Tag: Trump abuse of power

Impeachment transcripts reveal a consistent, damaging narrative for Trump

The witness testimonies released so far are all aligned, offering Democrats a powerful political weapon in public hearings next week.

Rudy Giuliani was President Donald Trump’s enforcer, circumventing official channels and bewildering professional diplomats as he pressured Ukraine to target Trump’s political opponents.

Along the way, career foreign service officers became collateral damage — and questions of a Trump-authorized quid pro quo emerged, blowing up into a scandal that now imperils the Trump presidency.

Those are the unchallenged details revealed so far in five transcripts of depositions released this week as part of the House impeachment inquiry. And as Democrats prepare for public hearings next week, they are underscoring the common thread running through the witnesses’ accounts.

View the complete November 6 article by Andrew Desiderio on the Politico website here.

Trump rails against House Democrats, impeachment inquiry during campaign rally: ‘It’s all a hoax’

The Hill logoPresident Trump spent the outset of a campaign rally Wednesday evening railing against House Democrats, accusing them of pursuing a “deranged, delusional, destructive and hyperpartisan impeachment witch hunt.”

“It’s all a hoax. It’s a scam,” Trump told a cheering crowd at the Monroe Civic Center in Louisiana.

“I had a perfect phone call, a totally perfect phone call,” he added, referring to his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump also continued his attacks on the credibility of the anonymous whistleblower who raised alarm about the call, accusing the individual of making a “horrible statement” about the call and claiming without evidence that the person had “disappeared” after the White House released a transcript of it.

View the complete November 6 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Trump wanted Barr to hold news conference saying the president broke no laws in call with Ukrainian leader

Washington Post logoPresident Trump wanted Attorney General William P. Barr to hold a news conference declaring that the commander in chief had broken no laws during a phone call in which he pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate a political rival, though Barr ultimately declined to do so, people familiar with the matter said.

The request from Trump traveled from the president to other White House officials and eventually to the Justice Department. The president has mentioned Barr’s demurral to associates in recent weeks, saying he wished Barr would have held the news conference, Trump advisers say.

In recent weeks, the Justice Department has sought some distance from the White House, particularly on matters relating to the burgeoning controversy over Trump’s dealings on Ukraine and the impeachment inquiry they sparked.

View the complete November 6 article by Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey and Carol D. Leonnig on The Washington Post website here.

Democrats set stage for Watergate-style TV hearings

The Hill logoThe trio of witnesses called to testify next week in the first public impeachment hearings are some of the biggest names and most significant players in the Democrats’ sprawling six-week probe into allegations President Trump pressured a foreign power to investigate his political rivals.

House Democrats know that millions of Americans will be tuning in to watch the impeachment inquiry for the first time now that weeks of closed-door depositions are giving way to televised Watergate-style hearings that are set for next Wednesday and Friday.

The hearings could be held in one of the Capitol complex’s larger rooms, such as the cavern

View the complete November 6 article by Scott Wong on The Hill website here.

Rand Paul blocks Senate resolution backing protection for whistleblowers

The Hill logoSen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked a resolution Wednesday reaffirming the Senate’s support for whistleblower protections and accused Democrats of “fake outrage.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) had asked for unanimous consent to pass the resolution, which “acknowledges the contributions of whistleblowers” and throws the chamber’s support behind protecting whistleblowers from retaliation.

“The threats we have seen over the last few days are so egregious they demand bipartisan outrage from one end of this chamber to the other, whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, independent, liberal, moderate or conservative,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “What’s happening here is another erosion of the values of this republic for political expediency.”

View the complete November 6 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Acting ambassador says it was his ‘clear understanding’ U.S. military aid would not be sent until Ukraine pursued investigations that could help Trump

Washington Post logoHouse investigators released a transcript Wednesday of the closed-door testimony of William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, who told lawmakers that it was his “clear understanding” that U.S. military aid would not be sent until that country pursued investigations that could politically benefit President Trump.

The impeachment inquiry moved forward on other fronts, with House Democrats announcing that the first public hearings would be held next week and David Hale, the State Department’s third-ranking official, testifying privately at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Democrats hope Hale can shed more light on the removal of Marie Yovanovitch as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine after she became the target of false rumors questioning her loyalty to Trump.

View the complete November 6 article by John Wagner, Felicia Sonmez and Colby Itkowitz on The Washington Post website here.

Reporter corners GOP’s Jim Jordan after he says Trump’s word is sufficient evidence of no quid pro quo

AlterNet logoRep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) insisted on Wednesday that he takes Donald Trump’s word over the word of four other witnesses who indicated that the president pushed Ukraine for a quid pro quo in order to receive promised aid.

While speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, Jordan was asked how he weighs the words of different witnesses with regard to Ukraine.

“If one witnesses says there’s no quid pro quo but multiple others say there is, what do you do with that?” the reporter wondered.

View the complete November 6 article by David Edwards from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

Republicans push for whistleblower’s identity, but not naming names — yet

President and his son encourage media to out the whistleblower, while lawyers caution liability

President Donald Trump and his congressional allies have created an uneasy tension on Capitol Hill around a push to out the whistleblower whose report launched the House impeachment inquiry, in the days since a right-wing outlet reported a name and work history without direct confirmation.

Trump, at the White House on Sunday, discussed the details of the report but didn’t mention the name and twice added: “I don’t know if that’s true or not.” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, mentioned a resume item at a Republican press conference Friday and on Fox News on Tuesday but didn’t say the name.

And Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., after he called on the media at a Trump rally to name the whistleblower, told CQ Roll Call on Tuesday that he “probably will” publicly name the person mentioned in the article, but declined to say if he knew for sure if it was correct.

View the complete November 6 article by Todd Ruger on The Roll Call website here.

House to hold public impeachment hearings next week

The Hill logoHouse Democrats announced Wednesday that they will hold their first public impeachment hearings next week, marking an escalation of their investigation into President Trump‘s dealings with Ukraine.

Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said that lawmakers initially plan to call in three witnesses as Democrats begin making their case to the public that Trump pressured a foreign power to investigate political opponents.

Schiff said that William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, and George Kent, a top State Department official, will testify next Wednesday. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch is then expected to testify next Friday.

View the complete November 6 article by Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Senate Republicans struggle to coalesce behind an impeachment strategy

The Hill logoSenate Republicans are casting about for the best strategy to defend President Trump from articles of impeachment and divided over several key questions, which has led to a disjointed defense of their party’s leader.

One controversial question for the GOP is how far to go in attacking Trump’s principle accuser, the anonymous author of a whistleblower complaint.

Two of Trump’s staunchest Senate defenders — Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — are calling for the whistleblower to be publicly named and subjected to close scrutiny. Trump did the same Sunday when he urged media organizations to release the whistleblower’s name and declared it “would be doing the public a service if you did.”

View the complete November 6 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.