Within Treason: Obsession (The Impeachment Inquiry, Part 3) 

Link to previous thread for reference:

New CNBC Poll: Trump approval rating down to 37%.

What a great gif. I've never seen one of Trump laughing. Hillary... Our lost opportunity...

Thanks for the new thread, OP. And there really is no better way to to describe their obsession with Hills!

I heard a Deplorable gleefully say, "He fired Nancy (hahaha), that'll teach that bitch."

It's no wonder Dotard's their Idol.

Interesting post.

Jingo-ism at it's worst - not even able to come up with a new, catchy phrase to focus the hatred. So sad.

On another note - how is it legal to place an ad on Youtube that is supposedly an 'official government survey' for socialism?

They're not supposed to make a phone call or lick a stamp from the WH on behalf of the campaign....their lawlessness knows no bounds.

sorry about the comma in the wrong place

R9...It is common knowledge and was reported before he was confirmed for AG, that Barr worked for a Russian bank/Oligarch....but, like every other nominee from Trump, McConnell ignored it and the GOP dismissed it and pushed them through anyway.

Helpful NYT explainer on how documents are created, stored and accessed on the WH servers.

r9....i might add, look at Wilbur Ross...HE RAN A DAMN RUSSIAN MONEY LAUNDERING OPERATION...AND EVERYONE KNEW IT (Bank of Cyprus)...YET, THEY MADE HIM SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.

[quote]McConnell ignored it and the GOP dismissed it and pushed them through anyway.

In terms of a career, McConnell doesn't have much to risk. At best he has one term left given his age. As long as he doesn't get convicted of criminal behavior at worst he will go down as a horrible Senate majority leader. In the meantime he's had all those glorious years of power, which I think is all he cares about.

McConnell and his wife are loaded. Wealthy. And they live like royalty. They will miss nothing if he loses.

CNBC:

Pompeo rips Democrats' attempts to 'bully' State Department officials with deposition requests

USA Today:

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney: Ukraine phone call 'is starting to seem like a political set up' against Donald Trump

Like all morally circumspect people first they lie and deny, then they lash out and get angry, and then finally fall.

Pompeo won’t allow 5 State Dept officials to testify.

This is bizarre, even for L.G. This looks disturbing. L.. G. Is out of bounds.

R18, they trapped him with his own criminality!! How unfair!!

Regarding Facebook.....

From: Faux:

Leaked audio comments from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly include him saying that the tech company would likely have no choice but to sue the U.S. government to stave off being broken up if Elizabeth Warren becomes president.

"You have someone like Elizabeth Warren thinks that the right answer is to break up the companies … I mean, if she gets elected president then I would bet that we will have a legal challenge, and I would bet that we will win the legal challenge," Zuckerberg is quoted as saying in two Q&A sessions with Facebook employees during July.

"And does that still suck for us? Yeah. I mean, I don’t want to have a major lawsuit against our own government. I mean, that’s not the position that you want to be in when you’re, you know, I mean … It’s like, we care about our country, and want to work with our government and do good things. But look, at the end of the day, if someone’s going to try to threaten something that existential, you go to the mat and fight."

From ABC:

Trump campaign drops more than $1 million on Facebook ads in counter impeachment push

Graham can write all the letters he wants...won't make a wit of difference.

Graham doesn't write a damn thing to the citizens of South Carolina. This state is one of the worst in roads upkeep, education, domestic violence, environmental protection, rural health care, etc. Yet, he gets reelected with tons of special interest money, including $800,00 from just one oligarch with ties to Putin.

Isn’t there a pussy somewhere that Liz Cheney should be munching on?

Liz Cheney: Traitorous Dyke

Liz Cheney’s body stink is emanating from my phone.

What committees does Graham sit on? How can he possibly think to compel foreign countries' Intelligence Services, unless he strongarms them the way Trump did with further quid pro quo, which is what got the Orange Shit Gibbon into so much trouble in the first place? Perplexing.

r29 Hes the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee...and I think he sits on Foreign Affairs, Appropriations and Budget Committees as well...he might sit on a few others.

None of those committees authorized by vote for Miz L to be doing damage control for Trump and Barr with foreign entities, or make requests of foreigners in attempting to vindictively prosecute American intelligence agents who investigated Trump--Russia coordination.

[quote] R11: sorry about the comma in the wrong place

You are a gentlewoman!

Thinking about Pompeo and how he went from a Never Trumper to skillfully navigating the minefield to make him one of the most trusted advisors and longest serving members of Trump's cabinet. Harvard law grad. crooked failed businessman, member of Congress and now Secretary of State. And while others in the foreign policy/Intel orbit have fallen by the wayside, Pompeo prevails. It occurs to me that maybe the next person to fall by the wayside is Pence and Mike Pompeo would be VP just in time for Trump to fall. And then he had to go and fuck up by being part of this Ukrainian scandal. He is going to beat on his chest and tough it out, but he is going down.

Wanted to add that we should start calling him #MikeBenghazi. He earned it.

Washington Post:

Pompeo says State Dept. officials won’t show up for scheduled impeachment depositions this week

Politico:

Grassley breaks with Trump over protecting whistleblower

One of the only things Grassley's ever done that I respect.

Set up by who, Liz?

We have the memo of the call and know what he said first hand (with notable elipses so a full transcript may be even more damning). The only thing Liz can claim is he set himself up.

We starting to see the scramble trying to deflect and obfuscate from the simple fact that the WH provided the smoking gun on Trumps behavior (the memo of the transcript) and the whistleblower report syncs up with it. Btw the memo is flawed and incomplete! It is flawed but still damning!

There is simply no way back now.

How could he be “set up” when instigated the wrong-doing himself on the phone call (and then stupidly provided the summary proof of him doing so)? Have any reporters asked that cunt Liz Cheney to explain her statement? Set up by WHOM?

Every single thing Trump and his cabal are doing right now, is adding to the list of their crimes.

Ignorance at work.

Only 40% of Republicans think Trump asked Ukrainian President to investigate Biden.

These bastards are going to throw everything up against the wall to see what sticks. They will lie, obfuscate, deny, dissemble, and use circular reasoning in an effort to protect Cheatolini. It really is despicable.

40% actually seems like an very high number considering what a stranglehold Trump had on the party.

Here's what shaping up in the polls, from the ones I've seen: the hard-core 30% won't hear of impeachment at all; 20% think it's too early to decide; and 50% want Trump out of there now. Expect the fence-sitting 20% to erode mostly toward the fed-up 50%, and the Trumpoid 30% to stay rock solid.

I agree, R44. That figure — 40 percent — seems high for brain-dead Repukes.

But what part of that 40% think it was improper?

I just don’t understand how these people can look at Trump who is SUCH an obvious con man, and not even believe him which these things have come out of his own mouth. It’s just a major brainwashing on such a large scale. The Deplorables are like our own personal Jonestown.

R48 because white supremacy exists. These are what the corporate/evangelical/political machine have wanted for decades. Non-critical thinking-scapegoat-searching-strongman- needing people. Alive and smart enough for blue collar jobs and Jesus but not aware enough to see how much they have been fucked up the ass by the very machine they worship.

well I REALLY hope that the House uses their inherent contempt of Congress power if the State Department officials do not show up on Pompeo's orders. They should not be allowed to get away with it.

Lewandowski should have been held in inherent contempt too for not answering a lot of questions.

Barr wouldn't prosecute any of them obviously but the House Dems still need to use what powers they have

More from the Grifter-In-Chief...

R48 I know some of them. While Trump does say and do a lot that would make anyone question him, the deplorables simply turn on Fox "News" and they are brainwashed out of any critical thinking. I really do suggest watching a few clips on twitter for those here who have no idea how that channel operates. The lengths they go to to make up lies, deceive/falsely spin what's really happening is astounding.

Piece of shit Gaetz is now trying to smear Schiff by "sharing audio of Schiff accepting dirt on Trump from pranksters". The desperate Trump defenders are still clinging to that prank call to Schiff from a while back. The thing is, Schiff contacted the FBI before and after the call so there's nothing wrong with what he did. OF course they're not going to mention that fact on Fox "News" though. They're trying to get this "Trump didn't do anything wrong in the Ukraine call but look Schiff and the Democrats are the ones who are fishing for dirt on political rivals!!!" nonsense.

Fox spends A LOT of its time picking out clips from mainstream media to show "that they're lying and wrong" by "correcting " them with their Fox spin.

Deplorables see that shit and they think it's real. They don't understand that they're watching a propaganda network. Fox and repub politicians have convinced them that the mainstream media is liberal, leftist, biased against conservatives and lies. Conservative media "tells it like it is". What I've learned as I've analyzed this phenomenon is that for some people, if you tell them what they want to hear (in this case going back to the 1950s was our golden age and white hetero male xtians are the good people), they'll be willing to accept what you want them to believe.

Deplorables do not have common sense. OK I understand that when you're watching a channel calling itself "news", that you should be entitled to an expectation that you'll be getting real news. The problem is, they don't think all the mainstream channels are believable because they aren't hearing what they want to hear. Fox and other conservative outlets have realized this now for 20 years and have really caused such division in our country. We really would be much further along socially and politically had we maintained just our mainstream media. The conservative outlets from Fox to the newer smaller One America News to Breitbart and the talk radio shit are pure poison.

CNN:

Democratic National Committee slams Facebook for letting Trump 'mislead' Americans 'unimpeded'

Miami Herald:

'He conned us from day one': Giuliani's Ukraine ally leaves trail of South Florida debts

So symbolic, don't you think?

r43...the worse part is that they will be allowed to do it.

it's time for Facebook to lose its relevancy a la Myspace. Fuck Zuckerberg

Less than a month ago....

I fucking hate Zuckerberg.

younger people tend to use facebook a lot less than 5 years ago but millions of Gen X and Boomers still do. It won't be going away any time soon sadly

Three House cmte. chairmen respond to Sec. Pompeo letter:

“Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress—including State Department employees—is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry.”

It's been two years since Fb is dead to me. I've read a lot, took up kayaking and tai chi, built a shed, gardened like crazy....yeah, get Fb out of your lives, if you haven't already, and not just because it's toxic.

Mutha Maxine starts a tweetstorm

Journalist Julia Ioffe says she got a tip that Breitbart is about to out the whistleblower.

^Breitbart Is probably having their lawyers fix things, first.

I see a lot of correlation to the fact that Putin wants to extradite the operative being protected in the US who was spirited out by the IC before ol' Bonespurs could give him up. This is the IC showing them the score: you don't protect us, we don't protect you.

Pardon, that should be *wants us* to extradite.

Outing the WB is monstrously despicable. They are dirty, nasty, fuckers who fight very ugly and try to win at all costs. That is all that they care about. Rules mean nothing to them.

Son of a dead Deutsche Bank executive has hundreds of his father's documents and emails, which show evidence of wrongdoing by the bank, and he's has been secretly helping the FBI and the House Intel Cmte's investigations. He initially wanted to monetize this stuff, and got connected to Adam Schiff through musician Moby, of all people.

So this is WB#3?

That was fun to type, for a lot of reasons.

Heard yesterday, Trump and others want to bring Steve Bannon back to the WH on staff.

Thereby officially opening the 10th gate to hell....

R71, that's consistent with the reappearance of Gorka.

Once again, Moby saves western democracy.

THis site has been janky af for the last week.

Time to call in some IT help.

Lindsey attacking the WP in a series of tweets.

The WP probably welcomes the attacks. It sells more newspapers & ads.

Speaking of “janky”; I know this belongs on the MSNBC thread, but how the fuck does that prissy, smarmy, stumbling, placating-fool, Chuck Todd keep his job at that network? Unwatchable. And not for nothing, he’s straight? Mind boggling.

Why do ppl like Barr, Graham, Pompeo believe so strongly that they will get away with all this?

Where does that confidence come from?

^^^^^^^ - Orange Kool-Aid

Also, R78, it’s too late for them to back out now.

Pompeo has pigface.

[quote]Where does that confidence come from?

They’re taking their cue from Trump. Trump has seemingly proved that stubbornness and venality can win the day. Be shameless and then double/triple/quadruple down on any lie you find convenient. This is the Roy Cohn school of power.

The trick is, it only works if you’re a committed sociopath. Most human beings can’t do it convincingly. Frankly, the jury’s out as to whether anyone who isn’t Trump can do it.

Washington Post:

Live updates: House committee chairs counter Pompeo, say secretary should stop intimidating witnesses

Politico:

White House ordered top-secret system upgraded to prevent leaks

Politico:

Clinton snarks at Giuliani: 'Yes, I am famously under-scruntinized'

Business Insider:

Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters calls for Trump to be 'imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement' for his 'filthy talk' about the whistleblower

I saw the clip of Martha Radditz questioning Pompeo about the phone call and man, he is a sucky liar.

