able to weasel around.

[quote]but there is zero chance that the Senate will convict.

I would have agreed yesterday, but seeing what's actually in the report, I'm not sure any more. I mean, yes, Moscow Mitch and the Senatrice are lost causes, but this is like a smoking AR-15.

The Senate won't remove him, but the House's process, revealing what happened, may sway "undecided voters" (fucking annoying fucks) against Trump.

NUNES PUSHING HARD AND WITH NOTHING ELSE THE IDEA OF IT'S A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY ON THE MEDIA'S PART! IT'S MEDIA, MEDIA, MEDIA, FAKE, FAKE FAKE, ETC.....

AND LEAKS ARE THE REAL ISSUE! uh huh....

Why is Nunes still there? Why was he not voted out?

An hour in and the contents of the complaint and the phone call memo have NOT even been addressed. It’s all been about how they were “handled” by DNI and where the leaks came from.

Because he lives in a very red safe Republican district r282.

Nunes is getting nowhere.

Can you imagine the level of abuse of animals at Nunes's dairy operations? Holy shit.

Joseph McGuire...not a good guy. He tried very hard to protect Trump. He is a jerk.

This man is trying to be very, very evasive.

No, I don't like him.

Don’t hyperventilate

Acting Director is actually doing his best not be a tool for either side (he essentially slapped back Nunes).

The facts are (slowly) coming out.

I'm curious about what kind of instructions the tRump administration gave McQuire - that are now buried in their secret servers.

Gym Jordan will come up raging.

But his Secret Servers!

So far NO ONE has addressed the contents of the transcript OR the complaint.

Is this how this thing will go? Why??

I'VE NOTICED THAT THE DIRECTOR smiles when it's a republican greeting him before they start asking him questions, and is stoic when it's a democrat...

typical in the trump era of investigations and hearings: it's never what the issue is, it's never what is revealed, it's ALWAYS ALWAYS why did the information get out, why are their leaks, whataboutism, fake news media massive conspiracy and executive privilege to any and all who want it!....

Trump will bring up Hillary's emails again.

I can't wait for him to leave.

I hope the Dems don't screw this up, next election is being served to them on a sliver platter!

Oh god r291 he's not on this committee too, is he?

R294, smiling can be a defensive gesture.

R295, don't underestimate the stupidity of voters. America is so fucked. Saw this last night, couldn't help thinking about how we're in chaos and China has committees of committees of high-IQ engineers running their empire.

I think they are only going to be able to talk about the process with this witness and not the substance of the complaint because he doesn’t have first-hand knowledge.

[quote]So far NO ONE has addressed the contents of the transcript OR the complaint.

[quote]Is this how this thing will go? Why??

I think they may be saving that for when the whistleblower actually testifies. We have both a crime and a coverup, and they're going after the coverup angle now.

[quote] So far NO ONE has addressed the contents of the transcript OR the complaint.

It's clear this dotard will testify that he's been unable to investigate the contents of the complaint. Apparently he couldn't even discern that it was inappropriate to allow the subjects indicted by the complaint determine its fate. These are the idiots in charge of national security.

Non partisan? hmmmmm I wonder who Mr. Maguire voted for?

[quotes] I hope the Dems don't screw this up, next election is being served to them on a sliver platter!

The morons that support Trump believe this is a socialist conspiracy to deprive them of guns, opioids and food stamps.

I wonder if those red state RNC reps are worried about having cancelled the primary now?

Thanks to Rachel Maddow I now know Andrew Johnson was impeached twice.

So I am going to bring up my unpopular opinion again slightly modified. The other impeachable offenses exist, but the committees have been stymied by the lack of access to testimony and documents. They are going to get those documents now. Each of the six committees will have one to three simple to understand, well documented articles impeachment. Ukraine gets voted on first, but Moscow Mitch knows there are five more coming, each one worse than the other. The onslaught of cases will take us through the election if they don’t vote to impeach and he doesn’t resign. He can allow the damning cases to occur or take the questionably unconstitutional action of quashing them. Either way he looks terrible. Dollars to donuts dotard resigns under duress.

Vud heppen Vairst Letty ven Prezden recline under cloud? She stay til en be bess, yes? Vud if she like vine hess?

Woah... look at the mega fatty behind Dr. Wenstrup!

Watching this it is unsettling how viciously partisan the Republicans are. Maybe that's how the Dems seem to a Republican viewer. The divide is so wide. We are so fucked. If a substantial majority doesn't puke up the Republicans in the next election I don't see how the country ever functions reasonably again. This is bad.

I want to move to Singapore. We're so fucked.

This guy is starting to seem a lot friendlier to Republican questioning than to Democratic.

I don't believe in conspiracy theories but I think this guy's side is starting to seem very evident.

Rep. Speier is awesome.

Boss Hogg is back, behind Stewart. What a Republican beauty! Unless Sarah Sanders has gone butch.

I LOVE her. The woman survived getting shot at Jonestown. She can handle this douchebag.

R305 - u ok hun? Inbox me. x

I really wish that Schiff had not included his “parody” in his opening statement. I had a feeling the Repukes would seize on that to distract from the real issues.

Torn between two lovers....

Maguire wanted to be Mayor of New York. That's not going to happen now.

R309! exactly! that is what i stated in another post.. when it's a republican about to ask him question, he's all friendly and smiling, even BEFORE they do the whole ass kissing "thank you, your great, we respect you, thank you for you military service, blah, blah, blah".. when it's a democrat about to ask him question he is stoic and serious....

OP, along with Jill Wine-Banks!, is also a National Treasure!

Thank you, OP!

[quote]Boss Hogg is back, behind Stewart.

I thought that was Freddie "Blob" Dukes from the X-men!

The guy sitting behind Maguire resembles former porn star, Kevin James.

Boss Hogg looks like the son of Missouri Congressman and noted Jabba the Hutt impersonator Billy Long.

R312 you’re thinking of Jackie Speier

[quote][R312] you’re thinking of Jackie Speier

Yes. I was also talking about her.

