“I thank the gentleman, always, for his remarks,” a bemused committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said to laughter in the hearing room after Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), ranking member, completed his remarks after a long day of impeachment inquiry testimony. Nunes hits all his marks during these now-familiar derisive opening and closing speeches before the House Permanent Select Committee … Read More
Nail In The Coffin: Sondland Testifies And Throws Trump (and Pence and Pompeo) Under The Bus
People will remember today as they remember say John Dean’s testimony. It’s a historic moment. Kind of fun to take a breath and register that. — Harry Litman (@harrylitman) November 20, 2019 Yup. Is there a mercy rule for congressional hearings? — Justin Amash (@justinamash) November 20, 2019 Nope. It’s over. Gordon Sondland’s devastating testimony must end the Trump presidency. … Read More
Live Impeachment Testimony: Vindman, Williams, Morrison and Volker
Busy day on the hill. But here were the key takeaways: Colonel Vindman and Ms. Williams both testified that they were never aware of any other national security officials in the United States government who supported the decision to withhold nearly $400 million in security aid for Ukraine, which both said was directed by the White House chief of staff, … Read More
Monday Morning Impeachment Update
Well, let’s start off with Trump’s latest tweet on the subject: Newsflash: he won’t do this, but the tweet is giving his lawyer’s heartburn, I’m sure. Now that Trump has said he'd willingly testify, I'm sure he's willing to free Pompeo, Bolton, Mick Mulvaney, Rick Perry, and John Eisenberg to testify? — emptywheel (@emptywheel) November 18, 2019 But the weekend … Read More
Document Dump: Depositions of Jennifer Williams and
As Special Advisor to VP Pence on Europe and Russia, Williams testified that the President’s requests were ‘unusual and inappropriate’ and shed light on ‘possible other motivations behind a security assistance hold.’ She also confirmed, like Lt. Col. Vindman, that the Ukrainian President specifically mentioned ‘Burisma’ during the call, even though the White House call record does not reflect that. Importantly, Ms. Williams also testified … Read More
Impeachment Deposition: Opening Statement of David Holmes
David Holmes, the guy who overheard Trump when he called Sondland in a restaurant, spilled a lot more than that. Holmes says he clearly heard the President’s voice and Sondland made clear he was talking to the President. Sondland told Holmes the President didn’t “give a shit about Ukraine” and only cared about the “big stuff” like the “‘Biden investigations’ that Mr. … Read More
Verdict in Roger Stone Case:
Hectic news day. During a break in the Ukraine Impeachment hearings, we got news of Roger Stone’s verdict. A jury has now found Stone guilty of committing crimes to hide the Trump campaign’s efforts to optimize the release of emails stolen by Russia. — emptywheel (@emptywheel) November 15, 2019 Guilty on all counts. Russia hoax? I think not. REUTERS: TRUMP … Read More
Live Impeachment Hearings: Day 2
WE start with a Trump tweet: He makes a rare point about the Foreign Minister of Ukraine’s statement (the President did not say anything). This is what he was referring to: Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Thursday that U.S. ambassador Gordon Sondland did not explicitly link military aid to Kiev with opening an investigation into former Vice President … Read More
News Organizations That Ought To Know Better Cover Impeachment Hearings Like “Dancing With The Stars’
Analysis: The first two witnesses called Wednesday testified to President Trump’s scheme, but lacked the pizzazz necessary to capture public attention. https://t.co/1UfkaeZ3I4 — NBC News (@NBCNews) November 14, 2019 That’s a story by Jonathan Allen, where he pitched yesterday’s events this way, as a measure of whether Democrats had achieved their goal of ousting the president. But at a time … Read More
House Impeachment Inquiry Live Hearings: Day One
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