Trump wanted to build a moat between the U.S. and Mexico and fill it with "snakes or alligators."

Or you could just use administration officials, they're pretty toxic.

When will a politician finally tweet Trump to “Go Fuck Yourself!”

NYT:

Trump Wants to ‘Interview’ Whistle-Blower

R78 in Barr's case it's pure arrogance. He got away with being the cover-up king during the Bush term 30 years ago. Now those scandals were much more minor in comparison to what's going on now but that set a precedent. Not only did Barr get away with it, you had respected legal minds on MSNBC and CNN praising him before his confirmation saying they thought he'd be a "by the book" guy. His reputation was well respected! After finding out what he did 30 years ago I was shocked they'd say that.

So he thought he could up the ante and for a while he's gotten away with it again but this time might be different. His Mueller report conduct was really outrageous and this stuff about him gallivanting to other countries trying to discredit the US intelligence agencies and their findings on Trump/Russia despite overseeing them as AG is too much to handle. Barr should get disBARRed at the very least. I'd like to see jail time but I doubt it

I love Maxine Waters but she'll be the latest Fox target tonight on all the shows. You know they love attacking black women

I bet every drugstore in D.C. has run out of immodium!

Instead of referring to Trump as “Individual One”, he should be referred to as “Criminal One”. Maybe “Traitor One”. Is there a noun for “One who commits sedition”?

R48, Because they finally have a President who mocks people; who hates whom they hate; who's a grifter like themselves; who grabs hot women and even married two; who never speaks of art, culture, music, etc.; who is similarly out of shape; who eats fast food; etc.

In short, fat and bigoted louts love their own.

I'm almost there, r89!

BREAKING: the State Dept IG has requested urgent briefing tomorrow with senior congressional staff members, related to documents on Ukraine.

^^^OOOOOH!!

Idiot David Cameron’s shilling his book in America. He’s terrified of talking about Ukraine.

This is super juicy - IF true. Who knows how reliable the guy is.

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: I’m told that Pompeo’s office in recent days asked State Department HR/IG if they could “discipline” officers for “failure to follow direction” if they cooperate with Congress.

This, I’m told, is PART of the IG’s urgent request to Congress.

There is written documentation.

The IG and HR teams wouldn’t go along with Pompeo’s ask.

The IG for State was appointed by Obama. Not sure about the HR people but the IG and HR are in lockstep against Pompeo’s ask.

I’m told that @OversightDems received a report on this from a government employee in the last hour.

State Department staffers were truly shocked by the directive, which the IG denied. It appears that Pompeo is threatening his officers if they comply with Congressional inquiries.

R97, what does that mean or suggest?

Fight back. Disclose. You’ll be a hero and a book deal is likely.

Wow, R100. That sounds extremely plausible.

Yeah, just looking at that guy's Twitter picture, I'm calling pure, unadulterated horseshit. He's not even verified.

I would love it to be true, but this is not a reliable source.

Motherfucking cult.

But Pompeo did accuse House Republicans of engaging in bullying, so presumably that's what HE'S doing. It's not unbelievable, R104.

You mean he accused House Democrats.

Yeah, we need exposition!

R107, yes, I mistyped.

Pompeo is just projecting, like his boss. HE is the bully. To his direct reports and any staff within the toss of a donut.

Secretive unconstitutional cover-up by Bill Barr is exposed in detail here. Fascinating detective work.

"Elegant simplicity."

The Hill:

Trump says he's becoming victim of a 'coup'

He's freaking out. Wonder how he'll act out to distract America.

NBC:

At the heart of impeachment, a potential dagger for Trump's re-election

Yeah, he's the victim of a coup by the Constitutional guardians of legality, backed by upwards of 50% of the American people.

He'll call for demonstrations across the country. People with guns will attend. Some will come to DC to mob the House.

r116, Don't you know, he ALWAYS has to be the victim.

OK. The other shoe is dropping. Pompeo issued a statement . None of his staff from the state department will cooperate with the Impeachment inquiry. They will ignore subpoenas. So now, tonight, the Inspector General of the State Department has requested an URGENT meeting with the Schiff committee and asks that it be confidential. So is this a ploy to buy time for Pompeo to stall the contempt citation he has earned? Something stinks about this.

Toad Cruz tried this in 2013 and it was such a joke.

Deplorables don’t even own cars and never go further than the local dollar general.

Not gonna happen.

Politico:

Democrats turn eye to Rick Perry in Ukrainian probe

Barr Went to Rome to Hear a Secret Tape from Joseph Mifsud, the Professor Who Helped Ignite the Russia Probe

The Daily Beast has learned that Barr and Durham were especially interested in what the Italian secret service knew about Joseph Mifsud, the erstwhile professor from Malta who had allegedly promised then candidate Donald Trump’s campaign aide George Papadopoulos he could deliver Russian “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. The Italian Justice Ministry public records show that Mifsud had applied for police protection in Italy after disappearing from Link University where he worked and, in doing so, had given a taped deposition to explain just why people might want to harm him.

A source in the Italian Ministry of Justice, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Daily Beast that Barr and Durham were played the tape. A second source within the Italian government also confirmed to The Daily Beast that Barr and Durham were shown other evidence the Italians had on Mifsud.

So the IG is doing an EMERGENCY testimony tomorrow for ALL 8 committees

Volker is testifying the day after (Thurs.)

and the former special envoy is testifying next Friday

Pompeo's stonewalling is failing miserably.

All this business is starting to scare me. The President is a delusional narcissistic psychopath, and I mean that literally. The only people left around him are yes-men and sycophants who don’t mind reporting to him. WTF?

Just for fact's sake, Mary Cheney is the lesbian, not Liz. Mary's no prize, either, but we definitely don't want Liz.

Have you wondered why @LindseyGrahamSC has been defending @realDonaldTrump like his life depended on it? A friend in federal law enforcement told me about a certain threat @realDonaldTrump has made to Graham. It's personal. It's awful. And it's working very well.

NYT:

Impeachment Rules Say Senate Must Act, but Its Act Might Be a Swift Dismissal

[quote]who grabs hot women and even married two;

Well. that eliminates Lindsey.

NEW: The son of a dead @DeutscheBank executive — armed with hundreds of confidential bank files — has been secretly helping the FBI and the House Intelligence Committee investigate the bank and @realDonaldTrump.

[quote] Senate Must Act, but Its Act Might Be a Swift Dismissal

If they vote to dismiss the articles of impeachment without conducting a trial, the Rethugs can kiss their Senate majority goodbye. But, by the time we get to that point, sentiment in the country in favor of removal will likely be high enough to scare McTurtle away from that foolish course of action.

R127, I pointed that out on another thread last night and everyone just kept on and on about how the Repugs could never get away with that! Idiots. It's like they haven't been paying attention for the last five years. Oh, and there's R130, right on cue.

That's the reason I want the Democrats to move slowly and with extreme deliberation on the impeachment. If not, the entire thing could be done by Christmas and forgotten, except as an asterisk in history books, by January. That's also why they need to have more than one charge. If they are going to rapidly dismiss things, they need to dismiss multiple counts with tons of trailing, concrete evidence. If it's one fucking count, it'll be done in an afternoon.

Sweet Jesus, Senator Chris Murphy is on with Rachel Maddow right NOW, and I have lust in my heart. Damn.

I know Chris Murphy well - he is a good man.

I think going slowly and dragging in more counts is a mistake. The slower this drags out, the more Trump's fixers try to muddy the waters, the more everyday citizens tune out. Adding extra counts also gives Republican Senators more room to hide. Keep it simple, keep it fast. The other investigations will keep bubbling in the background.

That’s why James Franco is playing Chris Murphy in the biopic. He’s already committed.

I’ll be disappointed if this IG testimony tomorrow isn’t boldly horrifying. It sounds so urgent tonight.

R134, bubbling in the background to what end? The moment he is found not guilty by the Senate, there will be three days of outrage and then everything will move on with the Repugs now having a talking point to crow about and dampen all the other investigations. The American populace is low information. All they will know is that he was found not guilty and assume that the Repugs were right all along about the Democrats being on a witch hunt.

If we impeach him before next February with at least four to five different well-evidenced counts, we lose.

R136, the IG of the State Department wants to testify concerning documents from the State Department's office of legal counsel. That supports the rumor that Pompeo asked his legal counsel whether he could "discipline" people for testifying before the House committees.

OK. Let's take a break from all this Impeachment shit. R133, tell. I want to know what you know about Chris Murphy.

Don Lemon is now astonished at what he gets to report tonight: Trump wanted to surround the wall with a moat filled with alligators and snakes, plus spikes on top of the wall. If anyone threw rocks or tried to climb, we could shoot them! When told this was illegal, he said”ok maybe we can shoot them on the legs to slow them down...”

😮😵

Don's branded his the woke hour, though in truth it puts most people to sleep.

The President is a fucking moron.

Mitch will not gavel the Senate impeachment hearing into oblivion. That would create outrage. Instead, he’ll try to drag it out, and make it as boring as possible. They’ll argue “both sides do it”, and “business as usual”, and after he’s lost most of the audience due to boredom, then he’ll gavel the hearing closed.

In case the guy who tweeted about the State IG urgent request turns out to be right, I'm bringing here his thread on Mifsud (suspected to be Russian operative communicating with George Papadoup) and his tape that Barr was hunting down in Italy.

In short: the conspiracy theory that Barr may be pursuing is that Mifsud wasn't Russian but Western intelligence. Presumably, to falsely wrangle Trump campaign while the real conspiracy was by Hillary, FBI, CIA, and multiple Western intelligence agencies etc.

The IG's request is unprecedented. I think it will be abbout 1) more whistleblowers 2) Pompeo's attempt to quash documents and/or 3) Pompeo's abuse of HR rules.

Whatever it is, it will be a(nother) bad day for Pompeo and/or Trump.

Think about this.....

Pure horseshit. It is a done deal. It happened. Putin even admitted he backed Trump in one of his news conferences. They hacked into all 50 state elections, they invested millions in disinformation campaigns on social media, they did Wiki Leak dumps, hacked the DNC, funnelled oligarch's money to Trump, and tens of millions to the McConnell superpacs and to Ryan's. And the NRA. There is m roe than enough evidence. They were pretty blatant. Everything else Trump Barr and Pompeo are peddling is bullshit. It is designed to confuse and intimidate. This is typical of the way the Russians fight back. And really what is at issue is the 2020 election. This is distracting from 2020 and there is definitely more interference than just Trump looking for information on Biden.

It is also possible that what the IG talks about tomorrow it could point to charges of obstruction for Pompeo. It is going to be very interesting to see what comes out of this.

I just watched Frontline about MBS and it's obvious to me that Saudi Arabia quickly moved-in to curry favor with Dotard to: 1) buy arms from the U.S. and 2) to get the U.S. into a bogus war with them against Iran.

I don't think Iran attacked S.A.

I believe the Russians also hacked the RNC, and some day we’ll hear about what they found. I bet it’s more than just Risotto recipes.

I have already told you all the kopromopat on LG is of relations with an underage (in SOME states) boy but not underage in the state he had relations in at the time. The rumors of being spit-roasted by BBC is not rumors.

Ok, I’m showing my ignorance, but what is BBC, r151?

Just enter "BBC'" in the DL search box, R152, and you'll find out.

ps = it has nothing to do with UK television

Only the Illuminati knows, R152. That’s how we recognize each other. We speak in inscrutable riddles, and only we can unravel them.

I hate to break it to everyone, but the coup is almost complete. Ukraine caved to Putin tonight, Trump and his regime have infiltrated all aspects of government...including Congress. He is successfully discrediting and disabling our intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Sanctions will now successfully be lifted on Russia and the World will be in constant chaos. Yeah, Trump wasnt a Russian asset. Every fucking obstructionist and collaborator needs to be rounded up and tried for Treason like the French did after WW2. I only hope its not too late to stop it.

R152 big black cock. I don't know why they didn't just tell you.

Any new info, FCI?

Tragicomic dirt on Pompeo

Richard Engel @RichardEngel:

For context, former senior US intelligence officials tell @nbcnews while at the CIA, Pompeo was a bully to subordinates, driving some to quit or seek new assignments. “Throwing binders was a popular sport," said one.

Pompeo, who accuses lawmakers who want answers of bullying, had fits of “anger” while at CIA, former Sr intelligence officials say. Often, an official said, it would happen if analysis didn’t match the political theme of the day. Lots of slammed phones + demands for polygraphs.