I find it amusing that the networks...ABC, CBS, NBC are all televising the hearing today....but NOT FOX

[quote]I find it amusing that the networks...ABC, CBS, NBC are all televising the hearing today....but NOT FOX

I guess Whoopi's at home smoking a doob.

I wonder how La Belle McCain will spin this.

It's amusing and says all you need to know about McCain's crotch fruit that she'll stand by Drumpf and her party after they've repeatedly denigrated the love of her life, her father.

[quote]JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS, CAN'T ANYONE GIVE A DAMN SIMPLE YES OR NO ANSWER AND TELL THE TRUTH!!

Get used to it. Especially now that impeachment is on the table. This is all it's going to be for months on end. The Republicans will continue to prove what peices of shit all of them are.

Whistleblowing can be a treacherous journey.

Oh, Mr. Ratcliffe... you're talking about apologies? Why don't you all start.. I know someone who is still waiting for hers.

R255 and that is incredibly important. That's like with Nixon, when Alexander Butterfield admitted that Nixon had a taping system. This is explosive. I hope the members of Congress are paying attention. And it also is exactly what I was trying to say in R246. Focusing on the Ukraine is a lot bigger than it first appears.

Damn, Mr. Heck!

acting director of national intelligence does NOT have any intelligence! because everything is unprecedented and i'm not here under oath to give my personal opinion on ANYTHING!. and that's my defense!.... IS IT TIME to actually look at this guy's background (minus the military), education and experience to have this job?!..(connections too of course!)...

FUCK ANSWER A QUESTION YES OR NO! END OF STORY!....

and once again, once again is this ASS KISSING OF HIM BECAUSE HE SERVED IN THE MILITARY! THOSE WHO SERVE IN THE MILITARY for years are 100% patriots of perfection of person?!....

Someone should just ask this:

Hillary Clinton goes and asks for foreign assistance, how quickly do you throw her in jail?

Yeah, nobody is going to change their mind because of this hearing.

Well, he knows where the fire is coming from.

I know Welch wants to make his point about interference in our election. But what the DNI cannot say, is that when this shit comes up in his shop, about some U.S. Senator, it goes to the FBI and possibly the FBI Counterintelligence division. That's how it works. That's the process. It is not about whether or not it is illegal or whatever it's about who's responsible. And the FBI is responsible for a Senator who solicits foreign help. My one observation is that for the most part, the Democrats on this committee are doing a good job of staying on point and not fabricating. They also demonstrate a clear understanding of WTF is necessary. The Republicans are not. They are buffoons.

So how was Maguire able to answer whether or not he spoke to Dotard about Ukraine when he just five minutes ago said ALL communication between them was privileged and he wouldn't speak on what they've talked about!

AP:

Whistleblower: White House tried to 'lock down' call details

The question I want them to ask Maguire, who looks like an old gloryhole cocksucker, is “Did you expose the identity of the Whistleblower to anyone within the White House?”

What we’ve learned is the US Presidency has too much power and not enough checks and balances.

Washington Post:

Seven days: Inside Trump’s frenetic response to the whistleblower complaint and the battle over impeachment

True that, #340. I think it was defined way back when they imagined a "benevolent king" or something. It's just a fucking job: you can't lie, obstruct, collude or rape.

WaPo: Former Ukraine prosecutor says Hunter Biden 'did not violate anything’

"But what the DNI cannot say, is that when this shit comes up in his shop, about some U.S. Senator, it goes to the FBI and possibly the FBI Counterintelligence division. That's how it works."

Rep. Denny Heck gets angry (at the 5:00 mark)

[quote]I mean, the Ukraine president even stated he'd stayed at Trump Tower.

And he felt it was important to let trump know he had stayed there.

That CNN video of Trump (with the live fact-checking on the side) was amazing. He sounds completely unhinged and actually looks quite scared.

NYT:

Trump Attacks Whistle-Blower’s Sources and Alludes to Punishment for Spies

There are a lot of people in the WH sweating bullets — for a wide variety of reasons.

I don’t think anybody can take this crap for another 4 years. Not even deplorables.

NBC:

Pelosi, on handling of whistleblower complaint: 'This is a cover-up'

Washington Post:

Analysis: 5 key takeaways and allegations from the Trump whistleblower complaint

The good thing about this very early step in impeachment is the DNI came off as another bootlicking Trump supporter trying to save his own job. It was obvious he did not follow regulations and is mostly concerned about covering for Barr, Trump and Guiliani.

You don't have to follow politics to see that. Corruption is everywhere in this administration.

Maybe as a result of this whole debacle, they’ll start teaching Civics in school again. I remember taking it in 7th grade and learning much I now know about how government works. The lack of education about these things from people online is just astounding to me.

Deplorables, for example, know NOTHING about how our system of government works nor do they even care.

Richard Engle's report on what's going on in the Ukraine right now is an eye opener. He said this has the Ukrainian leaders terrified. They even discussed it and sought advice about how to handle Trump from other European representatives. Trump's a fucking sadistic bully. He's going down. This has massive international implications. I believe the Republicans might have overlooked him trying to ferret out information about Biden. But withholding aid that was approved by a huge bi-partisan vote, and the ripple effects throughout Europe will not sit well with the Republicans in the Senate or the Foreign Policy community.

If "they" were only that smart, R354!

Trump is absolutely batshit right now. He was screaming at the reporters at Andrews when he got back from NYC this afternoon. He said he wants to "stop this, maybe even through the courts. " talking about Impeachment.

I betcha Trump is going to look in to how he can "suspend" Congress like Boris tried to do in the UK. I betcha he declares some kind of emergency to suspend everything. Wait for it.

Liz Cheney is such a fucking dyke.

I love it - Trump can't "stop" any of this - even with his shitty partners in crime. I want to see him go even more off the deep end - and everyone in that cesspool swamp of his.

[quote]I betcha Trump is going to look in to how he can "suspend" Congress like Boris tried to do in the UK. I betcha he declares some kind of emergency to suspend everything. Wait for it.

