Tag: Senate impeachment trial

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.

Schiff closes Dems’ impeachment arguments with emotional appeal to remove Trump

The Hill logoHouse Democrats leading the impeachment trial of President Trump wrapped up their opening arguments Friday night with an emotional warning to the Senate and the country beyond: A failure to remove Trump from office would pose a long-term threat to America’s very democracy.

Equating Trump to a corrupt monarch, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the leading Democratic impeachment prosecutor, accused the president of violating this oath by putting his personal interests above those of the country in his dealings with Ukraine — and said he remains a danger to do it again.

Appealing to the senators who will act as judge and jury in the trial, Schiff urged them to put aside partisan politics and consider both the nature of Trump’s actions, and their responsibilities to uphold the Constitution. Continue reading.

CNN poll: 51% say Senate should remove Trump from office

CNN — About half of Americans say the Senate should vote to convict President Donald Trump and remove him from office in the upcoming impeachment trial (51%), according to a new CNN pollconducted by SSRS, while 45% say the Senate should vote against conviction and removal.

Nearly seven in 10 (69%) say that upcoming trial should feature testimony from new witnesses who did not testify in the House impeachment inquiry. And as Democrats in the Senate seek to persuade at least four Republican senators to join them on votes over allowing witnesses in the trial, the Republican rank and file are divided on the question: 48% say they want new witnesses, while 44% say they do not.

The poll is the first major national telephone poll since the articles of impeachment were sent to the Senate, formally launching Trump’s trial there. They are also the first such poll results since Soviet-born businessman Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, publicly implicated the President in the Ukrainian pressure campaign during a series of television interviews. 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.

Here are 7 embarrassing arguments Republicans have tried to use to defend Trump

AlterNet logoWith the Senate impeachment trial in full swing, Republicans have launched an aggressive if scattershot campaign to defend President Donald Trump and discredit the Democrats’ case.

It’s not going well. Multiple recent polls have found that a majority of the country thinks Trump should be removed from office and many more think he has done something seriously wrong, even if they think he should remain in the White House until the next election.

While the Democrats have unleashed a torrent of facts and compelling arguments for the charges that Trump abused his power and obstructed Congress, Republican replies have been all over the map. Many of their arguments are completely beside the point of the case, and the sheer weakness of their defenses is an embarrassment to the party.

Here are seven of weakest and most embarrassing arguments Republicans have made to defend Trump: Continue reading.

‘This ends badly for Trump’s lackeys’: MSNBC’s Morning Joe warns GOP senators they’re doomed for opposing impeachment

AlterNet logoMSNBC’s Joe Scarborough ripped Senate Republicans for selling their souls to President Donald Trump — and risking their political careers.

The “Morning Joe” host praised Rep. Adam Schiff’s impassioned plea to GOP senators in the impeachment trial, but lamented that his appeal likely fell on deaf ears.

“It’s a fear of those who follow Donald Trump, who follow Donald Trump in the Republican Party,” Scarborough said. “It’s a fear of losing a primary election, and, then, yes it is a fear for many of these people, and I consider it to be extraordinarily weak of them, of Donald Trump criticizing them, or tweeting attacks at them.” 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.