Tag: Senate GOP

Emotional Schiff Speech Goes Viral, Delighting the Left and Enraging the Right

New York Times logoRepresentative Adam B. Schiff took a risk in telling senators they must convict and remove President Trump because “you know you can’t trust this president to do what’s right for this country.”

WASHINGTON — Senator James M. Inhofe, a conservative Republican from Oklahoma, has made clear that he intends to vote to acquit President Trump. But after Representative Adam B. Schiff’s fiery speech Thursday night calling for the president’s removal, Mr. Inhofe felt compelled to give his fellow lawmaker some grudging respect.

“I have to say this,” Mr. Inhofe told reporters Friday morning in the Capitol. “Schiff is very, very effective.”

Mr. Schiff, a California Democrat who steered the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump and is the lead prosecutor in his Senate trial, has long been a hero to the left and a villain to the right. But never has he aroused as much passion as he has during his closing arguments in the president’s impeachment trial. Continue reading.

Trump accused of “jury tampering” after allegedly threatening GOP senators not to vote against him

“Vote against the president, and your head will be on a pike,” a Trump ally said Republican senators were warned

President Donald Trump was accused of “jury tampering” after he reportedly threatened Republican senators not to vote to remove him from office in his impeachment trial.

A Trump confidant told CBS News that Republican senators were warned: “Vote against the president, and your head will be on a pike.”

Trump, who has been repeatedly accused of witness tampering in the impeachment probe, former special counsel Bob Mueller’s investigation and more, was also accused of trying to “bribe” vulnerable Republican senators with big-money fundraising appeals ahead of the trial. Continue reading.

FAST FACTS: Pence’s Involvement

Adam Schiff just described Pence’s continued involvement in Trump’s gross abuse of power.
SCHIFF: “Pence was neither surprised nor dismayed at the description of this quid pro quo.”
Here are the facts:
  1.  Pence planned to attend Zelensky’s inauguration, but Trump instructed him not to and sent the “three amigos” instead.
Jennifer Williams testified that Trump asked Pence not to attend the inauguration with no reason given.
David Holmes testified that Pence pulled out of attending the inauguration after Giuliani announced and cancelled a Ukraine trip: “We were told that Vice President Pence was likely to be that senior member, it was not yet fully agreed to. And so we were anticipating that to be the case. And then the Giuliani event happened, and then we heard that he was not going to play that role.”
Rick Perry led the delegation to Zelensky’s inauguration instead of Pence. The delegation included Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker — the “three amigos.”
  1. Multiple Pence advisers listened in on Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine’s president, during which Trump instructed Zelensky to work with Giuliani on investigations, and notes were taken for Pence.
Pence’s national security adviser, Keith Keellogg, listened in on Trump’s call with Zelensky.
Pence’s special adviser on Europe and Russia, Jennifer Williams, also listened in on Trump’s call with Zelensky. She took notes to inform Pence about the call and called Trump’s actions highly “unusual and inappropriate,” as well as politically motivated.
  1. Slightly more than a month later, Trump sent Pence to meet with Zelensky in Poland in his place. Zelensky immediately asked Pence about the withheld aid, and Pence replied in a way interpreted to be about Trump’s investigations.
Trump sent Pence to meet Zelensky with a message that the U.S. would not release military aid until they had assurances Zelensky was committed to fighting corruption.
Gordon Sondland testified that in a briefing before the meeting, he brought up concerns to Pence that the delay in aid was tied to investigations — and Pence had no reaction.
The first question Zelensky asked Pence was about the withheld military aid, and Pence replied that he wanted to hear about the progress of reforms, which Zelensky would have interpreted as code for the investigations Trump wanted.
Pence told reporters after the meeting that he and Zelensky discussed corruption and that Trump had him make clear they had “great concerns” about corruption.
  1. Trump met with Pence immediately before releasing the military aid to Ukraine, and days later, Pence praised Zelensky for tackling “corruption.”
Impeachment Inquiry Report: “On the evening of September 11, prior to lifting the hold, President Trump met with Vice President Mike Pence, Mr. Mulvaney, and Senator Portman to discuss the hold. Around 8:00 p.m. on September 11, the Chief of Staff’s office informed Dr. Kupperman that the hold had been lifted.”
Pence praised the Zelensky “administration for its bold action to tackle corruption through legislative reforms, and offered full U.S. support for those efforts” during a mid-September call.

