Trump🇷🇺Russia🇺🇦Ukraine
https://wp.me/PDKwi-6Kc
With Tweets, Retweets, links to articles and excerpts, I’ve tried to document this national soap opera/tragedy we’re living through. The resources at the beginning are a mixed bag of timelines and documents and I provide a clickable cast of characters (Russians, mostly).
What does this have to do with The Blacklist? A lot, actually. Russian mob figures, spies and apparatchiks. Semion Mogilevich, the Smart Don, reminds me of Red, though Red is a lot nicer and much better-looking.
Featured are drawings (she calls them “maps”) by @Jzikah, and “Mueller, She Wrote” is the best podcast I’ve ever come across. The three women who do it are comedians, though they’re all super smart and A.J. (the lead) has a PhD and is a Veteran.
Caution: You may enjoy this feature a bit more if you’re of the liberal persuasion. This is the single place on this blog where *there are politics* though I tend to stick with MSM, specialized sources (ex-Intel Community, altGov, and reputable sleuths) and other people I’ve learned to trust.
🇷🇺 Press Here For 2019 articles
🇷🇺 Press Here For 2020
🇷🇺 Press Here For 7/26/2017 through 2018
💽Recommended⋙ Mueller She Wrote Podcast ⋙ http://bit.ly/2PgTKWs or Press ⇊ ⇊
Other Podcasts:
All The President’s Lawyers (J Barro, R Lowry)
The Asset (Center for American Progress) 🌟
The Dworkin Report (Scott Dworkin)
Gaslit Nation (Sarah Kendzior, Andrea Chalupa)
The Lawfare Podcast (Benjamin Wittes, Brookings)
The Josh Marshall Podcast (TPM)
The Mother Jones Podcast (David Corn)
Mueller Time (Eric Leval, Chris Carey)
The Oath (Chuck Rosenberg, MSNBC)
The Report (Lawfare)
On Topic (Renato Mariotti)
Skullduggery (Michael Isikoff, Yahoo)
Trump Inc (ProPublica)
Trumpcast (Slate)
🔊 PlayerFM: Best Trump Russia Investigation Podcasts (2019) http://bit.ly/2MKbtV8
Twitter List: INVESTIGATORS: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/lists/investigators
// Investigative reporters, Trump-Russia sleuths, Intelligence Community, Legislators, “alt-gov,” and Targets
Russian Intelligence Services:
Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) – The Foreign Intelligence Service reports directly to the President of Russia.
GRU – Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.
Federal Security Service (FSB) – The Federal Security Service is responsible for counter-intelligence, state security and anti-terrorist operations
🔄 ECFR , Mark Galeotti [EU] (2016): Introduction: Putin’s hydra: Inside Russia’s intelligence services http://bit.ly/2NZWN1h
// 5/11/2016, Intro
⋙ 📒 ECFR, Mark Galeotti [EU] (2016): Report: Putin’s Hydra: Inside Russia’s Intelligence Services [pdf] http://bit.ly/2NYjG5b 20p
// May 2016, Full report
Key People: Roman Abramovich, Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, Rinat Akhmetov, Rinat Akhmetshin, Yulya Alferova, Anatoly Antonov, Andrii Artemenko, Arron Banks, Andrey Baronov, Vitaly Bespalov, Leonid “Len” Blavatnik, Anna Bogacheva, David Bogatin, Victor Boyarkin, Wm Browder, Mariia Butina, Carole Cadwalladr, Michael Caputo, Yuri Chaika, Igor Chekunov, Michael Cohen, George Cottrell, Oleg Deripaska, Andrii Derkach, Igor Divyekin, Kirill Dmitriev, Oleksandr Dubinsky, Aleksandr Dugin, Arkady Dvorkovich, Paul Erickson, Oleg Erovinkin, Nigel Farage, Dmitri Firtash, John Fotiadis, Gene (Evgeny) Friedman, Igor Fruman, Daniel Gelbinovich, Rob Goldstone, Sergei Gorkov, Henry Greenberg, Andrew Intrater, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Brittany Kaiser, Mikhail Kalugin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Saak Karapetyan, Eugene Kaspersky (Kaspersky Lab), Denis Katsyv, Irakly (“Ike”) Kaveladze, Michael Khodarkovsky, Konstantin Kilimnik, Sergey Kislyak, Artem Klyushin, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Konstantin Kosachev, Aleksandra Krylova, Elena Khusyaynova, Simon Kukes, Kostiantyn Kulyk, Alexander Litvinenko, Howard Lorber, Yuriy Lutsenko, Simona Mangiante, Alexander Mashkevich, Viktor Medvedchek, Josef Mifsud, Semion Mogilevich (Don Semyon), Konstantin Molofeev, George Nader, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, Alexei Navalny, Eduard Nektalov, Konstantin Nikolaev, Vyacheslav Nikonov, Yevgeniy Nikulin, Alexander Nix, Isabel Oakeshoff, Mykhaylo Okhendovsky, George Papadopoulos, Lev Parnas, Sam Patten, Alexander Perepilichnyy, Dmitry Peskov, Igor Pisarsky, Petro Poroshenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, George Ramishvili, Dmitry Rogozin, Alexander Rovt, Giorgi Rtskhiladze, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Konstantin Rykov, Mikheil Saakashvili, Felix Sater, Igor Sechin, Anastasia Shevchenko, Viktor Shokin, Oleg Solodukhin, Christopher Steele, Ruslan Stoyanov, Oleg Solodukhin, Peter Strzok, Taiwanchik (aka Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov), Andriy Telizhenko, Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov (aka Taiwanchik), Aleksandr Torshin, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, Yulia Tymoshenko, Anastasia Vashukevich (aka Nastya Rybka), Viktor Vekselberg, Natalia Veselnitskaya, Vyacheslav Volodin, Curt Weldon, Andy Wigmore, Alexander Yakovenko, Viktor Yanukovych, Ivan Yermakov, Viktor Yushchenko, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, Maria Zakharova, Joel Zamel, Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykola Zlochevsky