Out Pompeo like Weinstein.

It's about goddamn TIME these dim witted thugs had to face REAL consequences to denying subpoenas and stonewalling.

R157 Not anything I can report. Rumors are flying fast and loose.

I saw a brief blurb on NBC news of Zelensky saying he didn't feel pressured by trump on the call. Is that what you are referring to R155?

Not R155, but no, R162.

Ukraine’s government this week agreed to a snap local election in its eastern region, which is controlled by separatist factions, according to The Associated Press.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a briefing that Ukraine reached the agreement after a meeting with the Russian-backed separatists and Russian and European monitors. The separatists have controlled the region since 2014.

R162 No one with a functioning brain cell believes Zelensky "feels" he wasn't pressured. What is he supposed to say? Words don't lie. Even if he didn't "feel" pressured, it is obvious what was intended.

FCI:

Does Trump have a progressive neurological disorder (i.e. dementia like his father)?

Does Rudy have an alcohol abuse problem that is escalating?

FCI: we know you won’t comment on some things, but can you at let us know if you’ve been hearing those same rumors at r165?

[quote]Does Trump have a progressive neurological disorder (i.e. dementia like his father)?

How does wanting to build moats full of snakes and / or alligators on the Mexican border strike you?

R165 and R166 Yes and yes and worse.

None of you need me to tell you he has an obvious mental decline and mental illness. I am happy to confirm it.

Yeah, alligators, in the desert.

Thanks R163

Brian Schatz @brianschatz (US Senator from Hawaii)

I feel like tomorrow is going to be extremely impeachable.

If you're not following Brian Schatz and Chris Murphy on Twitter, you're missing out.

Geoff Bennett @GeoffRBennett

INBOX: Pelosi *and Schiff to hold a press conference tomorrow at 10:45AM ET

Matthew Gellert @MatthewGellert

Expect @realDonaldTrump to have a Twitter meltdown at 10:46 AM

Pompous and Barf need to both recuse themselves.

Congress should only be communication with their deputy directors at this point. They are cut off from communication.

They both have been eating well on the public dime.

I wonder what all these personal jaunts costs taxpayers?

Something huge is going to drop at 10:45am?

Is that when the State Dept IG is giving his testimony to Congress?

omg cmon Nancy and Adam give it to us good!

God, I hope this is real

FCI can you provide the name of the State so we can google the age of consent there.

I thought of LG and his blackmailable pics yesterday when there was the big article about KP on the web.

KP?

[quote]Pompeo was a bully to subordinates, driving some to quit or seek new assignments. “Throwing binders was a popular sport," said one.

Now he'll never be president!

8 committees? Which 8?

Intelligence, Government Oversight, Judiciary, and Foreign Services I can come up with on my own. If the other four include (I'm guessing) Banking, Homeland Security, and Armed Services, the implications of the latter two are frightening.

This is bad, isn't it?

OK r183, first of all, I think you’re referring to something said in another thread:

[quote]Also the IG has requested an emergency meeting today with all 8 of the house investigative committees,

And I also think that poster was referring to the “Gang of Eight.”

Since the public got news of The Call, the stories are flowing forth like a tsunami. It's like the media had all these reports but were reluctant to release them.

They said House committees, R184. That's not a description of the Gang of 8.

Although I guess that's somewhat less worrying than thinking we had something so bad that there were immediate national security concerns.

What was in the binders, though?

None of will be president, damn it.

R164 EXACTLY! when a certain "request/favor" is mentioned 8 times in a conversation, what half brain person would think he wasn't being pressured! i mean really pres.of ukraine! let's see if anyone was in person or in a phone call and someone brought something, anything up 8 times, uh, of course what would that mean!...

[quote]the conspiracy theory that Barr may be pursuing is that Mifsud wasn't Russian but Western intelligence. Presumably, to falsely wrangle Trump campaign while the real conspiracy was by Hillary, FBI, CIA, and multiple Western intelligence agencies etc.

Yep, this is what the Trump team is traveling the globe trying to "prove" -- that Mifsud is a CIA agent who was directed by Obama/Hillary to set up the Trump campaign by leaking fake info to Pappadapolous.

Our tax dollars at work, folks.

WATCHED FAUX NEWS for a brief moment to hear douchebag butt kisser (dulcey), dumb broad (ainsley) and creep asshole (kilmeade) and the bottom headline was "schiff's relations with ukraine'?.. adam schiff has "relations" (what does that mean) with ukraine? i didn't bother to hear what they were spewing before i changed the channel...

off topic, but this week, the public face of the insidious thing cult that is scientology, tom cruise, met with the ukranian president! allegedly, cruise is looking at ukraine for future filming locations? said he loved ukraine's "cobble stone streets" (yeah, because no other place in the world has them! lol!).. meanwhile, uh doesn't the president of ukraine have more worries and more important things to do then get seduced and ass kissed by some movie star with the huge firestorm going on? NEVER MIND, the reality is cruise wants a foothold of his cult in that country and is using that president and at the very least using him for a photo op! ...

the president even stated when he first met cruise and greeting him "you are very good looking" OH GEEZ!... 2 MORONS!...

Britain's The Times reports that Trump also "personally contacted Boris Johnson to ask for help as he tried to discredit the Mueller investigation into possible connections between Russia and his 2016 election campaign."

I WONDER if the vast majority of americans realize that the circus going to other countries, contacting other countries for "help" means that THEY ARE LITERALLY ATTACKING all of our u.s. institutions! and branding them as ENTIRELY 100% EVERYONE CORRUPT, EVIL!....

i think this needs to be said over and over again by the media, the circus is attacking THEIR OWN COUNTRY the u.s. and it's institutions of authority and the law!..

There’s a saying that goes something like, “if you run into multiple jackasses in one day, then you’re the jackass.” Meaning, if everyone is against Trump , such as all our intelligence community, then the problem is Trump.

Trump fact-checker Daniel Dale reports on comments the prez made to diplomats and invited guests at the UN last week:

Trump told US diplomats at the UN that CNN built a beautiful studio, costing maybe $2 million, for the NC 9th election, and it was going to "stay up for weeks" if the Democrat had won, but instead CNN hastily took it down that night.

CNN did not build any set there at all.

His tweeting has become frenetic.

I don't want to hear anymore about his stupid lying. We all know he does that to distract and overwhelm. Get to the meat and start gnawing.

Pompeo's days are numbered. He must recuse himself in regards to this matter, be subpoenaed as a first-hand fact witness, and step down.

Barr is next.

Pompeo's legal team at State just blew the whistle to IG about obstructionism.

What do you mean, R199?

He is saying that the reason the IG is calling an emergency hearing today is because Pompeo's lawyers went to him with evidence of obstruction.

But we do not know what the IG has, though we should know before the end of the day.

The 8 committees are Appropriations, Foreign Relations, Intelligence, and Oversight, of both the House and Senate. Very unusual for committees from both bodies to meet together. The briefing will be in the SCIF, the secure location in the Capitol.

[quote]Pompeo's legal team at State just blew the whistle to IG about obstructionism.

Obstructionism by whom over what? Pompeo's lawyers wouldn't point the finger at their client -- and likely not his boss, either.

Pompeo's lawyers = State Dept. lawyers. They are not Pompeo's personal attorneys.

Geraldo Rivera to Sean Hannity last night:

“You know, if it wasn’t for your show, Sean, they would destroy him absolutely. You are the difference between Donald J. Trump and Richard Nixon."

[quote]Pompeo's lawyers = State Dept. lawyers. They are not Pompeo's personal attorneys.

Ah! Thank you.

To be clear, the IG is meeting with committee staff in the secure location, not committee members.

From WaPo:

Steve Linick, the State Department’s inspector general, plans to meet with staffers of key House and Senate committees Wednesday at 3 p.m. at his request. The committees were notified Tuesday that Linick wants “to discuss and provide staff with copies of documents related to the State Department and Ukraine,” according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. The offer by Linick’s office, which operates mostly independently from the State Department and is responsible for investigating abuse and mismanagement, comes amid a standoff between Pompeo and House Democrats, who are demanding documents and testimony on Ukraine-related matters for their impeachment inquiry. Linick’s office “obtained the documents from the acting legal adviser of the Department of State,” the letter said. The inspector general doesn’t have to seek Pompeo’s approval to approach Congress with information, especially if it is not classified. AD

It is unclear exactly what Linick will provide the committees, which include the panels in charge of foreign relations, intelligence, appropriations and oversight in the House and Senate. But the demand for any credible information related to Ukraine and the State Department is at a fever pitch as Democrats seek to build the case for Trump’s ouster based on his dealings with Ukraine’s leadership.

My bet is evidence of phone calls, red flags raised and quashed, and possible HR abuse/obstructionism.

Whatever it is, it is not going to look good for Pompeo. Or Trump.

Carl Bernstein on Morning Joe today, said, paraphrasing, the Democrats are too lethargic and unfocused to handle an expedient impeachment. His commentaries often sound Republican establishment friendly.

Adam Schiff is very smart and knows what to do, but he is under a coordinated attack by the Trump gestapo and friends. Democrats must get 100% behind Schiff and adamently have his back. They can't be having slumbering moments in this process. The snail pace, Nadler way, but lacked zip and toughness. Lewendowski should have been held in contempt on the he spot during testimony.

Yeah, they need to hold fuckers in contempt during testimony. Show some fortitude and conviction for fuck's sake.

Look. Back when Trump was running and then in the early months of his Presidency, he ranted about the Intelligence community and the FBI, etc.etc.etc. That was no accident. That was no whim. While it was personal to him about the FBI and the Justice department, it was also very much a part of the "Putin Agenda."

Trump was on a mission to dismantle and re-fashion our entire law enforcement and intelligence gathering networks. McCabe was a key player in anti terrorism, for example. It was no accident that Pompeo was given the CIA as his first presidential appointment.

The fact is we are now seeing exposed, the efforts to dismantle our intelligence gathering capabilities and the efforts to divide and discredit us internationally, which is absolutely key. Barr and Pompeo ought to be shot for Treason. They are filth. So is Trump.

And meanwhile Putin is laughing his ass off. Like Bin Laden, his attack on our country has borne more results than he ever dreamed. He has the luxury of laughing at the needy, transparently stupid Trump, even as he directs Trump's efforts to weaken America, Weaken NATO, and contribute to the chaos in Europe.

THings are really bad right now. No doubt about it. But it may give you some small comfort if you go to Wikipedia and read about John Mitchell, Nixon'sAttorney General, who eventually went to Prison. Oh. He tried to sabotage the Paris Peace talks during the 1968 campaign, when LBJ's people were trying to engage in the Peace process.

[quote]Carl Bernstein on Morning Joe today, said, paraphrasing, the Democrats are too lethargic and unfocused to handle an expedient impeachment. His commentaries often sound Republican establishment friendly.

That was Bob Woodward and I think he's old guard Republican

Why are Pelosi and Schiff so late coming out?

Bernie hospitalized.

[quote]“You know, if it wasn’t for your show, Sean, they would destroy him absolutely. You are the difference between Donald J. Trump and Richard Nixon."

How nice of Geraldo to remind us that Faux News was created to prevent another GOP president from impeachment or resignation. They realized they needed a propaganda arm to brainwash the public.

r212, the Paris Peace Talks were sabotaged. A few years ago someone was going through Haldeman's notes in Nixon's Presidential library and found evidence that Nixon was behind the sabotage. LBJ had always suspected it but could never prove it. I think this is what was erased on the tapes. It was treason.

Here we go...

R219, is this a regularly scheduled news conference?

Just an update on current legislation.

Nothing juicy.

[quote]is this a regularly scheduled news conference?

This is Nancy's weekly presser, but she's invited Adam Schiff to appear with her at this one, so they'll get into impeachment at some point.

R213 you are correct. Mistake with name. Thx.

You know, it's fun to read about nutty, dangerous historical leaders like Nero or Elagabalus, but living through one is very stressful.

This would be a good time to fix this broken website.

r224, I often wonder what it was like to live through WWII. It must have been a terrifying time., especially for Europeans.

I wish they'd shut down his Twitter account

NYT:

House Threatens to Subpoena White House for Ukraine Records

The Hill:

Giuliani suggests suing House Democrats over Trump impeachment probe

The Hill:

Democrat questions Pence, Perry on travel to Ukraine

Washington Post: ‘A presidency of one’: Key federal agencies increasingly compelled to benefit Trump

As the president said last month after John Bolton’s abrupt exit as national security adviser, “It’s very easy actually to work with me. You know why it’s easy? Because I make all the decisions.”

"A friend in federal law enforcement told me about a certain threat @realDonaldTrump has made to Graham. It's personal. It's awful. And it's working very well."

