Tag: GOP now the cult of Trump

‘Campaign of intimidation’: Vindman’s lawyer responds to new attacks by Trump

Trump tweeted that Vindman ‘had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information.’

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s attorney vigorously pushed back Saturday on President Donald Trump publicly tying the impeachment witness’ ouster to insubordination and leaking information.

In a statement, attorney David Pressman said Trump’s claims “conflict with the clear personnel record and the entirety of the impeachment record of which the President is well aware.”

Trump tweeted Saturday morning that Vindman, who was the top Ukraine policy officer on the National Security Council, “had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information.” Continue reading.

Trump assails Rep. Dingell, citing her late husband, amid wave of attacks on Dems

The tweets came at the end of one of the president’s most vitriolic weeks.

President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a vitriolic attack on his perceived enemies, including the widow of a prominent Democratic congressman, days after he was acquitted in his impeachment trial.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday afternoon to heap scorn on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), the widow of the late Rep. John Dingell, among others.

“@RepDebDingell, who called me, tears flowing, to thank me for rolling out the maximum ‘Red Carpet’ for the funeral of her husband, then voted against me on the partisan Impeachmen Hoax, said ‘everybody (Dems) wants to get out of town. This has been, in my whole career, one of… …the worst weeks ever.’ She could have had a much better week if Crazy Nancy, who is the most overrated person in politics (going to lose the House a second time), didn’t bring the phony & corrupt Impeachment Hoax,” Trump tweeted. Continue reading.

New York Daily News Slaps Donald Trump With A Searing Mob Movie Nickname

The tabloid newspaper worked Trump into an iconic film poster.

The New York Daily News added to the long list of swipes it’s taken at President Donald Trump with its Saturday cover.

The tabloid worked Trump into the iconic poster for the hit 1974 movie “The Godfather Part II” ― but instead called him “The GOPFather” to signify his stranglehold over the Republican Party.

The film’s original poster shows Al Pacino sitting in the chair as his gangster character Michael Corleone. “Don takes care of family business in Friday night massacre,” the newspaper wrote underneath. Continue reading.

Egomaniacal Trump’s petulant actions post-impeachment highlight his position as a vengeful, lawless and corporate toad: Ralph Nader

AlterNet logoThe day after his acquittal by the Republican Party in a trial that banned witnesses, the unhinged Donald Trump gloated for over an hour on all the television networks. Trump flattered his courtiers, one by one, and fulminated against his Congressional adversaries, Hillary Clinton and ex-FBI chief James Comey.

Donald Trump’s speech degraded his office for the ages. Trump lied about himself and others and received applause from the assembled sycophants. The morning of his speech, Trump attended a prayer breakfast. Trump never goes to church to atone for his habitual, career-long violations of seven of the Ten Commandments. His hypocrisy has no bounds.

Tightening his dictatorial grip on the U.S. government, Trump pledged to destroy his opponents— from Nancy Pelosi to Adam Schiff to the “radical, socialist Democrats.” These shameful threats cannot be taken lightly. Never forget Trump saying “I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as President.” Continue reading.

Republican Senators Tried to Stop Trump From Firing Impeachment Witness

New York Times logoA handful of senators reached out to the White House to warn the president not to dismiss Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union who testified in the House hearings. But Mr. Trump went ahead anyway.

WASHINGTON — A handful of Republican senators tried to stop President Trump from firing Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union who testified in the House impeachment hearings, but the president relieved the diplomat of his post anyway, according to people briefed on the discussions.

The senators were concerned that it would look bad for Mr. Trump to dismiss Mr. Sondland and argued that it was unnecessary, since the ambassador was already talking with senior officials about leaving after the Senate trial, the people said. The senators told White House officials that Mr. Sondland should be allowed to depart on his own terms, which would have reduced any political backlash.