Fine if Trump wants to dig himself into a yet deeper hole. The UK Supreme Court voted unanimously (11-0) that Johnson's prorogation of Parliament was unlawful. The Prime Minister broke the law. Thus poor old Boris had to scuttle back to the UK from the UN to throw his Parliamentary tantrum.

Perhaps bets are now being taken as to which blond bombshell will crash and burn first. Champagne at the ready for either ecstatic deliverance.

This is bad for the USA, now China is just gonna wait out this shit show and wait for a "softer" US leader...

Trump is corrupt as fuck but don't be so fucking naive...as if this is the only corrupt administration LOL!

R352 and R353! well done! exactly!....

And now Trump is basically calling for the leaker to be harmed/killed. This is bullshit.

Trump hinting that the whistleblower should be "dealt with" should be an impeachable offense all by itself.

This man really thinks he's a mafia don.

He not only corrupt Prezeedent, but heez zee MOST corrupt!

r361, shut your fucking lying, whataboutizm pie hole.

So the whistleblower says he did not see any of the cover-ups, etc firsthand, but was told about them by other people, presumably other people in the WH. When will these conscientious patriotic people come forward?

R367, it’s not clear that they were in the WH. They could be career people in the State Department, for example. They’d still be a part of the Executive branch, but not in the WH.

R367, umm, they already have in a way. The IG corroborated the WB’s Intel with them.

r367 is a troll.

Trump WISHES he was Putin or Kim Jong-Il or MBS and could just round up the whistle blower and everyone who talked to the IG and execute them all. He needs to be restrained and escorted out of the WH and committed to a locked psych ward.

[quote]it’s not clear that they were in the WH

The complaint refers to “WH officials” numerous times.

Trump cannot read.

And BOOM! Someone from in the WH has come forward to confirm. Here we go.

Poor thang, she's got vaginal yeast infection, yet so busy with hissy fits, tweets, and Fox News interviews. Her Utopia is cracking, but good lawd, relishes the attention.

Remember, he's only been widowed for a little more than a year. he's still very upset. the shock. his nerves...

R369 is right. Supposedly the IG interviewed the people in the report and found they corroborated the whistleblower. I wonder if it’s worth it to call the IG to testify?

The IG testified a few days ago...he acknowledged everything but wouldnt disclose details until he received clearance. Now that the complaint is released they can have him testify again openly.

The way for Ukraine to navigate this is to disclose what info it has to Congress. Call Pelosi's office. Provide the audio recordings.

So, I guess Nancy knew all this time what she had on Trump and was just waiting until she knew she had the proof she needed to call for Impeachment. All those people angry at her for not calling for Impeachment owe her an apology. She knew what she was doing. That'll teach those naysayers to trust in Nancy. She knows what she's doing.

Trump is trying to get the informant killed. He's going to try a Beckett on him ("Why oh why won't someone just get rid of him?")

Holy shit. Conservatives (e.g., Brit Hume) are freaking out on Twitter.

Voter Support for Impeachment Grows Amid Ukraine Scandal

Backing for impeachment increases by 13 net points since the weekend

43% support beginning impeachment proceedings to remove Trump from office, up 7 points from a weekend survey, while opposition dropped 6 points, to 43%.

59% of voters who back impeachment said Trump committed an impeachable offense, a Morning Consult record high.

CNBC is reporting --

Wall Street Democratic donors warn the party: We'll sit out, or back Trump, if you nominate Elizabeth Warren

Oh wow, thanks, R384. Totally unexpected and relevant to the thread.

wow.

How interesting that they see Warren as potentially effective, R384.

Warren is anti-banks and wants more regulations for them.

If true, that’s a great anecdote for Warren.

And it’s not relevant to this thread.

yeah, Wall Street Dems are not gonna fund raise or donate to her.

Makes me like her more.

Someone should start an "Election 2020 Part 1" thread for things like the post at R384.

Hope the legitimate media wake up and follow Wallace's example.

On the Warren note, FUCK Wall Street!!! Grassroots is where it’s at, once the democratic nominee is picked WE will flood them with money. Most of the nation wants him gone.

Wall Street is threatening to throw in their lot with a traitor? For smart guys, they can be pretty stupid sometimes.

Yap Yap Yap Pelosi Yap Yap Democrat Yap Yap Best Economy Yap Yap Socialists Yap Yap Poll Yap Yap, 57%, YAP Oppose Impeachment, Yap, Schiff, Yap, Yap, Witch Hunt, Yap, Yap, Yap, etc.

^from above [quote]Hey @KellyannePolls . Half the people polled are Republicans. Sane Americans don't give a shit what your sick cult thinks about impeachment.

If a poll asked, "Would it be okay if Donald, Donnie Jr, and Eric dribble jizz up Kellyanne's nostrils?" 100% of Republicans would say YES.

Is there anything more frightening than Kellyanne smiling?

[QUOTE]Donald, Donnie Jr, and Eric dribble jizz up Kellyanne's nostrils

Pics please.

[quote] Wall Street Democratic donors warn the party: We'll sit out, or back Trump, if you nominate Elizabeth Warren

Weird they were just singing a different tune.

Three days ago I would have said so now she's got to shake off Pocahontas, reparations and the intense opposition of Wall St. Today, I wonder she might actually be able to pull it off.

I better not hear Trump say "no collusion" ever again.

"Grudging respect" does not equal "we want her to win" r400.

"Grudging respect" MAY equal "we want her to lose".

It just occurred to me that no Republican president except George Bush Sr. has gotten to the White House without skulduggery since Eisenhower. Nixon in 1968 messed with the Paris peace talks to weaken Humphrey's support. Reagan did a similar thing with the Iran hostage situation. Bush Jr in 2000 technically lost both popular vote and the electoral college (had it not been for the Republicans on the Supreme Court stopping the vote count in FL). The curiousness of 2016 is, I presume, fresh in everyone's mind.