A Really Long List of Evidence McConnell Wants to Cover Up

A trial without documents or witnesses is a cover-up. This isn’t about a handful of papers; it’s about multiple first-hand witnesses and a paper trail that will provide critical information about the charges against Trump.

Americans want and deserve a fair trial. But just look at all the directly relevant evidence that Trump and McConnell are trying to sweep under the rug:

These witnesses…

  • Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton said he is willing to testify before the Senate, but Republicans refuse to let him.
  • At Trump’s direction, his acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney directly coordinated the plot to withhold Ukraine’s security assistance and White House meeting until Ukraine announced an investigation into Trump’s political opponent.
  • Michael Duffey is a key witness to Trump’s abuse of power, and he must testify before the Senate. Duffey, a political appointee at OMB, has intricate knowledge of the military aid freeze that Trump demanded.
  • Robert Blair was a top aide to Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who coordinated Trump’s pressure campaign against Ukraine. Blair followed Trump’s directive not to comply with the impeachment investigation and has refused to testify, but we need to hear from him.

White House documents related to these events and issues…

  • The White House’s internal meetings discussing the Ukraine scheme, including the firing of Ambassador Yovanovitch.
  • Trump’s request for investigations into interference in the 2016 presidential election and his political rival.
  • Trump’s direct communications with President Zelensky.
  • Trump’s unlawful hold of the $391 million of military aid.
  • Concerns of White House officials reported to NSC legal counsel.
  • The Intelligence Community Inspector General Whistleblower complaint.

These State Department documents…

  • Emails from Ambassador Gordon Sondland regarding Trump’s demand that Ukraine announce political investigations. Those emails were sent to some of Trump’s top aides and advisors, including Mulvaney, Pompeo, and Rick Perry.
  • Notes from Ambassador Bill Taylor, who described a “little notebook” in which he would “take notes on conversations.”
  • Contemporaneous memos written by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent about conversations he’d witnessed related to the aid freeze.
  • The first-person cable Ambassador Taylor sent to Pompeo expressing concerns about the aid freeze.
  • Records related to Pompeo’s communications with Rudy Giuliani.
These OMB documents…
  • 20 emails the White House is refusing to release between Robert Blair and Michael Duffey.
  • Documents collected in the White House review, including communications between officials in the White House, National Security Council, OMB, and the State Department that reportedly paint an “unflattering” picture of the administration’s response as the White House tried to find “an after-the-fact justification” for Trump’s hold on military aid.
  • Michael Duffey’s June 19, 2019, email to DOD that “the President has questions” about the security assistance.
  • Robert Blair’s July 12, 2019, email to Michael Duffey stating that “the President is directing a hold on military support funding for Ukraine.”
  • Michael Duffey’s email—less than two hours after Trump’s July 25 call with President Zelensky—instructing DOD to continue to “formalize” the hold on security assistance.
  • An August 2019 memo drafted by OMB’s National Security Division, International Affairs Division, and Office of Legal Counsel to Acting OMB Director Russell Vought about Ukraine security assistance.
  • Michael Duffey’s August 30, 2019, email to DOD stating that there was “clear direction from POTUS” to continue the hold.
These heavily redacted documents released late last week…
  • New York Times’s Ken Vogel: “NEW DOCS: At 11:58pm, the @WhiteHouse released nearly 200 pages of OMB emails related to Ukraine, including a bevy of emails to/from the officials Senate Dems want to subpoena. On quick read, they are so heavily redacted as to be almost indecipherable.”
And so many more that we don’t even know to ask for.

Democrats cap impeachment arguments with focus on Trump stonewalling

The Hill logoHouse Democrats launched their final round of arguments in President Trump’s impeachment trial on Friday, shifting their focus to the president’s blanket stonewalling of Congress’s inquiry into his Ukrainian affairs as another basis for his removal from office.

Democrats say Trump trampled on Congress’s legal authority to act as a check on presidential power when he adopted an across-the-board refusal to cooperate with House investigators examining his dealings with Ukraine last year.

While their case has centered on allegations that Trump abused his power, the third and final day of the Democrats’ opening arguments will focus on the second impeachment article passed by the House last month: obstruction of Congress.  Continue reading.