Bios w links (Wikipedia unless otherwise noted): Roman Abramovich, Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, Rinat Akhmetov, Rinat Akhmetshin, Yulya Alferova (National Compass), Anatoly Antonov, Andrii Artemenko, Arron Banks, Andrey Baranov (Bloomberg), Vitaly Bespalov (NBC), Leonid “Len” Blavatnik, Anna Bogacheva (NYT), David Bogatin (NYT), Victor Boyarkin (TrumpRussia), William Browder, Mariia Butina, Carole Cadwalladr, Michael Caputo, Yuri Chaika, Igor Chekunov, Michael Cohen, George Cottrell, Oleg Deripaska, Andrii Derkach, Igor Divyekin, Kirill Dmitriev, Oleksandr Dubinsky (NBC), Aleksandr Dugin, Arkady Dvorkovich, Paul Erickson, Oleg Erovinkin, Nigel Farage, Dmitri Firtash, John Fotiadis (Archinect), Gene (Evgeny) Friedman, Igor Fruman, Daniel Gelbinovich (Daily Beast), Rob Goldstone, Sergei Gorkov, Henry Greenberg (Miami Herald), Andrew Intrater, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Brittany Kaiser (Cambridge Analytica), Mikhail Kalugin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Saak Karapetyan, Eugene Kaspersky (Kaspersky Lab), Denis Katsyv, Irakly Kaveladze, Michael Khodarkovsky, Elena Khusyaynova, Konstantin Kilimnik, Sergey Kislyak, Artem Klyushin (National Compass), Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Konstantin Kosachev, Aleksandra Krylova (NYT), Simon Kukes, Kostiantyn Kulyk (NBC), Alexander Litvinenko, Howard Lorber, Yuriy Lutsenko, Konstantin Malofeev, Simona Mangiante (Papadopoulos), Alexander Mashkevich, Viktor Medvedchek, Josef Mifsud, Semion Mogilevich (Don Semyon) …
Cover: KyivPost (10/18/2019): <bShady Cast of Characters: Engineers of Trump-Ukraine Scandal http://bit.ly/2MZCilW
Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, Alexei Navalny, Eduard Nektalov (NYMag), Konstantin Nikolaev, Yevgeniy Nikulin, Vyacheslav Nikonov, Alexander Nix, Isabel Oakeshoff, Mykhaylo Okhendovsky, George Papadopoulos, Lev Parnas ,Sam Patten, Alexander Perepilichny, Dmitry Peskov, Igor Pisarsky (RIM), Petro Poroshenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, George Ramishvili (Bloomberg), Dmitry Rogozin, Alexander Rovt, Giorgi Rtskhiladze (CNBC), Nastya Rybka (aka Anastasia Vashukevich) (WaPo), Dmitry Rybolovlev, Konstantin Rykov, Mikheil Saakashvili, Felix Sater, Igor Sechin, Anastasia Shevchenko (Amnesty Intl), Viktor Shokin, Oleg Solodukhin, Christopher Steele, Ruslan Stoyanov, Peter Strzok, Taiwanchik (aka Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov), Andriy Telizhenko (BuzzFeedNews), Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov (aka Taiwanchik), Aleksandr Torshin, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, Yulia Tymoshenko, Anastasia Vashukevich (aka Nastya Rybka) (WaPo), Viktor Vekselberg, Natalia Veselnitskaya, Vyacheslav Volodin, Curt Weldon, Andy Wigmore, Alexander Yakovenko, Viktor Yanukovych, Ivan Yermakov (Moscow Proj), Viktor Yushchenko, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, Maria Zakharova, Joel Zamel, Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykola Zlochevsky
By @WendySiegelman
Key Documents
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 LawfareBlog: Litigation Documents Related to the Mueller Investigation http://bit.ly/2OVch6n
// new November 2018, to be continually updated
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 JustSecurity: Public Document Clearinghouse: UKRAINE Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2CEsQ2F ‼️ Links to ALL documents ‼️
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 AmericanOversight: Trump-Ukraine Key Figures and Documents http://bit.ly/2C24bES
AmericanOversight: The Trump Administration’s Contacts with Ukraine http://bit.ly/2BYSY89 from FOIA requests
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 JustSecurity, Andy Wright: Just Security Launches the Russia Investigation Congressional Clearinghouse http://bit.ly/2L21uHz
// 8/22/2019
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 Lawfare: Full Text of the Mueller Report’s Executive Summaries http://bit.ly/2IFLewq
// 4/18/2019
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 Lawfare: Document: The Mueller Report http://bit.ly/2vcgNpN
// 4/18/2019
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: The Whistle-Blower Complaint: Read the Document [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2nq4FAD
// 9/26/2019
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo: Trump impeachment inquiry: Latest news and updates http://wapo.st/2P09WuE [Continually updated]
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo, Kate Rabinowitz and Kevin Schaul: Who’s involved in the Trump impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/2W673dg
// orig published 10/21/2019
~~~~~~~~~~
⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 Court Filing (1/17/2019): Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-03501 [pdf] http://cnn.it/2CBddZy (111p) Democratic National Committee v.: Russian Federation, DJ Trump For President, Inc (and others)
// 1/17/2019
⋙ 💙💙🔄 TheAtlantic, Yoni Appelbaum: Impeach Donald Trump http://bit.ly/2FykFIP
//March 2019 cover story
⋙ 💙💙🔄 Politico Mag, Darren Samuelsohn: The Only Impeachment Guide You’ll Ever Need http://politi.co/2QHcJGi
// 1/11/2019, As talk of the I-word heats up, here’s POLITICO Magazine’s soup-to-nuts answers to all your questions about the politics—and the practical realities—of removing a president.
⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo, Max Boot: Here are 18 reasons Trump could be a Russian asset http://wapo.st/2D7IJQ9
// 1/13/2019
By @jzikah has a new book! Cartoon President http://amzn.to/2QUeZhk
⋙ 💙💙🔄 TheAtlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg (Editor): UNTHINKABLE: 50 Moments That Define an Improbable Presidency http://bit.ly/2RvDFOn
// Jan 2019; Donald Trump’s 50 Most Unthinkable Moments ~ 50 Articles
⋙ 💙💙🔄 Wikipedia: Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2018) http://bit.ly/2Bh12jP
⋙ 💙💙🔄 Axios: Timeline: Every big move in the Mueller investigation http://bit.ly/2Euh3H9
// 12/12/2018
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄 Moyers&Co: Interactive Timeline: Everything We Know About Russia and President Trump http://bit.ly/2uVHc9j
// continually updated
⋙ 💙💙🔄📒 DocumentCloud: Steele Dossier [pdf] http://bit.ly/2y5ZhnF 35p
⋙ 💙💙🔄📒 FBIRecordsVault: Records Between FBI and Christopher Steele http://bit.ly/2KqLoF1
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ AP: Mueller Investigation documents http://bit.ly/2ihbK0l
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ CitJourno: Trump/Russian Mob Connections http://www.citjourno.org
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ CNN, Marshall Cohen, Tal Yellen & Liz Stark: Tracking the Russia investigations (documents) http://cnn.it/2hVCpU5
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Russian Hacking and Influence in the U.S. Election http://nyti.ms/2NqFXeY
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ BrennanCenter: Trump-Russia Investigations http://bit.ly/2yRKcu6
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Politico: The people connected to the Russia probes [ Interactive ] http://politi.co/2FUDhz2 //➔ Democrats, Prosecutors, Law Enforcement/Lobbyists/Media,Team Trump, Foreign Nationals
⋙ 💙💙🔄 TheMoscowProject: Trump’s Russia Cover-Up By the Numbers http://bit.ly/2ycY959
// Center for American Progress; 80+ contacts with Russia-linked operatives https://themoscowproject.org/about/ http://bit.ly/2ycY959
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NBCNews: Russia timeline: Key players, meetings and investigation details http://nbcnews.to/2vtR3YW
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ DailyBeast: Democrats Release the Fusion GPS Testimony on Trump and Russia http://thebea.st/2qMmH1d w attachment [pdf] ⋙ via Dianne Feinstein http://bit.ly/2FjtlPP
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Justice Department Gives Congress Comey’s Memos on Trump http://nyti.ms/2HdLe2Z
// 4/19/2018 ➔ DocumentCloud: http://bit.ly/2HOGC4z
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ DOJ: Indictment of Internet Research Agency LLC et al … [PDF] http://bit.ly/2CqdHzD 37p //➔ Mueller Investigation
// 2/16/2018
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Amy Siskind: The Weekly List ~ “This is How Democracy Ends” https://theweeklylist.org
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Mueller Has List of Questions for Trump http://nyti.ms/2rfDuqK + http://nyti.ms/2HExEKi
// 4/30/2018, Majority Relate to if Trump Obstructed Inquiry on Russia
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: The Trump Lawyers’ Confidential Memo to Mueller, Explained [ Document ] http://nyti.ms/2kKPgq9
// 6/2/2018, NYT article about document: http://nyti.ms/2swIZSc
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ TIME: The Arguments President Trump Has Made Against the Mueller Investigation http://ti.me/2MdeARX
// 6/8/2018
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ TIME: Wikipedia: Links between Trump associates and Russian officials http://bit.ly/2K42VDF
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ WaPo: Who has been charged in the Russia probe and why http://wapo.st/2toNwH2
// continually updated; WaPo Russia page
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ ForeignAffairs Anthology: A New Cold War? Russia and America, Then and Now 1947- http://fam.ag/2KEA4dF
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Justice.gov: Mueller Indictment of 12 Russians in the GRU for Election Hacking [pdf] http://bit.ly/2NbphV6 29p
// 7/13/2018
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ FactCheck.org: Timeline of Russia Investigation http://bit.ly/2KZ4qaQ
// posted 6/7/2018, updated 7/13/2018; Key moments in the FBI probe of Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election; Readable
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Legal Process Server: DNC Lawsuit vs Russia, Wikileaks, et al http://bit.ly/2KIOhBq
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT, Linda Qiu: Truth-Testing Trump’s 250-Plus Attacks on the Russia Inquiry http://nyti.ms/2MY609E
// 8/18/2018
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Justice.gov: Manafort Plea Agreement [pdf] http://bit.ly/2CZiVb7 17p
// 9/14/2018
⋙ 💙💙🔄💽 NYT: Opinion | Operation Infektion: A three-part video series on Russian disinformation http://nyti.ms/2OHqSSV
// 11/12/2018
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ PasteMag, Jacob Weindling: A Year of Trump and Russia: The 75 Stories That Defined the Mueller Investigation in 2018 http://bit.ly/2QWN1SU
// 12/28/2018
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ LawFareBlog: Document: Indictment of Roger Stone [pdf] http://bit.ly/2UdQgmj 24p
// 1/25/2019
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄📋 NYT: Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2MAZCps
// 1/26/2019
⋙ 💙💙🔄 BuzzFeedNews: These Secret Files Show How The Trump Moscow Talks Unfolded While Trump Heaped Praise On Putin http://bit.ly/2DWQ2ed
// 2/5/2019; ⏳TIMELINE ⌛️
⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo: What we learned about Trumpworld outreach to Russia since Mueller’s investigation began http://wapo.st/2twkXYE
// 2/19/2019, And what we still don’t know.