But Mr. Trump evidently was not interested in a quiet departure, choosing instead to make a point by forcing Mr. Sondland out before the ambassador was ready to go. When State Department officials called Mr. Sondland on Friday to tell him that he had to resign that day, he resisted, saying that he did not want to be included in what seemed like a larger purge of impeachment witnesses, according to the people informed about the matter. Continue reading.

VA chief Wilkie sought to dig up dirt on woman who complained of sexual assault, agency insiders say

Washington Post logoThe Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general is reviewing a request from a top House leader to investigate allegations that VA Secretary Robert Wilkie sought to dig up dirt on one of the congressman’s aides after she said she was sexually assaulted at VA’s Washington hospital.

The appeal late Friday from House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.) came after he received information from a senior VA official, confirmed by The Washington Post, that Wilkie worked to discredit the credibility of the aide, senior policy adviser Andrea Goldstein.

>Wilkie, who led the Pentagon’s vast personnel and readiness operation before his VA appointment, quietly began inquiring with military officials last fall about Goldstein’s past, according to three people with knowledge of his efforts. That is when Goldstein said a man groped and propositioned her in the main lobby of VA Medical Center in Washington. Continue reading.

Democrats to plow ahead with Trump probes post-acquittal

The Hill logoHouse Democrats say even though President Trump was acquitted in the Senate, that doesn’t mean they are going to ease off their investigations into his administration.

Democrats are weighing whether to pursue new leads of possible wrongdoing or press forward with probes that were already underway when an anonymous whistleblower’s allegations last year sparked the impeachment inquiry.

But no matter which route they take, Democrats are confident there is more wrongdoing to be uncovered — it’s just a matter of when and how grave. Continue reading.

Impeachment witnesses ousted amid fears of Trump revenge campaign

The removal of Vindman and Sondland came after a promise of “payback” by White House officials.

The purge of impeachment witnesses has begun.

Within hours of each other, President Donald Trump and the White House removed two of the most crucial witnesses against the president in the investigation that led to his impeachment for abuse of power.

Late Friday, news emerged that Trump had ordered the recall of Gordon Sondland, the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union — “effective immediately,” the ambassador noted in a statement. Hours earlier, the White House escorted out Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine policy officer on the National Security Counsel — along with his twin brother Yevgeny, who was not an impeachment witness. Continue reading.

Trump’s acquittal has unleashed the most ‘corrupt, unfit, demented and malevolent president’ ever: columnist

AlterNet logoIn a scorching column for the Daily Beast, David Rothkopf accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Attorney General Bill Barr of standing by while President Donald Trump purges anyone who crossed him with their testimony during his impeachment trial, with the columnist saving most of his vitriol for Republicans who are letting the president continue to break the law.

In short, he blamed the entire Republican Party apparatus of giving more power to “the most corrupt, unfit, demented and malevolent president” in history.

“Donald Trump unleashed a Friday night massacre at the end of the week the Senate acquitted him, one that reveals yet again not only who Trump is but how he intends to act thanks to the carte blanche to abuse his powers handed him by the Senate and his attorney general,” Rothkopf writes while noting the firings of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, his brother and EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland. Continue reading.

Nancy Pelosi: McConnell and the GOP Senate are accomplices to Trump’s wrongdoing

Washington Post logoNancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, is speaker of the House of Representatives.

For more than 200 years, our republic has endured, not only because of the wisdom of our Founders and the brilliance of our Constitution, but because of the generations of patriotic Americans who have had the courage to risk their lives to defend it.

But, tragically, the American people have watched President Trump and Republicans in Congress dismantle the Constitution that we cherish.

The House impeachment managers, led by Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), presented to the Senate and the public an incontrovertible truth that the president himself has admitted: President Trump abused the power of his office to pressure a foreign power to help him cheat in an American election. And when he was caught, the president launched an unprecedented coverup to block Congress from holding him accountable. The president’s actions undermined our national security, jeopardized the integrity of our elections and violated the Constitution. Continue reading.