America Is Watching Trump’s Trial

It is my habit, and my ethical obligation, to disclose a fact of my marriage when failing to do so could mislead you or diminish your trust in me.

Circumstances and subject matter dictate when this is necessary. If I’m writing about our two rescue dogs, my husband’s profession is irrelevant in his utter devotion to them. Likewise, his job has nothing to do with my insistence that no husband should speak for his wife without her permission, and by “permission” I impose the strictest of boundaries. Saying, “Yes, Honey, go ahead and order the curry for me,” does not mean my husband may start any sentence with, “What my wife meant to say…”

Fortunately, like all good men, he understands the difference. Continue reading.

The Shame Of The Senate

Well before completing his first term, President Donald Trump firmly established himself as the worst president in American history, which should surprise nobody. What we have seen this week suggests that many of the senators now hearing his impeachment trial will join him in historic infamy.

From the very beginning of Trump’s impeachment, a majority of Republican senators have indicated that they would not dare to sanction his unmistakable wrongdoing.

The Republicans stood mutely as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told the nation that he would manage the trial in lockstep with the president’s lawyers. They said nothing when the president brushed aside the constitutional separation of powers and the prerogatives of Congress by withholding all evidence and witnesses. They pretended to believe McConnell when he promised to conduct the trial fairly, and apply the same standards and procedures seen during the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. Continue reading.

Democrats Seek to Pre-empt Trump’s Defense in Impeachment Trial

New York Times logoThe House impeachment managers sought to undercut the central elements of President Trump’s defense, wading into a detailed defense of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

WASHINGTON — House Democrats sought on Thursday to pre-emptively dismantle President Trump’s core defenses in his impeachment trial, invoking his own words to argue that his pressure campaign on Ukraine was an abuse of power that warranted his removal.

On the second day of arguments in the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, Democrats sought to make the case that Mr. Trump’s actions were an affront to the Constitution. And they worked to disprove his lawyers’ claims that he was acting only in the nation’s interests when he sought to enlist Ukraine to investigate political rivals.

In doing so, they took a calculated risk in talking at length about Mr. Trump’s targets — former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.and his son Hunter Biden — and underscored the political backdrop of a trial that is unfolding only 10 months before the election and is likely to reverberate long after the verdict. Continue reading.

Democrats detail abuse-of-power charge against Trump as Republicans complain of repetitive arguments

Washington Post logoHouse impeachment managers laid out the heart of their abuse-of-power case against President Trump on Thursday — charging that his efforts to pressure Ukraine into political investigations were precisely what the nation’s founders wanted to guard against when they empowered Congress to remove a president from office.

The Democrats also detailed their defense of former vice president Joe Biden’s actions regarding Ukraine in anticipation that it will be a major portion of the White House’s defense later this week, saying Biden’s actions were in line with official U.S. policy at the time and not done to benefit an energy company connected to his son.

But a significant number of Senate Republicans remained unmoved and downplayed the case from House managers, dismissing it as repetitive and unpersuasive as they sought to counter Democrats’ narrative at a time when Trump’s lawyers must stay silent in the Senate Chamber. Continue reading.

NOTE:  Remember, the Trump White House didn’t supply a single document and blocked testimony from witnesses. And, the GOP Senate blocked subpoenaing witnesses and documents. So, GOP Senators saying things are repetitive pretty much proves there is no Republican party, just a Trump loyalist party.

Senate GOP uses Trump’s executive privilege threat as rallying cry against subpoenas

A growing number of Republicans are pointing to President Donald Trump’s threat to invoke executive privilege in order to make their case against subpoenas sought by Democrats for key witnesses and documents, a development that could bolster Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s goal of a swift end to the impeachment trial.

GOP senators are privately and publicly raising concerns that issuing subpoenas — to top officials like acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton and for documents blocked by the White House — will only serve to drag out the proceedings. Plus, many say there’s little appetite for such a time-consuming fight, given that legal battles may ultimately not be successful and could force the courts to rule on hugely consequential constitutional issues about the separation of powers between the branches of government.

McConnell has little margin for error since it would take just four Republican defections to join with 47 Democrats in order to issue a subpoena. But his increased warnings that subpoenas could prompt an “indefinite” delay in the trial and get tied up in the courts have been gaining traction within his conference, GOP senators and aides told CNN. Continue reading.