⋙ 💙💙🔄 ◕📋 NYT, Larry Buchanan and Karen Yourish: Trump Has Publicly Attacked the Russia Investigation More Than 1,100 Times http://nyti.ms/2T2HSsN
// 2/19/2019
By @Jzikah
;
⋙ 💙💙🔄 ◕📋 WaPo, Philip Bump: The 81 people and organizations just looped into the Trump probe — and why they were included http://wapo.st/2SJrw41
// 3/4/2019
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Full Document: Trump’s Call With the Ukrainian President [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2lfBkbC (Annotated)
// 9/25/2019″
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: The Whistle-Blower Complaint: Read the Document [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2nq4FAD
// 9/26/2019
⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Ukraine Top Diplomat William B. Taylor Jr.‘s Statement to the Impeachment Inquiry http://nyti.ms/2P80Yvn
// 10/22/2019
By @Jzikah
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Testimony of Yovanovich and McKinley as Part of New Public Phase of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/36vgIPr
// 11/4/2014
● Yovanovich: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2PTqCnM ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2PQOete ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/343IO2g
● McKinley: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/32cHgRT ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2NJkdZE
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Sondland and Volker Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2WKuedv
// 11/5/2019; New Text Messages Also Released
● Sondland: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/33nkqsq ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2NjiXxC ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2sb6uUA
● Volker: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/34A7mQE ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2WOhnXE ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2qxGWjQ
● Volker texts: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2qtbhju ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/30QhpPi
By @Jzikah
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Ambassador Bill Taylor’s Deposition Transcript as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2JWZiRS http://bit.ly/2WKuedv
// 11/6/2016
● Taylor: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2rhMrDn ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2WQCys7 ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2KjMcya
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Ambassador George Kent’s Deposition Transcript as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2JWZiRS http://bit.ly/2pQjH4j
// 11/7/2016
● Kent: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2CjYwud ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2WRwZK5 ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2KjMcya
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Vindman and Hill Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/34JUlEa
// 11/8/2019
● Vindman: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2NSQEoL ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/32sSKRt ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2QA1h2Q
● Fiona Hill: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/32xLow2 ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2X12TDN ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/349Dnix
By @Jzikah
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Laura Cooper’s Transcript as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/34SP3pT
// 11/11/2019
● Cooper: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/34VAZvT ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2NAN0kv CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2QNBTqj
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Croft and Anderson Transcripts as Part ofImpeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2Q5m4ep
// 11/14/2019
● Croft: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2O7AszY ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2qN1BQF
● Anderson: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2qGPlRU ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2qN1Knb
By @Jzikah
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI):: Committees Release Morrison and Williams Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2Q5m4ep
// 11/16/2019
● Morrison: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2KqPAYg ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2KtPsHn; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2qxGWjQ
● Williams: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2CSjMra ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/37hpNM ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2QA1h2Q
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI):: Committees Release Holmes and Hale Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2KxG2Lh
// 11/18/2019
● Holmes: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2XyrQa8 ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2Xsy7nq ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/349Dnix
● Hale: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2Kw91if ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2r4jB9D ; CSPAN: http://cs.pn/2QNBTqj
By @Jzikah
📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI):: Committees Release Sandy, Reeker and Other Transcripts As Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2OMsL2D
// 11/26/2019
● Sandy: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2KWbgfe ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/37DQ1sc
● Reeker: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2XRsFLq ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2ruKyTQ
By @Jzikah
⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ HPSCI: Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry report http://bit.ly/2LlnJsX
// 12/3/2019; House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ Report: House Judiciary Committee report on their articles of impeachment against President Donald John Trump http://bit.ly/2Ek2rIa 658p
// 10/15/2019
⏳WaPo: The full Trump-Ukraine impeachment timeline http://wapo.st/35odsUl
@jzikah has a book! Cartoon President http://amzn.to/2QUeZhk
⭕ 31 Dec 2019
🐣 RT @thedailybeast Farewell, 2019. As we toast to more hard-hitting journalism in 2020 (supported by our dedicated members), let’s look back at our biggest hits of the last 365 days. From Epstein to the whistleblowers, stay tuned as we countdown the top 25 articles of the year. 📌 https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1212195370580750336?s=20
Politico, Eric Edelman and Franklin Miller: Russia Is Beefing Up Its Nuclear Arsenal. Here’s What the U.S. Needs to Do. http://politi.co/37q0yq2
// The two-sided debate over New START misses a third, more realistic approach.
🐣 RT @ThePlumLineGS My latest: The awful irony at the core of Trump’s disinformation against the Bidens is that Joe Biden *actually did* combat corruption in Ukraine, while Trump used it as a cover story to advance *his own* corrupt personal and political ends:
⋙ WaPo, Greg Sargent: Trump is openly calling for his trial to be as corrupt as possible http://wapo.st/37qAfQA
🐣 RT @RichardHaass So after 3 years of no international crises, @realDonaldTrump is facing one w Iran b/c he has rejected diplomacy & another w N Korea b/c he has asked too much of diplomacy. He will face both w little allied backing, less interagency process, & amidst impeachment. Happy New Year.
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: The jig is up: Bolton and Mulvaney have no excuse for not testifying http://wapo.st/2SF17s1
🐣 RT @ EsperDoD At the direction of the Commander in Chief @POTUS, I have authorized the deployment of an infantry battalion from the Immediate Response Force (IRF) of the @82ndABNDiv to the @CENTCOM area of operations in response to recent events in Iraq. 📌 https://twitter.com/EsperDoD/status/1212167794160263169?s=20
🐣 RT @RNicholasBurns I had thought originally Trump should consider attending the 75th anniversary end of WWII in Moscow. But not now after Putin’s lies about #Poland, rehabilitation of Stalin and denial of Soviet collusion with Hitler. Poland and the Baltic States were their victims.
⋙ 🐣 RT @IlvesToomas After all the freaky, outlandish, horrifying and boorish claims from Russia about Poland, not Germany or the USSR starting WWII, indeed blaming the war on Poland, how could anyone go to Moscow this May 9th. Ask your heads of state and government how on earth they could go there?
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Can we do a quick conflict-of-interest refresher? Giuliani just said he’d be willing to “prosecute” the Senate trial in which he represents the president who is . . . wait for it . . . the defendant! Maybe he just wants to prosecute a case so strong that even HE could win it?
CNN, Elie Honig: The Trump cover-up is unfolding before our eyes http://cnn.it/2sEGEZz
NYT: Impeachment Trial Looming, Chief Justice Reflects on Judicial Independence http://nyti.ms/2Qd0h3V
// Chief Justice John Roberts’s year-end report on the judiciary praised civics education, but it was not hard to detect a timely subtext that appeared to be addressed to President Trump.
“We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity and dispatch,” he wrote in the report. “As the new year begins, and we turn to the tasks before us, we should each resolve to do our best to maintain the public’s trust that we are faithfully discharging our solemn obligation to equal justice under law.”
[John] Jay and his colleagues, Chief Justice Roberts wrote, “ultimately succeeded in convincing the public of the virtues of the principles embodied in the Constitution.”
“Those principles leave no place for mob violence,” the chief justice wrote. “But in the ensuing years, we have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside. In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital. The judiciary has an important role to play in civic education.”
The report seemed to continue a conversation with Mr. Trump about the role of the courts.
In 2018, the two men had a sharp exchange, with Mr. Trump suggesting that federal judges carry out the wishes of the presidents who appointed them and Chief Justice Roberts defending the independence and integrity of the judicial branch.
The exchange started when Mr. Trump called a judge who had ruled against his administration’s asylum policy “an Obama judge.” In response, the chief justice said the president had misunderstood the role of the federal courts in the constitutional system.
“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Chief Justice Roberts said in a statement. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
Mr. Trump took issue with the chief justice’s statement on Twitter. “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’” Mr. Trump wrote, “and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country.”