I'm not counting Ford, who wasn't elected.

This is on top of the fact that no Republican has won a majority of the popular vote since 1988—with the exception of Bush in 2004, and there was so much sleaziness in OH that I'm doubtful about that. The US is a de facto oligarchy.

Devin Nunes is a lying traitor freak. Hate his guts. What a toady creep.

Not able to run on his paucity of merits or his pitiful and cruel record, trump turned to what he knows best; cheating and extortion. He's not just a loser, he's a stupid loser.

If he wasn't caught on this one he would have proceeded to cheat his was to Election Day, just as he did last time. Criminal scum.

All I wanna know is how Susan Collins, mine canary of the Senate, is taking this.

Has she keeled over dead yet?

WhistleGate is blowing up, ya'll

Fun trivia fact: Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is a comedian/sitcom actor. He starred in a Ukrainian TV show about a regular shlub who is elected president of Ukraine.

And now he's living his TV show!

For r380

For r380

So both the Ukraine and the US elected guys with zero political experience?

I have no idea who the whistle blower is nor have I heard any rumors though this person is known.

I am hearing the GOP is teetering. It could start tumbling as early as tomorrow. What is holding them back from saying an impeachment inquiry is needed? Glad you asked- the Russians likely have a lot of kompromat on them, so many, it would bring the party down. Russia hacked the RNC as well. However, a few brave souls break off at once, it will fall quickly.

I am also hearing batshit crazy stuff. Conspiracy level stuff, yet likely true because it doesn't originate from the Right, I can't wrap my brain around and won't post unless my friend is near certain like she was the other night with impeachment coming.

FCI, there is no batshit stuff too crazy to believe when the president of the United States has an open, admitted, public history of asking foreign governments to mess with US elections on his behalf, and his whole party and much of the press just pretend it has yet to be proven.

Vanity Fair: Chaos inside Fox News as impeachment looms. Management told Smith to stop attacking Carlson. Hannity privately says whistleblower is really bad for Trump. Paul Ryan has told Lachlan to plan for a post-Trump future.

Thanks for the tease r414 AKA FCI

Where are all the DC insiders? Spill!

R417 I don't mean to be. A few friends from my DC days, but especially my main contact, have been inundating me with things and I can't tell what is just rumor and what are things they feel certain about. I just want to stick to facts as much as possible. I think we all know just this Ukraine situation went way deeper than anybody thought- with Barr throw in, the call transcript moved to a server used for highly sensitive information, to the part where this wasn't the only politically motivated call moved to that server. Imagine all that entails and we are all probably at the tip of the iceberg.

The Imodium is flowing on the GOP side.

I just hope The New York Times doesn't fuck this up somehow. Upthread somebody said it was chasing the name of the whistleblower. What good could that do?

Despicable, r420. We do NOT need to know the name. But we will end up knowing it, I’m sure.

The WB didn't see anything first hand yet everything they reported was true so their story about getting inside information is accurate. The GOP and their sick cult zombies cannot deny it.

Bastard

NYT never fails to disappoint!

NYT:

White House Knew of Whistle-Blower’s Allegations Soon After Trump’s Call With Ukraine Leader

L.A. Times:

Impeach Trump? An America filled with anger and animosity digs in

Deep Throat 2.0

Back when Trump started unloading on the IC, this time as elected POTUS, people started speculating that the IC will hit back when it's had enough. Well, the WB is allegedly a CIA staffer, perhaps involved in an interagency process on Ukrainian / Russian policy, and perhaps acting on behalf of a team of people who are his direct-knowledge sources about the phonecall/s.

As a redditor wrote in r/politics:

[quote]The escalation of the whistleblower complaint is a direct result of the intelligence community's realization and growing alarm that the public at large and some elected officials are dangerously incapable of digesting a document like the Mueller Report. As the president routinely lies and violates all kinds of laws and regulations on a daily basis, the intelligence community looked for a more accessible, simple example of trump's lawlessness to distribute to the public. It's like we're being assigned the cliff notes now as opposed to the classics on account of the US's thunderous decline into idiocracy.

Finally a deep state we can believe in!

If the GOP will dig in this deep for him, what will they do for someone more palatable? I believe the person upthread who said the GOP has probably not truly won an election fairly since Ike.

They know, economically, the country is not conservative and will never be. Capitalism only works with a strong, robust counter force like the govt.

So Pres Bone Spurs says we should go back to handling treason like we use to.

Yes, we should. By all means, you first!

R423 David Brooks of the NYT is the male version of Maureen Dowd.

NYT does have their share of dead weight and closeted right-wingers. Some of them have been chums with Trump going back many years.

There is really no choice but to impeach Trump. Criminal behavior on this level can't be dismissed.

Dan Rather

I am stunned. And I like to think I do not stun easily.

I find myself at moments almost speechless - granted not a quality one associates with former or even current news anchors.

This is story unlike any I have ever seen. Its contours seem to entangle this administration like a giant squid around a submarine in an old science fiction film, tentacles prying apart what once seemed solid. With a spectacle like this, it's sometimes important to pause and try to take in as wide a pictures as possible. There is so much we do not know, but what we know already is gravely striking. What the president, his lawyer, and others have already copped to would be enough to almost roll credits in a mob film. I apologize for the multiple cinematic allusions, but this story defies the imagination normally required for real life.

For most of my life, my job was to try to make sense of events, big and small, in real time. Sort of like a play by play broadcaster relating to an audience what is transpiring, often ad libbing as new details emerge.

I find myself wondering what it would be like to be in the midst of this story, either on the ground in Washington or in an anchor chair, tapping the incoming rivers of information from reporters, on Capitol Hill, at the White House, and at other perches necessary for covering this rapidly metastasizing narrative.

What I return to, as a think back at other moments of crisis and uncertainty, is the need as a reporter and as a citizen to remain steady. Now steadiness should not be confused with apathy or detachment. We need to be engaged, with a steely determination to get to the bottom of what seems to be but the tip of a proverbial iceberg. There are many leads to follow, many new angles emerging. We cannot afford to lose grasp of the threads of the much bigger story arc.