JUICY!!!!!!

I don't know if this has been posted yet.

Politico: A Trump hotel mystery: Giant reservations followed by empty rooms

Do they also have stuff on Prick Perry?

Seen on another forum: "Trump is having a tamper tantrum this morning."

[quote]Do they also have stuff on Prick Perry?

No they DON'T!!!

r235 how could they tell?

Trump has a temper tantrum EVERY morning. His tweets today have been particularly stupid by the way. Desperate and lame.

When Trump finally goes completely ballistic, will it be like the head exploding in Scanners or the head melting in Raiders of the Lost Ark?

head exploding in Scanners

Lindz wants a cat fight with Nancy Pelosi. Lindz wants to bully Nancy? You messing with the wrong one, Lindz.

US News & World Report:

Pelosi, Schiff Ramp Up Impeachment Pressure

I wonder if they blackmail all the closeted freeper gays like Miss Lindsey.

I don't think it's entirely impossible that he'll tweet, or better yet get caught saying in person, something along the lines of "Execute them!" or "Those traitors should die!" about Dem House leaders.

NYT:

‘We're Not Fooling Around’: House Democrats Tell White House Subpoena Is Coming

Trump is having a news conference now with the Finland guy. No questions from the press yet.

A sedated trump reading from the teleprompter, "my favorite word is reciprocity."

Sure Jan.

NBC:

Police told not to wear uniforms to political events, comes ahead of Trump rally

Trump - "shifty Schiff".

They released a word for word transcript of the call. Ummm. Adam Schiff had a mental breakdown when he up in front of congress and read the made up transcript of the call.

What did Schiff supposedly make up?

R251 Schiff added some dramatic flair to his reading of the phone call summary. trump has seized on that and has called for him to be arrested for treason, resign, etc.

What are you even talking about, R250?

No, a “word-for-word transcript” of the call was never released. What was released by the White House was a summary memo of the call.

Now he's saying that Schiff probably wrote the whistleblower complaint. The lies just roll of the tongue.

R253 trump said that a few minutes ago in his presser. Sorry I should have made that more clear.

FF R250. He's just making shit up.

He inserted some sarcastic comment when describing the transcript in his opening comments. It was a mistake. But not really that big of a deal. Everybody can see the real transcript.

No R250 isn't making shit up, trump is.

His soundbites are getting old. “Perfect call!” “Sad!” “Collusion Delusion!”

No, r256, Trump is.

He has nothing but lies at this point.

So is R250 just relaying what Trump is saying in his press conference? I'm not watching, so if Trump said that, my apologies to R250.

The poor Finnish President having to stand there and listen to the crazy train continue to gain speed.

Trump is crazy. Stupid Congressional Republicans thinking they can control this are delusional.

"Trump is having a news conference now with the Finland guy."

Tom of Finland?

"I'm a very stable genius". Yes, he said that again.

Trump says he's going to bring "a lot of litigation" against "a lot of people," apparently related to the Mueller investigation.

He’s “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed”.

Trump found out about mah gentleman callers and is blackmailing me into doing his bidding!

I cannot believe they let this raving, obviously guilty moron speak in public. Every sentence is a lie that contradicts something that's already been proven to any American with half a brain. Keep digging the hole, illiterate, barely functioning lunatic.

He speaks at a 6th Grade level and that’s why the retard rednecks love him.

“Da people on da oder side.”

The media just needs to shut him off at this point. JFC

He’s so fucking insane. He won’t answer the Biden question straight.

"You never had wins with other presidents, did you?"

His sexuality is the world's worst kept secret, R269!

How does anyone even talk to a Deplorable? Thank god I'm not close to any, or they hide their Deplorable-ness like their racism, because I'd cut off my own parents if they started spewing shit at me about the fake news media and coups against Dump.

R272 - the media shoudl NEVER cut him off. He's his own worst enemy- no one dumber.

He's ranting and raving in a most pissed off manner. I'll say it again, looney bin time.

The orange turd is just rambling on & on, going round in circles, never finishing a thought or point... Now, he's getting testy & refusing to give a direct answer, this is so disturbing....

He was totally rude to that reporter, who should have just given him the finger or something, but instead he gave in to Trump the Emperor who HAS NO CLOTHES.

At this point the SNL writers don't even have to bother writing Trump skits, they can just use a transcript of things he actually said

So after berating a reporter, calling him and the media corrupt , fake, etc forces him to ask the Finnish President a question, then interrupts and answers the question.

Impeachment can't come soon enough for this turd.

Biden and son are “Stone cold crooked”

"We'd be a far greater nation if we didn't have the CNNs of the world, who are corrupt."

He's shitting his Depends over the IG meeting and upcoming testimony. Every hour something else comes out and it never makes him look good.

I still have no idea what his point is about the whistleblower. Trump is the fucking moron who released the call summary.

Goddamn everything comes back to how wonderful he is and how corrupt & horrible everyone else is.

Is anyone watching on MSNBC? When it went back to the newsroom, "the president of the United States lying to the public at a pace never seen before," or something along those lines.

That was the most terrified lashing out from trump to date! Wow i really thought he was going to have a stroke. Angry, rude, belligerant, lying, defiant and visibly agitated. Kind of like a cornered possum. That poor president of Finland. This one will go down in the books. Finnish reporterr with balls asked pres of Finland: what favors has president Trump asked of you? Gasps in the room!

Trump was quoting Sean Hannity yes we are in DANGER Y’ALL! He totally unravelled I'm surprised he didn't take the fetal position by the end.

[quote]Now he's saying that Schiff probably wrote the whistleblower complaint. The lies just roll of the tongue.

The current Faux theory is the WB was a cabal of people headed by Schiff. The WB just submitted the complaint but it was compiled by Schiff & Co. Because nobody else can come up with such an elaborate text with footnotes and ample references to specific laws, EOs and regulations. All this is based off some tweet that Schiff sent back in August which the Rethugs claim is very suspect and proves he was behind the WB complaint.

It's the investigate the investigators strategy that Barr is trying to pull off on the Russia meddling. If you can discredit the messenger, the facts and conclusions are not important.

Schiff is like a dog with a bone, that's why they're trying to take him down to discredit the impeachment inquiry, so that the memo of Trump's words released by Trump himself is somewhat deemed a nothingburger.

The president appears to be sliding into a nervous breakdown in front of the entire world.

This administration is trying to staunch the bleeding from a self-inflicted amputation.

And yes R290 the world's most public unraveling.

Stable Genius!

Again, I love how they shift the focus from the actual crime being committed to the dirty, awful, people who would expose the crime. THAT is the crime!!!

#TrumpMeltdown

GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy tweets out a complete lie, claiming that Adam Schiff "just got caught orchestrating with the whistleblower before the complaint was ever filed" and that "Democrats have rigged this process from the start."

Fact check from NBC's Ken Dilanian:

This is totally false. Schiff got a heads up that a significant whistle blower complaint had been filed with the CIA, and that the complainant was worried it wasn't being acted upon.

Anyone from MN?

I had a friend post about how he started receiving text messages from Drumpf that said:

[quote]President Drumpf here. I want to see YOU Thursday, Oct. 10th at 7PM CDT at a HISTORIC rally in Minneapolis, MN. To claim your free tickets, RSVP here! bit.ly/2blahblahblah.

He has no idea how he got on their list.

He also said he's received the text 5 times in one week.

[quote]Trump found out about mah gentleman callers and is blackmailing me into doing his bidding!

—Miss Lindsey Graham, crying into my mint julep

Miss Linz, dear, this isn't your mansion, and you ain't that slim. Now the blackmail stuff: getting involved with Bone Spurs and Vlady has no good ending. You should have exposed your own skeletons when confronted with a threat. Not smart for the long term to submit. When you are no longer useful to them, the outcome is not good. As to those gentleman callers, you are accommodating a grand spectrum of what qualifies.

Chris Hayes:

What I would give to be in on the staff meeting w the Finnish President after he debriefs this whole thing.

Putin says he doesnt care if trump releases their call and trolls about 2020 election interference

Do you think he is just going to dump and expose Trump now??

They're trying to 'AndyMcCabe' Schiff.

But people are now wise to this maneuver.

Trump doesn't bash NBC by name. They hold the cut tapes and background statements while he was doing the Apprentice.

He always attacks CNN by name. Yet, CNN does the 'both sides' stuff way more than NBC affiliates, excluding fan Chuck Todd and a few others.

Shimon Prokupecz: Urgent briefing is over. The state dept IG left and said no comment regarding how the briefing went to CNN.

Let the leaking commence!

[quote]What I would give to be in on the staff meeting w the Finnish President after he debriefs this whole thing.

The Finnish Pres should just ask for an assessment by a clinical psychiatrist, and call it a day.

Of all of T-Rump's crimes, his forcing me to visualize Mike Pompeo's jockstrap is not the least.

Washington Post:

Live updates: Trump lashes out at impeachment inquiry in fiery news conference

Shit gets good at the 25:10 mark. Trump starts sneering at the reporters, tries to choose who stands up.

Nothing beats that bitch from CBS asking Pelosi and Schiff if theyre making too much of Trumps call with Ukraine. THIS SHIT FROM MEDIA IS WHY WE HAVE TRUMP IN OFFICE.

SOOOO...turns out the IG meeting today was Trumps teams attempt try to discredit Muellers Report to thwart the Impeachment Investigation.

Yamiche Alcindor:

Rep. Jamie Raskin said the purpose of the IG briefing today was to share information he had since May and doesn't relate to Trump's conduct re: Ukraine.

The IG turned over documents that contained mostly conspiracy theories, Raskin said.

Some of the information appeared intended to smear the former ambassador to Ukraine, who is due to testify next week.

Per msnbc: The conspiracy theory material was received in May by the IG. It came from the White House, in folders with logos of Trump hotels, and was addressed to Pompeo's secretary.

It tried to discredit among others the sacked Ambassador to Ukraine.

State IG thought better play it safe and alert the Committees in the aftermath of the memo of the Ukraine call.

They continue to defy the rule of law, as written in our Constitution, and Nancy is being brilliant by pushing their bullshit to the front and stripping them down as the thuggish clowns they are for all to see.

Did the corn farmers get it yet? Didn't that nice statement about big business swallowing small dairy farmers hit home yet? The so-called 'heartland' of his base is waking up to the fact that he conned them. Two things folks do when they realize they're conned: they either admit it, or they get very angry.

While Trump was with the President of Finland in the Oval Office today, he repeatedly said Adam Schiff “couldn’t carry Mike Pompeo’s jockstrap!” But because he doesn’t want to sound like mental case, he actually said “blankstrap.”

Trumps M.O. .....SUE EVERYBODY. The sad part about it is that it DOES tie shit up in court indefinitely....and the courts falls for it (just about) every time.

[quote]Nothing beats that bitch from CBS asking Pelosi and Schiff if theyre making too much of Trumps call with Ukraine. THIS SHIT FROM MEDIA IS WHY WE HAVE TRUMP IN OFFICE.

I heard that in the tv background and thought it was an absurd question. Some of these reporters think they ar being clever with such accusatory questions; as she hopes to get attention for it in a shit-stirring effort.

Anyone know her name?

R316 his Repressed Homosexual Attorney, Roy Cohn, who died of AIDS taught him that.

R316, Trump is good with threats. Remember all the women he assaulted? He was going to sue all of them, too. It didn't happen.

R317 it is however what Rethugs think. I can't tell you how many people I've heard defend Drumpf by saying, "Sure, he may have done that but it's the Democrats who are making too big of a deal about it. "

Meant to say they 'deny' they were conned....the others get angry.

R320, the immediate response to this sort of stupidity should be: Would you have said the same if Pesident Obama did that?

When they inevitably start to waffle, say, Hypocrisy much?, and disengage

OK, children. I have a reading assignment for you: House of Putin House of Trump by Craig Unger. It's an excellent book by a credible author and it's not real long. But damn if it isn't packed with historical information. According to Unger, Trump and Roy Cohn were really close, with Trump calling him a dozen times a day for advice on how to close deals on his very first Trump Tower project in Manhattan. They were close. Later Roy needed a favor from Trump, he asked Trump to give him a hotel room for someone who was dying of AIDS and Trump sent him a huge bill. Cohn said, "Donald has ice in his veins." He was always a selfish, cold hearted, fuck you, kind of guy. Truly evil. The RUssian mob arrived in NYC around 1974. Lots of criminals and mobsters.Kind of like when Cuba sent us a lot of criminals. Unger talks about Rudy, and of course half the book is devoted to Vlad and the RUssians. It is fascinating. Highly recommend it.