On Tuesday, the chief justice returned to his theme. “We should celebrate our strong and independent judiciary, a key source of national unity and stability,” he wrote. “But we should also remember that justice is not inevitable.” …
The chief justice singled out, but did not name, a colleague, praising his exemplary educational work. “As just one example,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote, “the current chief judge of the District of Columbia Circuit has, over the past two decades, quietly volunteered as a tutor at a local elementary school, inspiring his court colleagues to join in the effort.”
That judge is Merrick B. Garland, who was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in 2016 but denied a hearing by Senate Republicans. Mr. Trump appointed Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to fill the vacancy.
⭕ 30 Dec 2019
💽 MSNBC, LastWord: Lawrence: All the president’s men must testify in Senate impeachment trial http://on.msnbc.com/2MIXHRj
// The New York Times has a stunning report that sheds new light on the Ukraine aid freeze, including the attempt of Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, and Mark Esper to get Trump to release the military aid. Lawrence O’Donnell says that those men must now testify in the Senate impeachment trial in order for the proceedings to be fair.
RawStory: Here’s how Nancy Pelosi can psychologically wreck Trump by stalling impeachment for 36 days http://bit.ly/2Qe0d4a
⋙ 🐣 RT @RosenzweigP I think I may have figured out why @SpeakerPelosi is holding the articles of impeachment (or at least part of the reason): She wants to make sure that when POTUS gives the SOTU on Feb 4, he is still under impeachment. /1
⋙ 🐣 RT @RosenzweigP Imagine what it would be like if he got to give the SOTU having been cleared by the Senate — it would be a full-blown triumphal rant. But if the impeachment is still pending, it might, instead, be an unhinged narcissistic screed of almost unimaginable insanity. /2
⋙ 🐣 RT @RosenzweigP Just think of how painful it would be for 53 Republican Senators to sit in the halls of Congress, watching a live meltdown on national TV. That, alone, would be worth the price of admission. Maybe I’m wrong and this hasn’t crossed her mind — but I love the idea. /fin
WaPo, Michael Gerson: It’s up to voters to prevent four more years of institutional vandalism http://wapo.st/2F7ZJWY
NYT, Jesse Drucker and Jim Tankersley: How Big Companies Won New Tax Breaks From the Trump Administration http://nyti.ms/2SGRFo6
// As the Treasury Department prepared to enact the 2017 Republican tax overhaul, corporate lobbyists swarmed — and won big.
WaPo, Joe Scarborough: Trump’s threat to democracy http://wapo.st/2SGEDa6 “Adm. William McRaven — the man who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden — believes Donald Trump is the greatest threat facing American democracy.”
🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “I tend to lean towards… that Bolton is biding his time and he’s building up political coverage so that when he finally goes to testify, he looks as though he’s been forced… He’s covering his bases” – @Elise_Jordan w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1211779842611589120?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @maggieNYT Mulvaney and Blair’s exchange on June 27 makes clear they saw the freeze of the Ukraine military aid as a potential political problem. With the whistleblower complaint, it moved to a question of whether it was a legal problem. 📌 https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1211845024608063488?s=20
NYT: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit by Ex-Trump Aide Subpoenaed in Impeachment Inquiry http://nyti.ms/37pbvs4
// Judge Richard J. Leon acted after the House dropped its subpoena to Charles Kupperman and mooted the case, which had been closely watched for its implications about whether John Bolton would testify about President Trump’s pressuring Ukraine.
NBCNews: ‘Game changer’: Top Democrats say bombshell report shows need for witnesses in Senate impeachment trial http://nbcnews.to/39ux4ZR
// Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, then-national security adviser John Bolton and Defense Secretary Mark Esper urged Trump to release the aid, with Bolton saying it was “in America’s interest,” the report said.
🐣 RT @maggieNYT Trump reiterated his desire to keep the hold as “officials at the Office of Management and Budget — which had embraced the role of finding ways to make Mr. Trump’s policy demands a reality — searched for a legal justification to maintain the freeze.”
⋙ NYT: Schumer Demands Witnesses Be Called at Senate Impeachment Trial http://nyti.ms/2SDCN9S
// Senator Chuck Schumer was responding to an article that detailed how a number of White House advisers dealt with the president’s order to freeze military aid for Ukraine.
🐣 The NYT article about Pompeo, Bolton & Esper [ http://nyti.ms/39nzidE ] is important, but so is this article about the GOP Senate and WH officials shunning Giuliani [ http://bit.ly/2EZEypV ]. Will Lindsey go ahead with his invite for Rudy to testify to Senate Judiciary? Or is he now radioactive and we’ll be spared that circus?
🐣 RT @ChrisCoons Wise, urgent, and important words from @SenDougJones that everyone should take a moment to read. ¤ The Senate impeachment trial must be fair, it must include relevant witnesses and documents, and it must be focused on one simple thing: the truth.
⋙ 🐣 RT @washingtonpost Opinion: “Every trial is a pursuit of truth,” writes Alabama Sen. Doug Jones for The Post. ¤ “Will my colleagues in the Senate uphold that?”
⋙⋙ WaPo, Doug Jones: Every trial is a pursuit of truth. Will my colleagues in the Senate uphold that? http://wapo.st/3544CuA
🐣 RT @NoahSchachtman NEW: Parnas is begging the court to let him spill to Schiff & co.
⋙ DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Parnas Pushes to Share His Info With House Intel http://bit.ly/39nwSM2
// The ex-Giuliani associate asked for permission to send the contents of an iPhone to Hill investigators.
Law&Crime: Bolton Has No Excuse, ‘Must Testify’ Now That Judge Has Dismissed Kupperman’s Lawsuit: Legal Experts http://bit.ly/2F3ucFo
Salon, Amanda Marcotte: Mick Mulvaney can run, but he can’t hide: White House chief tries to duck Ukraine responsibility http://bit.ly/2tdwDCG
// White House chief of staff tries CYA maneuver — too late! He already confessed to his role in Ukraine scandal
🐣 RT @brianstelter By @sbg1: “Even now, three years into the Trump Presidency, there is no language to fully capture the madness of all this, though many of my journalistic colleagues have gone to great lengths to record & codify just how disturbingly nutty 2019 has been…”
⋙ NewYorker, Susan Glasser: Our Year of Trumpschmerz http://bit.ly/2tjTCfy
Lawfare, Jacob Schultz: Federal Judge Dismisses Kupperman Subpoena Suit http://bit.ly/36c8HhI
🐣 RT @neal_katyal See below. Now that Judge Leon has dismissed the Kupperman/Bolton case, Judge Jackson’s ruling is the definitive word. Bolton must testify.