This is unprecedented. This is dangerous. But this is also necessary. We cannot panic in the face of what we confront, or get overwhelmed by details. We must breathe deep, take stock, see all for what it is, methodically and fairly uncover right from wrong, truth from fiction, and ultimately we must persevere, for the sake of our nation.

Pres Bone Spurs actually said "I thought impeachment was dead". Bwhahahahahahahaha He was so far in his bubble and Nancy, as some of us knew she would, struck at juuuust the right time with a perfect shiv to the jugular.

I wonder whether Mulvaney, Pompeo or Barr will throw Trump under the bus, or if Kelly Ann blows whistles?

Watching all of these GOP assholes become shells of their former selves and put everything on the line for a two bit broke con man reality show loser is just..........WOW. Then again, I think the mask just slipped off what was always underneath. Conservatives the world over are like this.

You know, If the CIA or the Intel community in general is doing this for payback, I don't know why they needed to over complicate it. IMO Trump has demonstrated from Day one that he is a threat to the national security of this country. He is obviously not in good health, he's in his 70's. I mean, people get strokes and heart attacks all the time, ya know?

R436 This is not payback. No one forced this feeble fraud to say the things he did in that call.

I know this likely won't happen or he'll be pardoned but man oh man I'd LOVE to see Ghouliani's ass in federal prison

I also would think Barr is in legal trouble too

I'd love to see the careers of Pence, Pompeo and Mulvaney ruined as well

they're all just so despicable

[quote]It just occurred to me that no Republican president except George Bush Sr. has gotten to the White House without skulduggery since Eisenhower.

And, it could be argued that Bush Sr. wouldn't have been in the position to become president if Reagan hadn't fucked with the hostage situation to get himself elected first. They are all despicable.

OMG Ghouliani is STILL UP TO MORE BULLSHIT

Watching CNN now...they just showed a clip of him tonight on Ingraham's show.

He's now gas lighting saying "I'm the real whistle blower uncovering DC swamp corruption"

This is just fucking madness. I know he's probably scared about his legal issues but this is SICK. This is the new repub angle.

So, if this was not the only call that landed — inappropriately — on the super secret server to keep the contents hidden from view, what other calls are on that server, and what do those calls reveal?

Hmmmm. 🤔

I would think that Chairman Schiff would like to know.

If viewing the contents of what was hidden on that super secret server comes down to a Supreme Court ruling like Nixon's tapes did, what do you think will happen?

He is always unhinged but, of course, he has the right wing smear machine behind him so that + his mental issues= buckle up. We ain't seen nothing yet.

Conor Lamb now supports impeachment!

If Conor Lamb is supporting, there must be some internal polling that shows Republican voters in his district are starting to turn on Trump.

well polling today shows an increase in the public supporting impeachment too

Oh shit! My baby Conor said he would wait for a full transcript, etc. The internal polling against Trump must be STRONG.

I'm rushing over to PA — he has a long recess, and my face is completely available for his use as seating.

[quote]I mean, people get strokes and heart attacks all the time, ya know?

Nah, IC played it right. It doesn't want to deprive us of the spectacle of a Trump impeachment, nor history of that footnote in his bio.

R445 is right, the freak out by the Republicans is because their internal polling is showing this is bad. Don’t forget—they have access to polling that is much more accurate that the public polling we see.

I can see, as trump starts to fall from the overwhelming evidence of crime, republicans kicking him under the bus to save their own skin. As one after another gives him a swift kick, he will crumple and cower and play the aggrieved victim. I want to see that nasty, leering, stupid orange face with rivers of tears gushing from his eyes, creating white rivers of shame in his make-up.

This is about the IRS whistleblower complaint.

[quote]A little-noticed court filing from August contains a shocking allegation made by a disgruntled Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee: that President Trump attempted to interfere with some aspect of the agency’s mandatory presidential audit system.

The Times is helping Cheeto. I believe it.

Barr won't recuse. He won't.

Audio reading of the WB complaint for your morning commute.

I have been keeping notes since his election, and I don't intend to forget (or let them forget) the Republicans and journalists enabled him, repeated his talking points like mantras, and spent 2.5 years up Trump's colon.

Season of the Witch is coming eventually. Never Forget Ivanka and Wendi Deng's Dubrovnik vacation.

So this was the reason for the Iran chest-thumping thing: a 'wag the dog'-like distraction.

Hillary's emails are laughing at Trump's missing phonecall transcripts.

A Republican today said basically you can't get anything done with these shithole countries without bribery, grea$ing palms and withholding goodies. So the Repug's are going to cry "Nothing to see here- business as usual".

Then they'll go after the whistleblower(s) and destroy their credibility, like they did Hillary, Christine Blasey Ford and others.

Informative Twitter account of someone who knows the scoop in Ukraine

This morning, Joe Scarborough mocked "Miss Lindsey". It was hilarious. It was about Miss Lindsey all over the place daring Democrats to try and impeach Trump.

The voice was a very queeny southern drawl. It was very brief, and Mika cut it off and they quickly went to commercial. Joe's from the south and knows how to do it, much better than John Stewart did years back.

Nancy Pelosi up next on Morning Joe. Mika is positively giddy this AM, I am too!

A little off-topic, but I think the deplorables will stick with their demented toddler till the very bitter end. And as in every bitter end, they'll be left with a long lasting bitter taste that will linger on them for years (not decades though, they don't have the attention span for that).

Back on topic, now that we know that the WH knew about the WB days before the news broke, and knew that the story was about cheating again in the next presidential election by falsely attacking the then likely opponent, does anyone besides me find that Moscow Mitch coming up out of nowhere with a $250M fund for "election security" the exact same day the WB news broke is a peculiar coincidence? I think that was just damage control ahead of what they knew would shatter the political landscape hours later. Funny, because that day, everyone chalked it up on a successful campaign of calling him Moscow Mitch. Nope! Don't think so. Only damage control.