WaPo: Pence was in on efforts to muscle Ukraine.

Well, ok.

So Trump was using Pence? But Pence had to know what was up, right? Jesus Christ, it’s all so insane.

An aide of Pence was on the Ukraine call. He had to have known.

Who would take a threat from Pence seriously?

R322 it's pointless because the response to THAT is always, "It's different."

So the Pence and Dotard were BOTH in on it? hmm... I like the sound of that and this...

The Washington Post article on Pence:

[quote]An aide of Pence was on the Ukraine call.

Wasn't me!

President Pelosi has a nice ring to it.

All this crap about "The White House is teetering on the brink" or that "The white House is about to go over the cliff..." is bullshit. They said that when Cohen was raided by the FBI. They said it when Manafort got arrested. They said it when Mueller was appointed. . I don't believe for one minute that they don't have a strategy. I bet they do. And If they don't I'm sure Graham and McConnell are busy right this minute strategizing about how they are going to defeat this in the Senate. The only way Trump gets defeated is if the Dems play hardball, not just in Congress but in the TV wars. The propaganda wars. We need the public with us. We need the GOP to feel like they are totally isolated. We can help. We can make lives miserable for key Senators. Their home offices, etc. No Republican member of the Senate ought to walk out his door without seeing protesters.

My head hurts trying to make sense of all this shit. When will the Apprentice tapes be released of Trump using the N word?

[quote] The sad part about it is that it DOES tie shit up in court indefinitely....and the courts falls for it (just about) every time.

Not this time. Whatever ridiculous lawsuits he is contemplating will get tossed out of federal court in DC so fast it’ll make his empty orange head spin. No judge is going to question Pelosi and Schiff in carrying out their constitutional duties to determine if tRump has committed impeachable offenses. This is s very legitimate inquiry.

He is stupidly lashing out in a very scattershot, disorganized, and unfocused fashion. He got caught committing a crime that is simple and easily understood by most people. He has the very uneasy feeling that this is going to lead to his ouster thereby putting him in jeopardy for a lot of lawsuits that are waiting in the wings. A caged, wounded animal. Watch out.

A Trump hotel mystery: Giant reservations followed by empty rooms

House investigators are looking into an allegation that groups — including at least one foreign government — tried to ingratiate themselves to President Donald Trump by booking rooms at his hotels but never staying in them.

“Now we’re looking at near raw bribery,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a House Oversight Committee member who chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Trump’s hotel in Washington. “That was the risk from Day One: foreign governments and others trying to seek favor because we know Trump pays attention to this. ... It’s an obvious attempt to curry favor with him.”

But how does Dotard get nailed with that? He can't be held accountable for what foreign nations do to try to win his favor!

Washington Post:

Live updates: Trump lashes out at impeachment inquiry in fiery news conference

OMG! I would totally watch one of his Nazy rallies if CNN or MSNBC would present it with this Snapchat filter!

If the sources for this are Volker's people, let's hope he'll man up and throw Dumb and Dumberer under the bus.

[quote]Following fallout from Giuliani’s stunning on-air admissions that the State Department was involved, at least in part, with his efforts to surface fabricated allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, Pompeo reportedly clamored for someone to blame, according to three senior officials who spoke to the Daily Beast. Former U.S. representative to Ukraine negotiations Kurt Volker took the fall and resigned on Friday.

[quote]According to a senior official who spoke to the Daily Beast, Volker “definitely felt like he was being pushed out” and the State Department is now bracing for what might come from Volker’s testimony before several House committees this week.

r317...Nancy Cordes from CBS

r335....apparently you havent been paying attention to the Flynn case and the mockery being made of it by that bitch Sydney Powell.

R342, I’m speaking specifically about a series of threatened tRump lawsuits against Schiff and Pelosi. Those are simply not a viable cases, and a federal judge is not going to get involved. The Flynn case is an entirely different creature because Flynn is a criminal defendant. That implicates a set of protections that are not available in a civil lawsuit. Here, tRump is threatening to get the federal courts involved in a Congressional impeachment inquiry. This is so uniquely the province of the legislature that no judge is going to meddle. Yes, sure, we can dream up some scenario with a rogue judge, but that is mostly unlikely.

'MOTHER' launches an Instagram account. This, after establishing a Twitter account fairly recently.

DL Instagram ho watchers can now turn away from the sinful pics of aging shirtless celebs, dainty twinks, and power lifters on steroids; to the lovely, eloquent, faithful, and fun pics of America's charming 'MOTHER'.

the Finnish President after he debriefs

Pics please

NYC subway riders greeted by ad hyping ‘crazy’ Rudy Giuliani’s law offices: ‘Will work when drunk!’

And wouldn't you know, R344, that divorced harlot starts her Instagram with a scandalous sleeveless photo! She might as well be stark naked!

wow well today was even crazier than yesterday and the last couple weeks

it truly will keep getting much much worse before this is all over

and I hope the mainstream media shows Geraldo's comment last night that "Hannity is the difference between Trump and Nixon". Even though Geraldo meant it as a compliment, it serves as a stark reminder that most of the hosts on Fox are solely focused on protecting Trump/repubs and their wrongdoing.

No way would Trump have even 40% approval rating without the dishonest and propagandist conservative media

Dare to hope?

[quote]history professor who correctly predicted the results of the past nine presidential elections says that Democrats should not be concerned that impeaching President Donald Trump could harm their chances during the 2020 election. Speaking to CBS News host Tanya Rivero on Wednesday, American University history professor Allan Lichtman said impeachment could only help Democrats in 2020.

Did the Senate Judiciary Committee VOTE to approve Graham to contact three countries, insisting that they cooperate with William Barr in pursuing American intelligence agents who worked on the Trump-Russian investigation?

While the Senate Judiciary Committee is majority Republican, Graham is implying he is speaking for the full committee as a formal decision..

Vile. Replace him. Solid grounds to do it.

Nice gunt on Karen Pence.

Biden should just say that Trump is notorious for lying about his opposition. Just in the last few years, the biggest ones seemed to be:

Multiple lies about Obama being born in Africa. Claiming he sent private investigators to Hawaii. (The first might be considered an opinion, but the second is a complete fabrication.)

His attacks on the Judge overseeing his Trump University conflict. Remember, he claimed the judge couldn’t be unbiased because the judge was of Mexican lineage?

Claiming that Hillary’s emails are a problem, though I still don’t really know why.

His assertion that Ted Cruz’s father was involved in JFK’s assassination.

TWo things: 1.Nancy Cordes of CBS is a rethug apologist to the BONE. Has been carrying trumps water since 2016. 2. Someone in the administration woke up and said SHIT we need pence to appear clean (even though trump threw him under the ukraine bus the other day, hence releasing the pence helped but was a poor helpless patsy per WaPo tonight) BECAUSE lots of people from this sdministration are going to need PARDONS. If pence is gone then clank clank bring by the paddy wagon.

Maybe Trump should build around Mar-a-Lago, a most, full of gators and snakes, to keep out the Chinese spies and massage parlor operators?

^moat, not most

^moat, not most

Trimp's loser Scottish golf resort has taken another hit. The local government has nixed Eric's efforts to develop farmland around the golf course into McMansions and condos. Also, I thought they said they wouldn’t be developing any new business overseas while Dump is president?

David Corn asked a good question about the lack of grownups around Trump now.

Why does Trump have to be contained by grownups?

Trump threw Pence under the bus today:

“I think you should ask for VP Pence’s conversation because he had a couple of those conversations too ...”

Trump might know that the Republicans will spare either Trump or Pence because if both go, it would mean a President Pelosi, and the Senate won’t cause that to happen.

He will completely unravel as the impeachment process continues. It’s only just started and he’s unhinged already.

Matt "Sweaty Betty" Whitaker is in the news again.

Jimmy Carter knows, said so back in June. And Carter went all over the world for years, monitoring elections.

Rudy told CNN that part of the material which State IG turned over to Congress today, came from him.

This article mentions one of these pieces of disinformation being coordinated with Rudy's people before publication in The Hill.

This is going to seem to be a long process. Even if it’s over by Thanksgiving!

I sure hope we get a “no drama, something rhymes with drama” Presidency.

Adam Schiff seems like a good, serious man, which we need for this.

Damn Marco, you are hung!

Our Ukraine envoy Volker resigned last week, though Trump apparently is claiming he was fired. Trump can’t even let people quit in peace!

Wow r363 that is FUCKED UP, and Rudy just copped to creating and distributing misinformation on CNN? Seriously there has been way too much for me to digest today.

Trump told VP Pence not to attend the President of Ukraine’s inauguration. He sent Rick Perry, instead. Trump is so petty.

Pence denies knowing anything about Trump pressuring President Zelensky about the Bidens. Though, one of Pence’s top advisors was on the incriminating call from Trump to Zelensky.

Hillary is on Maddow (not literally...) and she looks great. She is so smart compared to the idiot we got.

Watching Hillary on Rachel is equal parts sad and maddening. She is so well spoken and it's mindboggling how so many people can listen to her and then listen to trump and think he makes a better leader.

Trump is using alleged corruption in Ukraine as his excuse for holding up financial support there. But when has Trump ever expressed significant concern about foreign corruption before?

He’s also said the reason to hold up in sending the money to Ukraine was because he felt European countries should donate more. Aside from that not being logical at all, it’s not true. Germany and France send more money that the US sends.

It's because she is running. Yeah, yeah she and Chelsea wrote a book about awesome women (which IS awesome) but make no mistake.

What dirt does Trump have on Rick Perry?

Looking forward to the Pres vs. Vice Pres battle...

I had a feeling that propaganda was created by Giuliani lmao what a fucking dumbass. Does he really think it helps his case?

I hope that Ghoul dies in prison

Rudy really is a crazy drunk , isn't he? When I get drunk I usually wanna fuck and then go right to sleep. He wants to go on TV and shout crazy things

I’m confused. Did the state dept. hand over this stuff to show that the conspiracy crap was coming from Dump/Dump supporters and/or the WH?

Maybe! They are all turning on each other and it is delish!

I hate to wade into this territory again, but it keeps coming up. Folks who think Clinton was just a terrific candidate, without any flaws, just don't get what others dislike about her.

so now Trump/repubs/Fox "News" are trying to target Schiff. Attempting to smear Biden isn't enough for them. They're trying to get everyone riled up to demand that Schiff is removed from his position. Just pathetic and dangerous

Schiff like many other high profile Democrats, has received numerous death threats. The right wingers continually going after them like this is beyond irresponsible but they won't stop.

They didn't care when their rhetoric inspired mass shootings at the synagogue in Pittsburgh or in Latino-majority EL Paso.

[quote]I hate to wade into this territory again, but it keeps coming up. Folks who think Clinton was just a terrific candidate, without any flaws, just don't get what others dislike about her.

Yes. She engenders much polarization.

(Similar to her 2016 opponent.)

It would be an unmitigated disaster if she were to insert herself into politics again....

"I hate to wade into this territory again, but it keeps coming up. Folks who think Clinton was just a terrific candidate, without any flaws, just don't get what others dislike about her."

Yet freepers like you think Trump is perfect and has no flaws.

After Nancy, Chuck Grassley is next in line for the Presidency. He is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. It’s a position with little power and usually granted to the most senior Senator of the majority party.

[quote] R379: Folks who think Clinton was just a terrific candidate, without any flaws...

Don’t be stupid. Nobody thinks Hillary is without flaws.

So Nancy becomes POTUS, gets Hillary confirmed as her Vice, then steps down and makes a beautiful speech about how justice has been done because this wasstolen from her. NOT.

Hey shit-for-brains. Just wanted to remind you that Hillary won the popular vote, in spite of a perfect shit storm of garbage raining down on her...and it took 77744 stolen votes to put that Illegitimate piece of shit in the White House. If Trump has a stroke, he could linger for years drooling in a wheelchair wearing diapers. And his nurses would abuse him.....

[quote]I had a feeling that propaganda was created by Giuliani

And Giuliani got it from Manafort and the Russians/Ukrainians in Florida and NYC, at the very minimm. Coincidentally these are places where Dumbo resided.

Full circle jerk.

I wonder what bombshell we'll be discussing 24 hours from now

it's only going to increase. Eventually there will be other whistleblowers and stuff will come out about his calls with Putin and MBS

Nice story, R385, but it’s unlikely that Nancy will rise to the Presidency; Hillary couldn’t pass the Senate nomination; and nobody gives up the Presidency voluntarily. It would be poetic justice, though.

Maybe Hillary and Obama could become SCOTUS Justices after a Dem sweep in November, 2020. But she’s probably too old. Everyone wants young Justices who will sit for decades.