⋙ 🐣 RT @jgeltzer 2 takeaways from this obviously correct dismissal of Kupperman case:
– The definitive word on Trump’s absolute immunity claim remains that it’s bogus.
– Given that & now given yesterday’s new Ukraine reporting, Bolton’s refusal to testify is utterly unjustified & unjustifiable.
⋙⋙ 🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @kyledcheney BREAKING: Judge dismisses the lawsuit regarding Ukraine testimony from Bolton deputy Charles Kupperman, declares case moot. https://twitter.com/jgeltzer/status/1211772565133414400?s=20/photo/1
Newsweek: Trump’s Alleged Abuses Of Power Make 2019 One of the Most Corrupt Years In History, Former Federal Prosecutor Says http://bit.ly/2ZChgjj
🐣 RT @ Trump considering adding some of his staunchest defenders from House Judiciary & Intel committees (think Jordan, Collins, Ratcliffe) to Senate trial team. McCarthy floated the idea earlier this month. [link] via @WSJ
⋙ WSJ: White House Counsel Drives Aggressive Trump Impeachment Defense http://on.wsj.com/2MFFS5i
// Pat Cipollone and deputies have a key role but internal White House tensions persist
WaPo, Aaron Blake: Rudy Giuliani, Venezuela and the Logan Act http://wapo.st/35cnY0s Analysis: Giuliani’s maneuvering in Venezuela sounds a lot like Ukraine
WaPo: Trump’s lawyer and the Venezuelan president: How Giuliani got involved in back-channel talks with Maduro http://wapo.st/36cVPYx
WaPo, Philip Bump: Giuliani’s Ukraine efforts are a formalization of the rumor-to-Trump pipeline http://wapo.st/2F4djug
Politico, Natasha Bertrand: Peter Strzok accuses the federal government of violating his rights http://politi.co/2Qxn4GF
// In a new court filing, the former FBI agent says the FBI and DOJ abrogated his right to privacy.
WaPo, James Comey: This is what it is like to be attacked by the president http://wapo.st/2SG1bb0
WaPo, Greg Sargent: Explosive new revelations just weakened Trump’s impeachment defenses http://wapo.st/2tjwxJW
🌎 DemcastUSA: Want to be Healthier, Wealthier, and Wise? Live in a Blue State http://bit.ly/39q8MjE https://twitter.com/DemCastUSA/status/1211658795597881346?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @GeorgeTakei The mad emperor Caligula, whose appetite for women including his own relatives was infamous, was convinced of his own god-like status and spent treasury funds extravagantly on his residences and personal leisure. He also silenced the Senate when it would not bow down to him.
🐣 RT @earvland Gee, I wonder why Pompeo and Esper went to Mar-a-Lago today? Coordinating with potential witnesses much, @realDonaldTrump?
⋙ 🐣 RT @burnshark1 I gather that we are ramping up our war with Iran. Our government no longer informs of when we make major military moves.
⋙⋙ 🐣 hopefully it’s “only” witness-tampering
🐣 RT @DutyToWarn Trump’s rate of lying is literally off the charts even for prodigious liars. “The most stunning way Trump’s lies differed from our participants’, though, was in their cruelty. An astonishing 50 percent of Trump’s lies were hurtful or disparaging.”
⋙ ChicagoTrib, Bella DePaulo (2017): I study liars. I’ve never seen one like Donald Trump. http://bit.ly/2F5TH9i
// 12/8/2017
🐣 Trump thinks he IS the country.
⋙ 🐣 RT @itsreallyalexb Exactly. “L’etat c’est-moi”, the most infamous quote of an equally bad leader, Louis XIV of France.
⋙⋙ 🐣 Back then, sovereignty was thought to be embodied in the king. Now it’s not. That was what was so radical about our Declaration, and what is so retrograde about Trump.
NYT, Ed Simon: Why We Will Need Walt Whitman in 2020 http://nyti.ms/35afA1J //➔ “Leaves of Grass” (especially in its purest form in the first edition) is a beautiful celebration of American democracy
// With our democracy in crisis, the poet and prophet of the American ideal should be our guide.
🐣 RT @OMGno2trump They are cowards and worse. Refusing to testify about Trump’s crimes is what co-conspirators do. These are not patriots or men of honor. They are charlatans and traitors who are betraying their oaths to the constitution. They belong in jail with Trump.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ This man on the left [Bolton], ever ready to send our troops into harms way, can’t even find the courage to testify and tell the truth about Trump. Seems to be cut from the same cloth as the man on the right [Graham]. Cowards, I mean full on cowards.
🐣 RT @McFaul The destruction of the liberal international order– i.e. break up of NATO, EU, WTO, etc — and weakening of democracies. He’d love to go back to the 19th century with Russia as a major power in a multipolar word in which values do not play a prominent role in int affairs.
⋙ 🐣 RT @illmatic808 Michael, what would you say Putin’s ultimate goal is?
🔄 💙💙 UnhackTheVote: Downloads http://bit.ly/36cUwc0
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⋙ Voter Registration http://bit.ly/2Zzm9JU
⭕ 29 Dec 2019
🐣 RT @tribelaw This is just devastating. No wonder Trump would rather be caught obstructing Congress (Article II) than have these details (Article I) get out.
⋙ YahooNews, Ya’han Jones: New Report Details Unrest Among Trump Officials As Trump Withheld Ukraine Aid http://yhoo.it/2QcSjYN
🐣 RT @mccaffreyr3 As far as I know… never in our history have we had a more intemperate and boorish political leader than Trump. His language and example are coarsening American public life.
🐣 RT @McFaul I agree. Tragically, Putin has the power and will to annex territory, intervene militarily to prop up autocratic allies, and even meddle in US elections. Few other countries in world (US, China?) have that same capability. Maybe no leader in the world has that same will.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NarangVipin Russia’s overall power metrics may make it a middle power, but it is simply too nuclear, too cyber, and too asymmetrically aggressive to treat it as such imho.