[quote] Tell me friends, which Republicans in the House might join the Dems in impeachment

None. They’re going all in on the Biden corruption story. That’s their narrative and they’re sticking to it, like “crooked Hillary” and Uranium One. They’ve already got their narrative set up for when the senate fails to convict — that Trump was exonerated because he is innocent, it was just another witch hunt and now he can be re-elected because there’s nothing more democrats can do to him. Victory is his, he’s a winner.

Their Biden narrative will be totally toothless when Biden collapses in the polls and won't be the Democratic nominee. Meanwhile Trump's treason will be more exposed for everyone to see day after day after day.

Thanks R459. One of the linked articles there:

But his secret servers!

Someone should ask Ghouliani - and his noble cause - why the WH felt the need to put the call transcripts in a secret secure server.

[quote]A little off-topic, but I think the deplorables will stick with their demented toddler till the very bitter end.

I don't think there will be an end, not for the deplorables. Even if he is impeached, Trump won't slink into obscurity like Nixon did. He'll be defiant, forever railing about the "witch hunt," likely on his own news channel -- and Rube Nation will be with him until he dies.

His cult will never abandon him. They'll have velvet portraits of him in their rumpus rooms in the coming years.

'Fucking fake news and witch hunting Democrats, I am no damn patsie. I am a manly man'.

This is not the time to be giving awards to Lindsey Graham, AIPAC.

Obstructing behavior by Mnuchin & Pompeo.

Ah do declare! Miss Lindsey seems to have lost all her marbles!

Barr "gone rouge".

Not new, though

Follow the Watergate playbook and impeach Barr quickly.

Call for special counsel per Rudy & Barr.

[quote]Barr "gone rouge".

Still looks pretty beige to me.

Pink, beige and shit-colored hair-dye emanating with the stench of decay and corruption.

I just can't believe this is how Ralphie turned out.

If Trump is not reelected, he is going to jail.

[quote] Even if he is impeached, Trump won't slink into obscurity like Nixon did. He'll be defiant, forever railing about the "witch hunt," likely on his own news channel -- and Rube Nation will be with him until he dies.

Which is why I pray that Trump goes to jail, solitary confinement, so we'll never hear from him again until he dies.

[R481] there's no doubt in my mind that there's a sealed indictment from the Southern District of NY with his name on it just waiting for the moment he steps out of office. He'll most likely be tried for tax evasion and other financial improprieties. I hope and pray we see the day he's in a fucking jail cell where his miserable existence ends.

Brace yourself - it's about to get bumpier, because Michael Cohen wants to spill Ukraine info that he knows.

The Hill:

Pence advised Trump against releasing partial transcript of Ukraine call: report

NBC:

Pelosi on Trump impeachment inquiry: 'We have to put country before party'

Can he be impeached for being an idiot? Tweet from this morning:

To show you how dishonest the LameStream Media is, I used the word Liddle’, not Liddle, in discribing Corrupt Congressman Liddle’ Adam Schiff. Low ratings @CNN purposely took the hyphen out and said I spelled the word little wrong. A small but never ending situation with CNN!

What the hell is he talking about there? In the first place, that's an apostrophe, not a hypen. In the second place, why use an apostrophe in that word in the first place? What's the significance of " Liddle' "? In the third place, this all kind of pales beside his calling for the assassination of an American intelligence operative.

Oh, I think I get it now: he's thinking of the abbreviation "Li'l." Good to know he's on top of all these pressing orthographical issues we face as a country.

The Kremlin hopes its calls with Trump don't get released. But now we know where they are!

JFC!

Can we have a national day of kick idiot deplorables in their cuntbone day?

Because we need one.

And it needs to be a live stream r491.

R69 I agree the feverish, simple-minded devotion of his cult will never allow them to abandon Trump. The rest of the U.S., including future generations, and the rest of the world have already abandoned him - and the cult which follows him. They'll end up a mere footnote in an ugly history, nothing more. Sort of a bloodline curse (metaphorically speaking).

Grr. should have been R469. Maybe I'm just feeling a little 69ish today!

Politico:

Republican senators accuse whistleblower of 'hearsay'

A rough estimate of how many shitstains knew about just this one phone call and did NOTHING, betraying their country.

Yeah, that argument isn't going to work for them, R495, as we already have confirmation of the key points. I suspect they'll abandon that tactic almost immediately.

Reuters article claimed the Russians are real worried that Trump's conversations with Putin might get out......

I wonder what Putin and Trump are hiding about their conversations

They need to call that translator who was in the meetings between Trump and Putin whose notes are conveniently not available.

R451 I wasn't aware of this, thanks.

As someone else has pointed out on this thread, or maybe on one of the other ones: Putin wants Ukraine back as part of the USSR, oops, I mean Russia, and is at war with them right now. Trump is under Putin's thumb, mysteriously, and the whole world knows that, including the President of Ukraine. So Trump's "request" for a "favor" from Zelensky could not have been seen in any other way than as threatening. esp re US foreign aid to Ukraine. There HAS to be more to this bullshit about hunting info on Biden in Ukraine than simple political skullduggery re the coming US election. There is something ominous going on here, and I don't think I'm being a paranoid conspiracy-theorist to think so. And now Putin is coyly declaring, "I sartinly hope zey dunt reveel telefone confersayshuns vwiz Prezeedint of Russhia."

Politico:

Democrats subpoena Pompeo as part of impeachment inquiry

And on the having a really bad week front:

Federal judge blocks Trump administration from detaining migrant children for indefinite periods Add to list By Washington Post Staff September 27, 2019 at 4:43 p.m. EDT

U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee issued a permanent injunction against new regulations that would have dramatically expanded the federal government’s ability to detain migrant children with their parents. Gee’s action came after hearing arguments from the Justice Department and advocates for immigrants in the long-running federal case in the Central District of California.

"And on the having a really bad week front:"

DONNIE-BOY is having a really bad Presidency, period, and it's starting to become crystal clear.