Seriously though, if Trump, Pence, Barr,Pompeo,Munchin,Perry, and Rudy are all caught up in the corruption scam, who then takes leadership?

Don't worry. It won't come to that. As long as William Barr and Mitch and Lindsey are in place. It won't come to that. We'll be very lucky to get Trump Rudy & Mike Pompeo.

someone would be nominated VP before both Trump and Pence are out, if it ever came to that. No way would repubs let Pelosi or any Democrat become President through impeachment and removal

R377, that appears to be the case. It supports the idea that Pompeo forced the ambassador to Ukraine to resign on the basis of laughable conspiracy theories, because Giuliani/Trump thought she might get in the way of their plans for Ukraine.

I think it's pretty hysterical that all this beating on their chests, and screaming about a conspiracy, and then Rudy gets all his information from Manafort, and some conspiracy theory sites and it's the same old sloppy, half baked, easily discredited bullshit they've been peddling since 2017, and it's weak and silly as Hell.

All that time and effort and they come up with garbage. And the joke is they are so obsessed with their conspiracies, and they're out to get people, and get them fired, or smear them and destroy reputations and careers, that they can't . even see how weak and ridiculous they look. It's like their obsession has blinded them. They are rank amateurs. Total incompetents. A fifth grader could come up with a better set of lies than they can,

[quote]someone would be nominated VP before both Trump and Pence are out, if it ever came to that. No way would repubs let Pelosi or any Democrat become President through impeachment and removal

The House has to confirm any VP replacement. You know, the House where Pelosi is Speaker. Not going to happen.

R395, but all that means is that the Senate won’t convict both Pence and Trump .

R396, the Senate won't convict either of them. We can hope they resign but they aren't getting removed by the Senate.

"Trump also "personally contacted Boris Johnson to ask for help as he tried to discredit the Mueller investigation"

Help? The UK can't even solve their own Russian election infiltration. They're just marching to the cliffs of Dover like lemmings.

R382

I voted her her, thinking Trump a moron.

The House isn't going to refuse to confirm a Republican VP replacement who is qualified. It would make them look terrible right before the elections.

for the eldergays here, what was it like living through Iran Contra? Did anyone talk about impeachment? How did Reagan's reputation come away unscathed by most of the public and media?

I know these days Democrats hate him and the media is more neutral but I remember as a little kid in the late 80s/early 90s Reagan was thought of as the gold standard for repubs and salvaged their reputation after Nixon

but Iran Contra was bad

not Nixon or Trump bad but bad

Didn't Reagan come away unscathed because Oliver North volunteered to be the fall guy?

North willingly took one for the team to save Reagan.

So remember when the media lost their collective shit when Hillary wobbled at the 9/11 commemoration, and couldn't shut up for days how she fainted and such.

And remember when the same media lost their shit when Bernie got into emergency surgery? Yeah, this one didn't happen.

[quote]“The documents provided by the Inspector General included a package of disinformation, debunked conspiracy theories, and baseless allegations in an envelope marked ‘White House’ and containing folders labeled ‘Trump Hotel.’ These documents also reinforce concern that the President and his allies sought to use the machinery of the State Department to further the President’s personal political interests.

[quote]“The Inspector General stated that his office interviewed Secretary Pompeo’s Counselor, Thomas Ulrich Brechbuhl, who informed the Inspector General that Secretary Pompeo told him the packet ‘came over,’ and that Brechbuhl presumed it was from the White House.

To be fair, r404, Bernie isn't the nominee and we aren't two months out from election.

Hillary's loss was Hillary's fault. She didn't campaign hard enough. Trump was throwing event after event, while Hillary disappeared. Nor were they forthcoming about her health issues at the time. Seeing her wobble at the van was shocking, yet the campaign gave no immediate explanation.

I would vote for her, obviously, but why risk running her again? This election is too important to run a candidate that rubs 50% of the population the wrong way.

R406, so many things that give you away as a fucking troll. Are you all stupid? It's so obvious that you've all gotten your little "oh, she's gonna run again" talking point and ramped up the 'attack Hillary' bullshit again. It doesn't even make any sense but you are all fucking morons, so...

Like former Senator Larry Craig; Barr, Mnuchin, Pompeo, Ross, Pence, Trump, Giuliani, Lindsey, McConnell, Chao, DeVos, Carson, Perry, etc., need to exit Washington, DC and say no to sin. Don't just say you know Jesus, VP Pence, follow Jesus.

They could give millions to charities, and demand the devil be gone. They have been weak, and allowed the devil to take control.

And Mulvaney too. He is a lost sheep,

OK we get the Volker hearing today! Can't wait for that. Hopefully he answers all the questions

Does Pence have a secret lover? .....

Mother will not be happy.

[quote]Someone in the administration woke up and said SHIT we need pence to appear clean (even though trump threw him under the ukraine bus the other day,

On the contrary -- Trump and Pence staffers are leaking accusations at each other like crazy.

I don't understand, if all the republicans agree that the phone call is a big nothing burger, than why would Pence care about listening in? Shouldn't he be proud to be a part of such a perfect call? Hmmmm

[quote]North willingly took one

Pics please.

Why don't any press pool reporters say to Trump that the phone call notes support the WB? They never follow up while he is castigating them!

Secret Empires, a 2018 book by Clinton Cash author Peter Schweizer, fueled the Trumpworld obsession with Biden and Ukraine.

Daily Beast reports that Schweizer "copied complete sentences or sizable portions of them verbatim or near-verbatim from other sources. In a number of instances, those sources were uncited Wikipedia pages created before the book’s publication in early 2018."

r385, that is a fantasy that will never happen.

USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll: Americans by a 45%-38% plurality now support a vote by the House to impeach Trump.

By a similar margin, 44%-35%, those surveyed say the Senate should convict Trump and remove him from office.

Volkers' testimony today (with documents already given to press) is said to be damaging to Trump. Remember he is head of John McCain's foundation. McCain was a strong advocate of Ukraine's freedom. Volker got involved with Ukraine as a volunteer envoy. Apparently, he was trying to help them deal with Trump.

I guess we will see what he's got.

Reagan & Bush staffer Peter Wehner:

Pence is distancing himself from Trump on Ukraine. Rush is turning on Fox News. Rudy is throwing the State Department under the bus. And Trump is lashing out in all directions at once. This kind of thing happens when a scandal begins to consume a presidency. It'll get worse.

Poor Donnie!!! I think he should binge on MacDonald's, lots of fries, too. Then polish it off with a HUGE piece of chocolate cake, and three big scoops of the richest creamiest most fabulous vanilla ice cream he can find. Then go play a couple rounds of golf.

If Volker worked for McCain, he is no friend of Putin or Russia. McCain hated Putin. He saved the life or a Russian dissident who'd been poisoned twice by Putin and the guy served as a pallbearer at McCain's funeral. There was a reason Trump hated McCain and it tracks right back to Russia.

This Senator is way overstepping. Graham and Barr trying to do bogus prosecutions of intelligence agents by pressuring foreign governments to manufacture dirt that benefits Trump's deflection, is beyond disgusting. Fox is cheering it. The media needs to do à better job in exposing this. The Senate needs to condemn Graham"s behavior. They are getting blowback from Australia.

"Didn't Reagan come away unscathed because Oliver North volunteered to be the fall guy?"

And this time, Ghouliardi will take the fall for Dotard.

If Volker is testifying in a deposition, will we get to hear what he has to say? I can't imagine how much Trump hates him.

Bloomberg:

Pompeo Aides Warned Against Ukraine Conspiracies Trump Pursued

R420, are you referring to Rush Limbaugh? Not that I really care what that tub of lard is saying, but curious to know how he’s turned on Fox News. R424, Oliver North was a dick, but he took the fall because he believed he was a loyal soldier (he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the universe). Also he was probably paid off. There is no way Giuliani is doing what North did. He’s not going to prison for Dump.

I don't think Trump even plays golf. Photos usually show him standing alone. It would be too much walking for him (remember his golf cart rided in Saudi Arabia?). Besides, he would throw a tantrum if some beat him. Has he ever been connected to any other sports besides the WWF?

He just discovered he could launder money through golf courses, resorts and hotels. Foreigners booking yuge amounts of rooms and never really staying there.

Reuters:

U.S. diplomat at center of Trump-Ukraine affair to meet with House committee staff

[quote]are you referring to Rush Limbaugh? Not that I really care what that tub of lard is saying, but curious to know how he’s turned on Fox News.

Brian Stelter:

And on Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh joined the fray and ripped into Fox. The king of conservative talk radio blasted the network, claiming that people critical of Trump are "all over" its airwaves. "You know, Fox really ought to change the name of the network from the Fox News Channel to the Fox Never Trumper Network," Limbaugh said. The criticism was similar to the way Trump has gone after the network in the last few months.

[quote]Poor Donnie!!! I think he should binge on MacDonald's, lots of fries, too. Then polish it off with a HUGE piece of chocolate cake, and three big scoops of the richest creamiest most fabulous vanilla ice cream he can find. Then go play a couple rounds of golf.

I totally agree with this schedule.

He should finish off by attempting to climb "his" wall, just to prove that it cannot be done. Several times.

Revelations about Pence's involvement in the scandal increases by the hour.

Washington Post:

Giuliani consulted on Ukraine with imprisoned Paul Manafort via a lawyer

R389...Richard Nixon did. Sure, he could have played along with the process risk impeachment by the House and conviction by trial in Senate, but elected to resign instead.

Shep Smith, Judge Napolitano, and Chris Wallace are the Fox personalities Rush, Levin, and MAGA poopies are raging against most.

Shep has ripped on Tucker Carlson, and had Tucker whining he's been picked on.

Only once he realized conviction in the Senate was inevitable.

The bigger driver for Trump will be when/if it sinks in that he won't be reelected.

And Napolitano in an article published on the Fox News website has called for Trump to be impeached for Ukraine-related crimes, which he says are worse than the crimes in the Mueller report.

R435 Also, Trump had sent 20 tweets attacking Fox's Ed Henry. Bret Baier has been criticized for not espousing pro-Trump propaganda.

If Lindsey Graham is badmouthing the US Intelligence Community then I don't see why the latter don't start leaking some interesting tidbits about the senator...

I don't think there's anything to leak. He's a sad old closet case that derives all the meaning in his life from being a Senator and the world around it. He has nothing without it.

That still doesn't explain his uge about face on Trump R440.

So Rudy was getting info from Manafort? A convicted felon. Yeah he is a trustworthy source

Trump trebles down by suggesting that CHINA should investigate the Bidens.

I will delight in seeing these puppets dance and destroy each other. Criminality eats itself when exposed. No honor among thieves.

Trump truly deserves to flail and go down in flames. He has brought so much ruination to a lot of people and places. Karma should be like a hot poker up the ass.

Lindz is not a virgin.

Lindz is not a virgin.

Trump just outright said he wanted Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

Then he said China should investigate too.

Nancy was so right, he is self impeaching before our eyes and ears.

China locks up, with hard labor, political prisoners. Others are executed. It is a one party state with totalitarian rule. Asking them to investigate American citizens is beyond absurd.

I hope fucking Mueller and the rest of the damned GOP are happy with their monkey. He's breaking the law, flaunting it, right in front of our faces and we can only figure they approve.

I'm sickened by this.

I imagine the intelligence agencies (like CIA and FBI) fight several wars at the moment, like Trump opponents against Trump supporters (and I have no doubt a lot of them placed in influential and powerful positions) and dealing with other stuff like the press and their agendas (the owners of the media outlets) and then add the international component like Russia and Trump's associates meeting with foreign agents and foreign government officials to help Trump.

Mueller said this happened and will happen again and Congress needed to take this up. He wrote it, and he spoke it.

He may not have said as strongly and as plainly as many would like -- but he definitely did.

[quote]I think he should binge on MacDonald's, lots of fries, too. Then polish it off with a HUGE piece of chocolate cake, and three big scoops of the richest creamiest most fabulous vanilla ice cream he can find. Then go play a couple rounds of golf.

I would suggest a meal consisting of pork tartare glazed with rhododendron honey as an appetizer, followed by a generous serving of butterfish with a big bag of sugar free gummi bears for dessert.

So what is the entertainment tomorrow night at Mar-a-Lago after all the golf and chocolate cake desert?

A drag show by Miss Lindsey & tRudy Giuliani, doing seductive dances around Junior Mint and Eric sitting in chairs on-stage while Kellyanne, Rebekah, Pompeo, and Ivanka giggle?

^dessert

Dump this morning threatened China to investigate the Bidens or else: "If they don't do what we want, we have tremendous power."