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Come Jan. 2021, there will need to be a commission established to investigate & prosecute Trump, his co-conspirators & those who covered-up his crimes (including elected officials who declared Trump committed no crime KNOWING FULL WELL Trump committed crimes against the US … 📌 https://twitter.com/glennkirschner2/status/1211425078535184392?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @robreiner We now know that Trump was told it was illegal to withhold aid to Ukraine. Like the career Criminal he is, he didn’t give a shit. Advice to Pompeo, Mulvaney, Bolton: Save your asses-Testify. Per Rick Wilson: “Everything Trump touches Dies”
⋙ 🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 See 18 USC sec. 3, Accessory After the Fact. Also, judicial confirmation hearings – Kavanaugh first among them – will need to be investigated for perjury and judges (esp. those rated “unqualified”) referred to DOJ for prosecution and to Congress for impeachment.
⋙ 🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 No turning the other cheek this time. The critics and ideologies will cry foul, claiming it’s political vindictiveness. But it’s not – it’s holding criminals accountable at the first available opportunity – when our country once again has a law-abiding president …
⋙ 🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 and a law-enforcing Attorney General. 2021 will be the year of the #TrumpCrimesCommission #TCC #JusticeIsComin
NakedCapitalism, Richard Smith (2014): R. Hunter Biden Should Declare Who Really Owns His New Ukrainian Employer, Burisma Holdings http://bit.ly/2Qur6jd
// 5/21/2014; deep dive with conspiratorial overtones; some notes more recent
⋙ MediaBias/Fact-check for NakedCapitalism: “LEFT-CENTER BIAS These media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to […]”
🐣 RT @sandibachom I’m a New York journalist. I was in the Deutsche Bank hearings, Lev Parnas bail hearing and 3 days in court with Jeffrey Epstein and 2 days after his death. TRUST me there is some really bad stuff coming down involving Trump, ALL these cases come back to Trump watch SDNY 📌 https://twitter.com/sandibachom/status/1207722890495496193?s=20
🐣 RT @TheDemCoalition “She is going to go down in history as one of the three strongest speakers in the United States.” ¤ Call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell them why they should vote to #RemoveTrump here: http://bit.ly/SenateTrial
💽 MSNBC, AMJoy: Nancy Pelosi praised for successful Trump impeachment http://on.msnbc.com/37i8E3W
// Nancy Pelosi is praised for presiding over the Donald Trump impeachment process successfully, and is hailed as one of the most powerful House speakers of all time. Joy Reid and her panel discuss why in Joy’s view House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ‘Won the Year’ in 2019 politics.
🐣 RT @RepJohnLewis Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. #goodtrouble
// 6/17/2018
💙 ABCNews (June 13): ‘I think I’d take it’: In exclusive interview, Trump says he would listen if foreigners offered dirt on opponents http://abcn.ws/2IdTd3b
// by Lucien Bruggeman: President Trump made the remark during an exclusive interview with ABC News. [Trump talked to Stephanopoulos over two days]
🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood outstanding reporting that raises the question: who could possibly have persuaded Trump to so doggedly withhold military aid to the country at war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia?
🐣 RT @BillKristol Secrecy.
Secrecy on the aid freeze.
Secrecy on asking for dirt on Biden.
Secrecy on the whistleblower complaint.
Secrecy as Trump withholds documents and witnesses.
Why?
No national security reason.
Secrecy because they knew it was all rotten to the core.
🐣 RT @RepValDemings In this new reporting, additional confirmation that:
The President’s goals in Ukraine were personal political gain, not U.S. policy.
There was a quid pro quo.
He only gave up because he got caught.
This is why we impeached. This is why the Senate must hold a REAL trial.
🐣 RT @neal_katyal Drip…drip…drip ¤ “Trump’s demands sent shock waves through the White House& Pentagon,created deep rifts within the senior ranks of his administration…and ended only after Trump learned of a damning whistleblower report” ¤ Senate should have witnesses
🐣 [To @parrhizzia] […] Giuliani has been exposed for the drooling fool he is and this NYT story can’t be ignored.
🐣 [To @parrhizzia] I sense a tipping point, but I’m an optimist. Lindsey G saying Rudy needs to clear his Ukraine “dirt” with the Intel Community is huge. The NYT piece piles on that Pompeo and Bolton were alarmed. We’ll see
🐣 RT @JohnWDean A “smoking gun” conversation. Just one of many. Any DOJ with an honest and uncorrupted Attorney General would be investigating what certainly appears to be a criminal conspiracy — and it is ongoing!
🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Buried in this story-Trump had executive branch lawyers working on a theory that he could override Congressional funding decisions because he was POTUS. Every Republican lawmaker must be asked if they support this destruction of checks & balances.
⋙ 🐣 If this were to be argued on the merits, Trump’s best defense seems to be that he he really, REALLY believed Ukraine was corrupt and is generally suspicious of foreign aid. But not covered in this article: the changes demanded to the proposed announcement for Zelensky to use.
🐣 RT @eliehonig Other than Trump’s conversation with Zelensky, this is the most important piece of evidence in the case. Pompeo and Bolton know what happened – and yet they remain in hiding. They need to testify about what happened in that room, whoever it may help or hurt.
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson Now you know why he doesn’t want them to testify
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance I’ve said this so many times it’s going to end up on my tombstone. No one keeps a witness who can exonerate them from testifying. No one.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @swavedave1 Nancy Pelosi has another bomb in her arsenal yet . There is no way she’d send this to the Senate without more devastating stuff that’s only known to a few at this point . This isn’t it ,it will be far worse and may take him out . Shes playing for keeps.
⋙ 🐣 RT @forbestonow Trump does not want his senior staff to testify because he is allergic to the truth. It makes him break out in tweets.
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson This is a rather significant development and demonstrates just how deep the White House commitment to preventing testimony is, and why.
🐣 RT @pithywidow It’s almost as if the Speaker of the House is smart
⋙ 🐣 RT @PhilippeReines You know what would be happening now had @SpeakerPelosi sent the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate the day the House passed them? ¤ Nothing. Mitch McConnell would be doing nothing. ¤ By holding them Pelosi can leverage this devastating new evidence.
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom I argued with @JRubinBlogger and others that Pelosi shouldn’t hold up the impeachment articles for very long, if at all. I didn’t think it would matter. ¤ This makes clear that I was wrong and Pelosi and everyone else was right.
🐣 RT @dcherring People like Pompeo & Bolton + knew this Trump/Rudy stuff was bad- this is yet more proof. ¤ I wonder how many Senate R’s would defect if they (forthrightly) testify?
