This is the fourth time in history that Congress has seriously looked into impeaching a president. TODAY: Bill Taylor and George Kent. FRIDAY: Marie Yovanovitch. NEXT WEEK’S WITNESSES: Tuesday: Pence aide Jennifer Williams … Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman … Kurt Volker … Timothy Morrison. Wednesday: Gordon Sondland … Laura Cooper … David Hale. Thursday: Fiona Hill. Today on the dais: George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for … Read More
A Random Look A Trump’s Bizarre Tweets
I will be releasing the transcript of the first, and therefore more important, phone call with the Ukrainian President before week’s end! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2019 This makes no sense. Why is it more important because it was the first? It was a perfunctory phone call taking place in April, just after Zelensky was elected, and … Read More
Will The Media Get Distracted By The Release Of The Horowitz Report?
Prior to the launch of the public impeachment hearings on Wednesday, Margaret Sullivan has some sage advice for the media. She highlighted four things they should keep in mind when covering this important story. Stress substance, not speculation. Don’t let stunts hijack the coverage. Avoid Barr-Letter Syndrome. Beware mealy-mouthed and misleading language. That first one captures one of my biggest pet peeves … Read More
House Impeachment Committee Transcript Release
Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia: The full testimony of Deputy Assistant Secretary Laura Cooper can be found here.
The GOP Defenses
Team MAGA has already sunk to promoting propaganda and disinformation from a Russian-inspired effort designed to exonerate Russia’s role in interfering with the 2016 elections. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Fla.) is the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. He has made clear he plans to shrug off Trump’s endangering national security and possible violations of law as justified by Trump’s … Read More
Vindman Fired
As expected, retaliation.Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who gave a bombshell testimony in the House impeachment investigation last month on President Donald Trump’s Ukraine scheme, will be removed from his post at the White House National Security Council.https://t.co/tVmWffAcCA — Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) November 10, 2019 A lesson and a warning.
With Public Hearings To Start, Republicans Have No Decent Witnesses
Devin Nunes sent his witness list to Chairman Adam Schiff last week for witnesses he wanted included in the House Impeachment Investigation. The list includes: Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s business partner Hunter Biden Alexandrea Chalupa, the DNC consultant who conducted oppo research on Manafort [corrected] via non-official sources Undersecretary of State David Hale, who gave a private deposition the details … Read More
Trump’s Defense Strategy Is Bizarre
The man is unhinged, The call to the Ukrainian President was PERFECT. Read the Transcript! There was NOTHING said that was in any way wrong. Republicans, don’t be led into the fools trap of saying it was not perfect, but is not impeachable. No, it is much stronger than that. NOTHING WAS DONE WRONG! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November … Read More
Mulvaney Is A No Show And More Testimony Dumps
White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney was subpoenaed last night by the House Impeachment Inquiry Committee for appearance this morning at 9 a.m. To nobody’s surprise, he was a no-show. I do wonder why the quick turn-around time, but I suppose we will find out in time. Last month, Mulvaney told reporters in the White House briefing room that … Read More
House GOP Strategy To Defend Trump Is To Throw His Loyal Underlings (Except Themselves) Under The Bus
Um… House Republicans’ latest plan to shield President Trump from impeachment is to focus on at least three deputies — U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, Trump’s lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, and possibly acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — who they say could have acted on their own to influence Ukraine policy. All three occupy … Read More
Oh, And The Quid Pro Quo Almost Worked
NY Times headline reads “Ukraine’s Zelensky Bowed to Trump’s Demands, Until Luck Spared Him”: Aides to Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, decided that military aid and support for peace talks outweighed the risks of appearing to take sides in American politics. It was early September, and Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, faced an agonizing choice: whether to capitulate to President Trump’s … Read More
Document Dump: Bill Taylor Testimony
As per my practice, the full testimony is too large to place here, so you get the key excerpts: The full testimony is here. As you may recall, Taylor’s testimony, along with Vindman, really cracked the whole thing wide open. We’re just like a couple pages in and already Taylor is contradicting the picture Sondland laid out. Says Sondland said … Read More
Outing The Whistleblower
In the past two days, there has been a lot of threats to reveal the name of the whistleblower who got the ball rolling in the Trump Impeachment Inquiry. There is, of course, no reason to out him. The whistleblower complaint has been superseded by firsthand testimony, and the phone call transcript summary, which corroborate, if not go futher than, … Read More
May 29 Letter From Trump To Zelenesky Offers Unwavering Support
Trump pledged “unwavering” support to Ukraine in a May 29 letter congratulating its new president on his election victory and invited Zelensky to the White House, as evidence of the United States’ “commitment” to the young democracy, it was reported yesterday. “Trump’s letter … points to a sharp contrast between Trump’s official, warm communications with Zelensky and the moves he actually … Read More