R440, it has been explained several times. His job is what he loves most. Without McCain, he ran to Trump fully to prevent Trump turning his fire on him.

The first paragraph of this Rick Wilson piece is prose porn. Donald Trump’s Oval Office performance-art masterpiece Wednesday was one for the ages, a pity-party, stompy-foot screech session by President Snowflake von Pissypants, the most put-upon man ever to hold the highest office in the land. If you watched his nationally televised press conference, Trump’s shrill, eye-popping hissy fit scanned like the end of a long, coke-fueled bender where the itchy, frenzied paranoia is dry-humping the last ragged gasps of the earlier party-powder fun.

Mr. Kellyanne weighs in with some football talk.

Does anyone have the complete Rick Wilson piece?

Daily Beast id pay walled.

Democrats have nobody to blame for the shit show this has turned into but themselves. Had they not allowed Barr to circumvent the Mueller report and control the narrative by lying to the american people about its true contents, none of this would be happening. Trump would already be gone.What they need to do is start calling out the GOP and anyone else who is defending Trump and start accusing them of obstructing and aiding and abetting. Make them defend their actions and go on record as protecting party over country.

R461, try blaming Trump and the Republicans, you idiot

Just to play devil's advocate, I would like to examine this from another perspective: Trump is extremely agitated and desperate acting. Now I know he is pissed because of the negative press. He is pissed because the polls are tanking. He is pissed at Pelosi and Schiff. Fine. I get that.

But he has faced low polls and negative press before. He's faced hostility from Congress before. And he has known ever since Mueller was appointed that there was a possibility of an Impeachment Inquiry. So maybe something else is also going on. I have believed for some time (ever since I saw him grovel in Helsinki) that Putin uses the carrot and the stick.

I think Putin uses psychology on Trump big time. So maybe when they chat on the phone and Trump whines & cries, Putin is mildly sympathetic at first. But then in subtle and not so subtle ways Putin conveys to Trump what he needs and expects from Trump. Sending funds and armament to Ukraine has to be on Putin's "don't even think about it!" list.

So Trump is under pressure from Putin to make sure Ukraine doesn't get support from the USA. And he got busted by this fucking Whistleblower who shined a spotlight on the fact that Trump was holding up the money. Remember what McConnell said? "I had no idea the fund weren't sent." or something like that.

So in addition to the unraveling that's going on here at home, Trump is facing pressure from his main benefactor. And there is no guarantee Putin will truly be there in 2020. Personally, I think Putin will continue to support Trump simply because of all the incompetence and the chaos he causes.

But at some point, I have to ask, "what would it take for Putin to abandon Trump? Too much scrutiny? The fact that European nations /NATO go apeshit? a replacement who is more effective and easier to manage? An Impeachment Inquiry ...or other corruption that forces him out of office? What?

Answer: "It is I".

NYT reporter's response: "Sorry Senator, you misunderstood the question. I asked if you know the identity of the whistleblower, not who is the willy blower."

R463 I think he is seeing more silence from Republican congressmen, less assurances from the offices of VP, State, and Justice...as they are trying to cover their own asses. In other words the rats are fleeing and he is increasingly isolated. Worse than that, he is now having internecine battles.

r462...I suppose you think that the Democrats have handled this correctly from the beginning ?....and, YOU IDIOT, I never defended the Republicans. If you cant see the Democrats have allowed Republicans to walk all over them with little to no pushback, allowing Trump and the GOP to control the narrative, then you need to do some serious soul searching.

R466, the ones who need to do done soul searching are the "Democrats" who spend more time attacking other Dems than they do attacking Republicans

R465, you're right. Thanks. I forgot to add that to the pot. But I still wonder what would make Putin desert him? And is Putin trying even now, to make sure Trump gets the support he needs to the Senate?

If Putin gets some perm control in Ukraine, than it is entirely possible Trump has outlived his usefulness. Putin will abandon him.

Alternatively, if Trump becomes overexposed and too much of a liability by his own behavior, Putin will ditch him, too.

IMO one of the biggest liabilities will be the banking scandals/laundromat exposure. At some point Putin has to do a cost benefit analysis.

The 1% has more to lose with a Dem nominee like Warren. Since it's too late to set up a conservative alternative to Trump, they will rather focus on getting their claws on one of the Democratic nominees to get him or her elected and do their bidding. I think the GOP is losing financial support fast in the process.

any updates on Volker?

He has been meeting with and questioned by House Investigators.

I think we will see later in the evening what comes out.

While Kellyanne & Meghan McCain feud.....

By George......

So no surprise but the “rough transcript” appears to be doctored.

It seems to me Donnie just cannot get out of his own way. He's an arrogant, paranoid asshole of limited intelligence. So even though he is ostentatious to a fault and has no taste and this garish gold-plated lifestyle, he limits his ability to attract top lawyers and smart people. So then he accuses guys like Adam Schiff of writing the Whistleblower's complaint and other stupid shit, and if I was going to set Donnie up it would be so easy. Schiff is way too smart to do the shit Trump accuses him of. And Trump projects. he is the one who'd commit fraud and lie. Hell he does it all the time.

And that doctored transcript was scandalous enough. Imagine what the real, uncensored recordings could do to Trump's political standing.

Jill Wine-Banks

I know the Trump administration shovels so much shit that it's virtually impossible to keep up.

But it amazes me that his telling Russians in the Oval Office that he was unconcerned with their meddling in our election turned out to be a one-day story.

Trump is very stupid but he's also arrogant. He was allowed to get away with all his shenanigans for 40 years in NYC and NY state without any consequences for whatever reason. How corrupt were those people? From cheating people in business to cheating on taxes and loans...he's been let off the hook again and again by everyone

Then he gets involved in a massive scheme during the 2016 campaign and is let off the hook thanks to OLC policy, Mueller's obsession with being neutral and interference from Barr/other people willing to cover for him.

So he finally fucked up really badly by overplaying his hand with Ukraine and a decent human being decided to blow the whistle. Trump isn't used to consequences so he's freaking out and screaming at his goons to fix it like how he's lived his life. This is all foreign to him. He's supposed to be able to break the law and nothing happens, damn it!!!

I wonder how Mueller feels. How could he have not expected Barr and others to cover for trump?

Did FOX see its audience shrinking, and decide to finally become a bit "fair & balanced"?

R481, no, that was a shock when it happened. People like Barr, Pompeo, etc. were once people -- not good people, but people. They have now been taken over by the pulsating blob of corruption that is Trump.

Barr is as bad if not WORSE than Trump. Unfortunately, Barr is pretty smart while being evil. He needs to be shot in the legs to slow him down. Take down Barr, take down Trump. That's my feeling, anyway.

Volker update/gossip

He is providing investigators entire text chains that he had with Giuliani. Volker is testifying that he tried to fix and/or limit the damage the administration was trying to do to Ukraine.

R482 there are a few decent people at Fox. Juan Williams, Chris Wallace and Shep Smith are the best. Judge Napalitano FLIPPED actually. In 2017 he was helping Trump spread the lie that Obama "wiretapped Trump Tower". Maybe he didn't know at the time that Trump lied about everything. I first noticed a change in Napolitano last year actually and he's gradually become more outspoken.

I think the producers on that channel know that drama and conflict sell. The ratings go up when the deplorables see their favorite hosts and commentators attacking the Democrats and Never-Trumpers on their network. I also think the producers want to see how the ratings do for non-Trump propaganda shows. They know Trump won't last forever

then you have Brett Baier and Neil Cavuto who clearly conservatives and usually stick up for Trump but when he's too outrageous they'll criticize him as well. They go in and out of spreading propaganda and being reasonable.

Yup r486. I keep telling people Fox doesn’t give one whit about Dump. What they DO care about is their demographic.

Volker looks all too chipper in that pic above...like he can't fucking wait to throw them under the bus.

As mentioned in another thread, the late columnist William Safire (who leaned conservative) once referred to Barr as "Dr. Cover-up," referring to his getting the pardon for Scooter Libby for the Iran/Contra affair and making sure no scandal got near George Bush Sr. You know Bush was in that up to his neck.

Barr also has a very expansive view of Presidential powers that pretty much equal an authoritarian leader. Do not think he is anything more than a fat fascist wannabe.

I LOVE Jill Wine-Banks!!!!!!!

WaPo's Rachael Bade:

Volker WARNED Giuliani that the Ukrainians' dirt on the Bidens was NOT credible & his sources were unreliable, he told lawmakers 2day, per 2 sources in the room.

Volker also testified that he warned Ukraine against getting involved in U.S. domestic politics, as being accused of meddling in a US election would be bad-long term for Ukraine, these people tell us.

Washington Post:

Giuliani was warned that Ukrainian claims of Bidens’ misconduct were not credible, Trump’s ex-envoy tells lawmakers

^ "Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) released a statement just before noon saying that, after attending the interview for an hour, he felt confident Volker’s testimony would not advance House Democrats’ “impeachment agenda.”"

"One of the president’s closest allies in Congress, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), emerged from the hearing room and declared, “Nothing he has said supports the narrative you’ve been hearing from Mr. Schiff and the Democrats. Nothing.”

Washington Post:

Trump’s removal would require Republican dissidents. But those who speak out become targets of viral disinformation.

He's asking China to investigate to normalize it. He'll keep doing it.

[quote]the late columnist William Safire (who leaned conservative)

More than leaned; he was a conservative Republican who worked for Nixon.

Safire called Barr the “Cover-up General” in the early 1990s when he was AG for GHW Bush. Wish the Dems would pick up on this nickname now, in response to Shifty Schiff, etc.

Reuters:

Pence says Biden, son should be investigated for Ukraine dealings

From ABC News:

In newly disclosed text messages shared with Congress, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine writes to a group of other American diplomats that "I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”

The exchange, provided by former U.S Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker as part of his closed-door deposition before multiple House committees Thursday, shows what appears to be encrypted text messages he exchanged with two other American diplomats in September regarding aid money President Donald Trump ordered to be held back from Ukraine.

In the exchange, obtained by ABC News, the concerns are expressed by Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine. Gordon Sondland, the United States Ambassador to the European Union, responds to Taylor, saying that charge is "incorrect."

"Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump's intentions. The President has been crystal clear: no quid pro quo’s of any kind. The President is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President Zelensk'y promised during his campaign," Sondland says.

Sondland, a hotelier and Republican megadonor, contributed over $1 million to the president’s inaugural committee before eventually being nominated and confirmed to be the United States representative to the European Union.

"Sondland, a hotelier and Republican megadonor, contributed over $1 million to the president’s inaugural committee before eventually being nominated and confirmed to be the United States representative to the European Union."

Yeah buddy ...Sondland seems concerned.

[quote]the concerns are expressed by Bill Taylor

BILL???!!???

Sondland forced me to abandon one of my favorite happy hour spots. He can rot in hell (for more obvious reasons also).

Mark Hamill vs Ivanka Trump

What do they have on Gym Shorts? Or is he just an outright asshole?

Gym J. gets turned on by the smell of jock itch.

Perhaps Tom Daschle is a DLer?

I'm really looking forward to Marie Yovanovitch's testimony next week. I think she could really bring the heat and might be out for blood. The Trump admin ended her career and trashed her reputation. Like with Volker, Pompeo did NOT want her testifying but she is doing so anyway

Volker was being very straight up and the Repubs are spinning desperately.

I think Trump's behavior is simpler than people think. By now, he has been told by his advisors that he is definitely going to be impeached by the House, and the best thing he can do is shut up. But Trump doesn't like being told that, so he's acting out by doubling down. It doesn't matter that he's sabotaging his own case, his reaction is purely emotional. Oppositional Defiant Disorder for adults.

[quote]And that doctored transcript was scandalous enough. Imagine what the real, uncensored recordings could do to Trump's political standing.

"RUB YOUR PUSSY HARDER, YOU DRIED-UP OLD WHORE!"

The breaking news alerts I keep getting on my phone are unbelievable. There's no link on the Times site yet, but the pop-up I got about Volker and the former EU ambassador drafting a statement that would have committed Ukraine to this.

[quote]Breaking via NYT: Two of Trump's top envoys to Ukraine drafted a statement for Volodymyr Zelensky in August that would have committed Ukraine to pursuing investigations sought by Trump into his political rivals, three people briefed on the effort said.

Another Trump phone call:

Kim Jung Un:. Hello Mr. President, so good to hear from you again. How you be?

Trump: I need your help. We are great friends. I tell everyone about our love letters. I need your help

Kim: What can I do for you my friend.

Trump:. I want you to find dirt on sleepy Joe Biden and his crooked son.