Must move quickly.

tRump is now asking the NRA to pay his impeachment legal bills. The same NRA the Senate just said is a Russian intelligence asset.

I thought the NRA was on the verge of bankruptcy ?

So he's really asking Russia to pay his impeachment legal bills.

Yes

I think the impeachment focus needs to be wider than just the Ukraine charges. They'll find a way to weasel out of it and the Repugs will be able to focus their talking points too well if the Dems only pursue one path. They need three or four overarching charges that have all the crimes outlined beneath them. Let the Repugs try to dismiss fifteen different crimes in four different categories all with concrete, incontrovertible evidence attached to them. All they'll be able to do is scream WITCHHUNT but they're going to do that no matter what anyway.

A sharp focus is the way to go, R511, particularly when the key pieces of evidence are easy to understand and already out there.

It also doesnt mean that the other investigation will stop....Pelosi already said they will continue.

And the price for the NRA's assistance? Trump will not pursue any gun restrictions. He's willing to let people die for his own survival. Of course.

Why is Trump asking for financial help? Isn’t he a billionaire? Surely he wouldn’t lie about his wealth, right?

My God, the NRA. It just keeps getting worse.

The impeachment charges are filed as separate "counts", and each count has to be voted on separately in both the House and Senate. The advantage of a variety of counts is that while Repugs could vote no on some lesser counts, it'd be difficult for them to vote no to the more serious ones. It only takes a yes vote on one count to convict.

So is the Congress going on recess or not?

Trump will never be a free man because he knows too many secrets and we know he'd sell them as soon as he left office. I think they will have to keep him somewhere for the rest of his life if he isn't jailed.

R519, He was briefed on Day 1 about the presence of extra-terrestrials, just as every president has been, and I'm sure they are concerned that he will blab about it to someone.

[quote]Why is Trump asking for financial help?

Because he's already tapping his MAGA sucker-financed campaign funds for his Mueller legal fees. There’s only so much you can grift from each source.

A narrow focus is a mistake. It is too easy to spin and lie their way out of it and the Repugs will not be as pressured to really consider the charges at all if they only need to vote 'not guilty' on one count. The Democrats need to be focused, of course, but not on a single crime or count. It needs to be a clear, concise accounting of all his crimes under several major counts. Make the Repugs have to defend everything and vote 'not guilty' multiple times on crimes that everyone can see are clearly crimes.

His dealing with the NRA are shameful

I love how the Russian Trolls are trying to discreetly beat up on Nancy with "the narrow focus is a mistake." If there's one thing that's been proven over the last four years - Americans have zero attention span and they don't want to be bothered with having to read something or understand something. They's rather take someone's word for it over Twitter or Facebook. So it's actually VERY smart they are focusing on a CLEAR violation of his oath of office that even Sarah Palin could understand (when she's not hopped up on Adderall). Nancy knows there is MUCH more to come and knows that this narrow focus will expand to more players and more impeachable acts. For now, let's stick to the low hanging fruit.

And boy the NRA must be flush with cash from Russia - WE all know Trump is great about paying his bills.

How would it be legal for a lobbying organization (even one that hasn't been funneling money from Russia) to pay a sitting President's legal bills. Especially, if those bills are the result of an impeachment?

That just seems like the most blatant act of corruption possible, outside of just inviting in the Russian Military and handing over the keys to Putin.

[quote]It is too easy to spin and lie their way out of it and the Repugs will not be as pressured to really consider the charges at all if they only need to vote 'not guilty' on one count

They wouldn't go for a single count. Nixon, had he not resigned, was facing three, all related to Watergate. There two additional ones, about tax evasion and bombing Cambodia, that didn't make it out of the committee.

Reading about the guy from Nevada is encouraging. If I expect anyone to be ride or die for Trump, it's a guy from rural NV.

The NRA needs to be investigated NOW

R525, I would think the opposite is true. I think people who think a narrow focus will get it done are trying to help the Repugs. They are setting up a narrative for the later witch hunt claims. I can hear the Repug whining now. "Look at all those counts. They charged him with everything just because they don't like him! Total witch hunt!!"

If after everything he's done, he's only charged with one thing and then found not guilty by the Senate, he wins and it makes everything else he's done completely moot.

Anyone who thinks people wanting a wider focus are Russian/Repugs will have to believe that Jill Wine-Banks is a Russian troll.

Quit fretting.

He’ll do plenty more stupid, corrupt stuff that will get attached to this. He can’t help himself.

The narrow focus will have several branches.

Volker, the guy at the State Department Giuliani was dealing with, has resigned.

...and was quickly added to the impeachment subpoena list, I hope.

From the State Department, or the McCain Institute?

new article

pee pee tape circulating: fake or real?

few have noticed

R534, the State Department.

The pee tape is a distraction - let's focus on the impeachable acts and his freaking out over them.

The pee tape is a distraction - let's focus on the impeachable acts and his freaking out over them.

Despite my dislike of McCain, he at least had Putin's number. I'd be furious that my work was being carried on by one of his stooges.

CNN:

Sources: Special envoy to Ukraine resigns one day after whistleblower report released

I'd have been shocked if he didn't resign.

For a diplomat, to be dragged into such a scandal involving diplomatic relations is the kiss of death.

The House wants to depose him (Volker) next week.

To the surprise of no one.

WSJ:

NRA's Ties to Russian Nationals Alleged in New Report

Good God, R543 He is one coat of varnish away from Cigar Store Indian in that picture.

Except, of course, for the hairline, raccoon-eyes, and crow's feet

Chelsea Clinton just shaded Trump....She fired back a tweet after the president .......

Trump: THE GREATEST SCAM IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN POLITICS

Chelsea's response: Yes you are!

I'll try again.

It's important to also keep in mind, that the Supremes always believe the issue of national security trumps other concerns. So if the House turns the tables and cites National Security issues against Trump, the Court will be more positively disposed to rule in favor of the House. It will probably be 5/4 with Roberts or possibly Kavanaugh voting with the Liberals. Gorsuch and Thomas and Alito will always support Trump and the GOP.