Kim: We have information on Biden when he was Vice President and Senator and now President candidate. Nothing not expected or strange. Not know son. But know you be stable genius, with huge hands and huge penis. I am so jealous.

Trump: I need you to find dirt on them for me to win. You win, I win. You find it. You get me, though. I will not interfere with your new nukes, missiles, and new submarines. You can shoot what you want, where you want, but nothing near Trump properties and Ivanka's factories.

Kim: You drive hard bargain, my friend. You negotiate so tough. You make hard and good deal.

Trump: You are so special Kim. Talk to you next week to see what you find. Bill Barr will guide your top deputy. Rudy Giuliani will contact him too. Pompeo will call and will keep all secret. Pence will deny our deal if anything leaks. I have to go. Fox and Friends will be on in ten minutes.

.

During a phone call with Chinese President Xi on June 18, Trump raised Biden's political prospects as well as those of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who by then had started rising in the polls. In that call, Trump also told Xi he would remain quiet on Hong Kong protests as trade talks progressed.

The White House record of that call was later stored in the highly secured electronic system used to house a now-infamous phone call with Ukraine's President and which helped spark a whistleblower complaint that's led Democrats to open an impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Don't Stop the Treason... hold on to that feeling!

Damn, when we do get this asshole out of office, every single phone call to every single dictator should be released. No courtesy, no respect, no nothing but constant revelations about what a cunt he has been every day of the presidency.

R518, so he sold out Hong Kong to try to get help from Xi? There is no hell hot enough for him.

Wait, there's more: Energy Secretary Rick Perry (possibly former Energy Secretary) has announced that he will cooperate with Congress in the Ukraine investigation, breaking with the WH's stonewalling.

Monica Lewinski tweet tonight -

I am willing to take one for the team and give Donald Trump a blow job in the Oval Office. Since that is the only thing that will convince the Republicans to impeach Trump.

So... all of these breaking stories must be infuriating Dump. There are so many I can’t keep them straight. And furthermore, it’s good news—it means that the walls are crumbling down. These are supposed Dump insiders leaking this stuff.

I'm sure his only criticism is that they haven't killed enough people, r521. He is a complete asshole. Never been such a complete asshole in the White House, not Nixon, not nobody. Nobody loves the idea of dictators killing all dissidents more than Donald J. Trump.

What a dirty mother fucker to use those poor Hong Kong residents as pawns. He is straight up EVIL. Every night before I go to sleep I hope that he goes home to Satan. Seriously.

love that r523. Damn, they put her through such hell, glad she can finally laugh about it. love that tweet.

[quote]Pence says Biden, son should be investigated for Ukraine dealings

Uh-huh, remember when Pence went out to defend Michael Flynn. Now he went to extort the Ukrainian president in person.

He managed to get out of the Flynn mess pleading ignorance and being lied to. Now he's trying to plead ignorance to the Rudy mess.

But now the other side is mud-slinging so much that he can't avoid the muck. At least we know he got the briefings and his people were on the July 25th call. There's no Flynning this mess.

Unfortunately, I don't think that's real R523. Genius if it were.

I think Pence should be investigated for Trump Worship.

G should have been Grand Inquisitor, not the semi-illustrious and occasional television actress. I regret the error.

What these spineless Republicans don't realize is these fringe groups have no credibility in the main stream and don't really represent that many people. Also: There is safety in numbers. If a lot more Republicans stood together, and pushed back hard, we could end this. WTF is wrong with these punk-assed pieces of shit?

Their constituents are insane, r532. In fairness, that is entirely their fault. They've been building an insane base since Reagan, and now they are stuck with it.

Does Pence realize he's going down? That dumb fuck could have been POTUS. Mother has to be really pissed.

These people think they're immune. They believe they can get away with it and hold on to power.

[quote]Two of Trump's top envoys to Ukraine drafted a statement for Volodymyr Zelensky in August that would have committed Ukraine to pursuing investigations sought by Trump into his political rivals, three people briefed on the effort said.

So Volker and Sondland drafted a statement based on lies and propaganda oppo by Rudy just to get him off their backs? How spineless are these people? Volker at least is supposed to be career diplomat, this is outrageous.

Imagine what weapon in Trump's hands for 2020 it would've been if they got Zelensky to make this statement.

These two so-called diplomats were prepared to use Zelensky as a patsy not only to legitimize a Rudy and Manafort-made propaganda kompromat (with Putin and pro-Russian Ukrainian fingerprints all over it) but investigate the Bidens -- just so Trump can say, see, it came from the Ukrainians themselves.

In fairness to Pence, he was rescued from oblivion. Bitch was going down hard, and not in the fun way, was never gonna hold office again, when Trump or somebody (Jared? The ever useful idiot?) said why not this asshole? and Trump was stuck with the stupid puritan. Now he's stuck with Trump and should rightfully go down with him.

[quote]Imagine what weapon in Trump's hands for 2020 it would've been if they got Zelensky to make this statement.

Like Comey's 2016 October surprise?

R536: it was Manafort who chose Pence, and insisted upon him even though Trump was reluctant.

Trump's approval rating falls below 50% in South Dakota for first time - to 49%.

His monthly approval rating has remained in the 50-60% range in South Dakota since reaching a high of 62% in March and April 2017, and the September poll was the first time Trump's approval rating has fallen below 50% in the state, according to the Morning Consult.

I went to Just Jared to check out the celebrity gossip and there was a big ad set up like a poll that asks vote do you think President Trump should be impeached? So I clicked, "Yes," and it went right to a Pro Trump site were they claimed 80% voted "No." Jared has a facebook page so I think we ought to complain. He doesn't need to put up any political ads .

Hmm, all this makes me wonder. Did Putin already cut Trump loose? Why would Trump do all this amateur hour bullshit to win an election when Russia could easily do it for him? If Vlady told Trump he's on his own for 2020, then I could see why the orange shitgibbon would start going apeshit all over other the place like this.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry is expected to announce his resignation from the administration by the end of November, according to three people familiar with his plans.

But it's an open question how much of his retirement will be spent answering questions about the Ukraine affair, which centers on questions about whether Trump withheld U.S. military aid to pressure the government in Kiev to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

no just this week on Russian tv Putin was repeating the same narratives as Trump

Perry will be subpoenaed.

Wonder if Perry ever figured out what the job is. He was awfully confused at first, thinking it meant running around the world promoting Texas oil. Still he's lasted longer than most. Wonder if he has a clue, or they just gave up and told him to wear a suit and say whatever is on the teleprompter.

Tough broad Nancy Pelosi bitchslaps idiot Kevin McCarthy

[quote] I received your letter this morning shortly after the world witnessed President Trump on national television asking yet another foreign power to interfere in the upcoming 2020 elections. We hope you and other Republicans share our commitment to following the facts, upholding the Constitution, protecting our national security, and defending the integrity of our elections at such a serious moment in our nation’s history.

Reuters:

White House plans letter daring Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment: Axios

Please go ahead and piss her off...

Please let Trump write that letter r547. Guaranteed hilarious.

If this happens, then we know that Trump has no handlers pulling back from the edge.

A letter like that has Miller's vile fingerprints all over it.

Dotard is going to end up Double Dog Daring Nancy.

I wonder whose idea that is? Nunes?

Doesn't Dotard proclaim that he makes all decisions?

Speaker Pelosi is not about to take any orders from these sniveling little shit Rethuglicans. They can write all the letters they want. She is a bad-ass bitch, and she’ll run the show her way.

The fact that Cheatolini threw the Hong Kong protesters under the bus in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden is vile and reprehensible. He and his cabal need to be removed immediately.

“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump.”

^Trump will tweet, rather than use pen and paper. And Stephen Miller helps.

Yes, we need a link to that video every thread, R556.

Selling Hong Kong in the process

[quote]During a phone call with Xi on June 18, Trump raised Biden's political prospects as well as those of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who by then had started rising in the polls, according to two people familiar with the discussion. In that call, Trump also told Xi he would remain quiet on Hong Kong protests as trade talks progressed.

"His monthly approval rating has remained in the 50-60% range in South Dakota since reaching a high of 62% in March and April 2017, and the September poll was the first time Trump's approval rating has fallen below 50% in the state, according to the Morning Consult."

What the fuck is wrong with that state?

It is SOUTH DAKOTA!

Which is why the fact that he is BELOW 50% in THAT state is AMAZING.

And says much about the LEGITIMACY of this Impeachment Inquiry.

[9/1/19, 12:08:57 PM] Bill Taylor: Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?

[9/1/19 12:42:29 PM] Gordon Sondland: Call me

Statement of the committee chairs from the Volker hearing.

They released some of the text messages produced at the Volker testimony here

Oh, for Pete’s sake, any jury of normal people would convict Trump of knowingbeing a Russian asset.

The changed Republican platform

The private meetings with Putin

The reluctance to implement the Congressionally approved sanctions

The proposal to have joint military exercises and joint anti-hacking task force

The denial of Russian interference in our elections

The Helsinki presser

It’s fucking obvious.

Oh, the admissions of Russians to the Oval Office

Jarrett’s idea of a private communication channel through the Russian embassy.

The prevalence of Russians associated with Trump . I don’t know any Russians!

A new whistleblower from the IRS. We'll finally get to see his taxes. That should hit him where it hurts the most.

On Trump's corruption. Good thread to counter the Republican projection and muddying of the waters on Biden. Sad that it should be needed, but the Republicans are bent on normalizing corruption and oligarchy.

Holy crap tomorrow is going to be wild!

Elderlez- I've been super busy so sorry for just getting back to you- I don't know what state LG and the boy had relations in (or ALLEGED relations in) but the boy was ALLEGEDLY 17 and the state Age of Consent was at least 17.

I can't keep up with the rumors in DC. Even if I wanted to spill scoop to you all I wouldn't be able to because by the time I hear it, it is being reported.

Divinely guided tweets?

[quote][7/25/19 8:36:45 AM] Kurt Volker: Good lunch - thanks. Heard from White House—assuming President Z convinces trump he will investigate / "get to the bottom of what happened" in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington. Good luck! See you tomorrow- kurt

Trump has Taught me to always have an intermediary. Not that I’m a criminal like him.

Speaking of intermediaries.... we still need to find out what Cohen was doing for Hannity.

Real Estate of course!!!

What is wrong with South Dakota? I still don't understand why rural people like Republicans. Economically, as they are with every group, they have disastrous policies. It must be the overly religious/ guns thing.

The crazy base has been created by the right wing. They've been cultivated and grown to be the crazed factless machines they are today. They are stuck with them. They aren't going to change. They will abandon the GOP fast if they dare veer from throwing red meat at them all the time. Pres Bone Spurs has created a frenzy among them and the GOP will never have another normal Presidential nominee. Their senators, govs, and reps have all grown increasingly unhinged because that is what their voters want.

Oh, Gym Shorts is a liar?

Shocked!

I like Swalwell but that photo creeps me out.

OP, have you used the title, “With Treason You Get Egg Roll” to honor Trump’s outreach to China, though I just like the title.

Because they're dumb Deplorables, R579.

The last page of the texts is wild. The Charge d'Affaires is freaking out that even if they get Zelensky to make the "get to the bottom of all this" statement, he won't be getting the security assistance.

Trump's chum moonlighting as US Ambassador to EU tries to throw a smokescreen and tells him to stop texting and to call.

Rural Deplorables: They like low taxes. They tolerate poor services, and being spread out, it’s hard to provide services.

R585 But they LOVE bitching about all their ills......

Miss Thang, now is not à good time to be latching onto this AG. The optics are just bad.

Link to new thread for when this one maxes out:

[quote] I still don't understand why rural people like Republicans.

Most rural people vote Republican because the Libertarian Party isn't viable. They are really libertarians at heart. They don't want the gubmit tellin' them what to do and putting its hands in their pockets. Unless, of course, it's to put their farm subsidy check in there.

@chrislhayes

Sondland taking 5 hours to respond, talking to Trump, and then replying “no quid pro quo” shows 1) they knew what they were doing 2) knew it was wrong 3) settled on the “no quid pro quo” defense before it ever became public.

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Prelude to what Chris Hayes is talking about in R590:

Andrey Yermak: Once we have a date [for WH visit], will call for a press briefing, announcing upcoming visit and outlining vision for the reboot of US-Ukraine relationship, including among other things Burisma and election meddling in investigations

Kurt Volker: Sounds great!

-----

Bill Taylor: The nightmare is they give the interview and don't get the security assistance. The Russians love it. (And I quit.)

Bill Taylor: The message to the Ukrainians (and Russians) we send with the decision on security assistance is key. With the hold, we have already shaken their faith in us. Thus my nightmare scenario. ...

Bill Taylor: As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.

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