They’re not just going after Biden, it’s the DNC, too. Something about servers and an Israeli spy firm...

Washington Post:

Giuliani cancels paid appearance next week at Kremlin-backed conference

[quote] The same NRA the senate just said is a Russian intelligence asset

The senate minority said that. All democrats. No republicans.

Thank you for the correction, Kellyanne Cuntway at R551.

I’ll give you more

“The committee’s Republican majority issued a rebuttal, saying the Democrats are using “facts and innuendo” about the NRA-Russia ties that “together demonstrate little to nothing,” and said the “extent of the evidence reviewed does not raise concerns the NRA abused its tax-exempt purposes when some of its high-ranking officials traveled to Russia in December 2015.”

————-

They’ll never give up

Let's add #GeneralCoverUp to #MoscowMitch and #LeningradLindsay.

Barr should not be able to weasel out of this.

Are the idiots actually trying to claim Russia and the NRA have no ties? One word...Butina. Another couple of words...Russian gun meetings. Ooh, and some more...NRA going bankrupt after Russian money goes bye-bye.

CBS Sunday Morning lineup: Lindsey Graham, Rudy Giuliani, Chris Murphy, Will Hurd, and Terri Sewell.

Why does near every news release on the scandal has Lindsey Graham as the title pic?

Then Graham is invited on all these news programs. The media loves her.

We need to keep the #Moscow Mitch thing going. It seems like it's fallen off a bit. We have to make sure he knows we know.

Giuliani cancelled his appearance when he discovered CNN was covering it and talking abut how Rudy and Putin were going to be at the conference, etc. If he had not been busted he would have gone. After all, it was a paid appearance.

They can issue subpoenas but

1) the subjects might refuse to appear

2) if they appear they will answer questions with “I don’t know....I’m not aware of that....I don’t recall....I’m not sure...

Every tweet is ass kissing Trump.

Read the replies, though.

The nice thing about impeachment is that if they ignore subpoenas, it can get added to potential articles.

Contempt of Congress by itself is one thing, as a pot-sweetener atop everything else...

[quote]President Trump told two senior Russian officials in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was unconcerned about Moscow’s interference in the U.S. election because the United States did the same in other countries, an assertion that prompted alarmed White House officials to limit access to the remarks to an unusually small number of people, according to three former officials with knowledge of the matter.

[quote]White House officials were particularly distressed by Trump’s election remarks because it appeared the president was forgiving Russia for an attack that had been designed to help elect him, the three former officials said. Trump also seemed to invite Russia to interfere in other countries’ elections, they said.

R599, one of the things that makes the Ukraine case compelling is that most of the evidence is already in the public record. If WH witnesses come in and refuse to answer, that means they are not offering a counter-story, they are not putting on a defense.

R561> Does Contempt of Congress mean - Now, folks will go to jail for ignoring a subpoena or not answering questions on the stand? Because THAT is the only thing that will work against trump’s ass-kissers.

Do we have enough facts yet or do we need more investigation?

Who's going to arrest them???

Which is why Dems need to press for the obvious Barr recusal for the investigation as he has been named a party by Trump numerous times. With Barr sidelined, the referrals for prosecutions will flow to the DoJ.

And what is going to convince Barr to recuse himself?

I say we impeach bloated Billy first.

Lock his fat up then get this show on the road.

Otherwise, he is just going to obstruct, lie, destroy evidence and protect fat Donnie

I mean Lord knows why anyone thought they could trust him. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

The named people in the WB complaint are already scheduled to be appearing for depositions in front of the Intel Committee next week, according to the HoR letter sent to Pompeo.

They are Volker, the EU Ambassador, the former Ambassador to Ukraine, and a couple others.

Are they all going to fall in line with, "nothing to see here.."

Or better yet...

"That's Classified and we can't say whether any of this was ever discussed at any point ever in time."

These are closed door depositions.

I'd think at least the sacked Ambassador to Ukraine should be willing to talk.

Does Art. 2 mean that Cheeto just needs to be impeached (not necessarily removed), so that he can't be pardoned by Pence?

[quote]The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

Lots going on right now, but it's worth noting that Ukrainians have officially nicknamed their president ....

....wait for it....

"Monica Zelinsky".

It means he cant pardon anyone being impeached. ...and thats a long list. He can pardon them for their crimes so their not prosecuted, but impeachment isnt a legal action...its a political one....thats why the courts dont get involved. Trump would need to make arrangements with Pence if he wants to be pardoned if impeached...I dont think Pence would do it to be honest.

I always believed the IC would take on the role of checking Trump: Impeachment...unfortunate event, either or.

And Barr will go down as a bigger villain than any of Nixon's Men.

A bit of linguistic levity

[quote]The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives killed a Republican resolution on Friday disapproving of the formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this week. The vote was 222-184, largely along party lines, in favor of a motion to table the resolution introduced by Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader.

On Volker's resignation:

Reminder from whistleblower: "According to White House officials I spoke with, this was "not the first time' under this Administration that a 'Presidential transcript was placed into this codeword-level system solely for the purpose of protecting politically sensitive ... info."

Did we miss this?

[quote]The first Republican House member has announced support for the impeachment inquiry against President Trump: Representative Mark Amodei of Nevada

The full list:

lmao so now it's not just transcripts with calls to Putin but also the Saudi royal family that were put in restricted access

the big orange turd is getting hammered with each passing hour at this point

so much breaking news

I'm starting to think at this point he will eventually resign

R586 one can hope but I don't think he will. I think he's proven to be someone who will go down with it all because he can't admit defeat... and because he's never had to face consequences in his life.

Link to new thread for when this one maxes out:

Thanks for the new thread OP!

Closing

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From r560:

"You can try to keep hiding from your constituents, but eventually you will have to show up in public to answer our questions. Imagine tweeting a picture of meeting with 3 people. #cowardlylindsey"