🐣 RT @emptywheel This is actually not right. ¤ The NYT downplays bipartisan congressional pressure, and as a result makes this a Dem v GOP issue, falsely.
🐣 RT @nedprice Extraordinary that this extortive plot — which mortgaged our national security for Trump’s interests — went on for nearly 3 months with little notice until the whistleblower came forward. Chilling to think what else may be happening behind the scenes.
🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff Despite the President’s obstruction, additional damning evidence of his abuse of power continues to come to light. ¤ The question is whether the Senate will demand to see these and other emails and hear from those who were involved. ¤ Their constitutional duty demands it.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kyledcheney NYT reports that Pompeo, Bolton, Esper met with Trump in late August to plead with him to release military aid. He rebuffed their effort.
🐣 RT @DrGJackBrown The exposure of these crucial facts reported in today’s NYTimes further validates Speaker Pelosi’s strategy of a speedy impeachment — followed by withholding the delivery of The Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial. With each day/week, Pelosi moves closer to checkmate.
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙 NYT: Behind the Ukraine Aid Freeze: 84 Days of Conflict and Confusion http://nyti.ms/39nzidE “‘Expect Congress to become unhinged’”
// The inside story of President Trump’s demand to halt military assistance to an ally shows the price he was willing to pay to carry out his agenda.
NYDailyNews, Rick Wilson: A decade of loss: What slipped away in America in the 2010s http://bit.ly/3535jEx
🐣 RT @nycsouthpaw Newly unsealed papers held at Yale reveal how David Rockefeller and his staff at Chase Bank arranged the Shah’s admission to the US, causing the embassy takeover in Tehran, and then worked to prolong the hostage crisis in order to aid Reagan’s campaign.
⋙ NYT: How a Chase Bank Chairman Helped the Deposed Shah of Iran Enter the U.S. http://nyti.ms/37gyp4L
// The fateful decision in 1979 to admit Mohammed Reza Pahlavi prompted the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran and helped doom the Carter presidency.
CNN, Nathan Hodge: It’s been a banner year for authoritarian leaders. Especially Vladimir Putin http://cnn.it/2SCPt0O
Crooks&Liars: Stalker-in-Chief Trump Can’t Deal With Nancy Pelosi Ignoring Him http://bit.ly/362SeMF
🐣 So … Lindsey Graham is distancing himself from Giuliani and Ivanka Trump is distancing herself from her father.
Hmmm … ⋙ Sputnik: Putin Thanks Trump for Sharing Information That Helped Prevent Terrorist Acts in Russia http://bit.ly/2Zz2R7l “A set of issues of mutual interest was discussed.” ⋙ (Asylum?)
🐣 Looks like some GOP Senators took the time to read about the disinfo Rudy has been collecting and are distancing themselves from him, even Lindsey who had prev invited him to testify to Senate Judiciary. This in spite of Trump’s refrain “talk to Rudy” http://bit.ly/2EZEypV
🐣 RT @swin24 “Giuliani has not briefed any Republican Senate leaders, including Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), according to two individuals with knowledge of the Senate leaders’ schedules” despite Trump’s apparent recommendation to Rudy that he brief gop senators on his eurotrip, docs, Biden
⋙ 🐣 RT @swin24 “Another top aide in a different Republican office said their senator had informed staff that they had “no interest at all” in meeting with Giuliani on this, fearing it would amount to a “waste of time,” if not something worse.”
🐣 RT @MsMariaT So @LindseyGrahamSC and @GOP know that the president’s personal lawyer is spreading Russian propaganda. Why don’t they get in front of cameras and come out and say it? Why don’t they tell @realDonaldTrump?
🐣 RT @DailyBeast In the weeks leading up to their impeachment trial, senators on Capitol Hill are actively avoiding meeting with Rudy Giuliani—partly because they fear he might try to pass off Russian conspiracy theories as fact
⋙ 💙💙 DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Asawin Suebsaeng: Graham: Rudy Should Scrub Evidence for Russian Propaganda http://bit.ly/2EZEypV
// “I wouldn’t trust Rudy to represent me in a parking dispute so I’d say avoid,” one senior GOP Senate aide said when asked about any plans for a Ukraine briefing.
“He has not shared any of that information with me,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) about the information Giuliani obtained overseas. “My advice to Giuliani would be to share what he got from Ukraine with the IC [intelligence community] to make sure it’s not Russia propaganda. I’m very suspicious of what the Russians are up to all over the world.”
When asked about Sen. Graham’s recommendation to approach the intelligence community with his materials, and if he agreed that he should do so as due diligence, Giuliani would only reply to The Daily Beast, “It’s not Russian propaganda.”
🐣 RT @Axios Sen. Lindsey Graham warned Rudy Giuliani in an interview with The Daily Beast to make sure that the information he has gathered about Trump’s opponents in Ukraine isn’t Russian propaganda.
⋙ Axios: Lindsey Graham warns Giuliani to make sure Ukraine dirt isn’t Russian propaganda http://bit.ly/355hNLU
🐣 RT @robreiner Democracy is in the fight of its life. The President of the United States has allied himself with and is taking directions from Vladimir Putin. Make no mistake, if he is not removed through Impeachment or voted out, America will continue to slide into Autocracy.
🐣 RT @BillKristol What if McConnell has privately signaled Murkowski et al that he’s fine with a little rebellion that would “force” him to accede to witnesses and a real trial, which could then accomplish McConnell’s true goal of getting rid of Trump while seeming to have been loyal to Trump?
⋙ 🐣 Now, don’t YOU get delusional!
🐣 RT @MichaelJMorrell This is a big deal. It is hard to imagine that Iranian proxies were not behind this attack. If so, it crosses a US redline for responding to Iranian provocations, which include attacks on ships, the shoot down of a US drone, & an attack on oil facilities.
⋙ WSJ: Rocket Attack in Iraq Kills U.S. Contractor, Wounds Four U.S. Troops http://on.wsj.com/2tagcac
// 12/28/2019; U.S. hasn’t assigned blame but is focusing on militia backed by Iran
🐣📊 RT @MSNBC A new ad campaign targets GOP senators such as Sen. Collins, calling for them break with Sen. McConnell and advocate for witnesses in the Trump impeachment trial. The ad campaign was paid for by a Republican advocacy group. https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1211188118956716033?s=20/photo/1
// WaPo/ABC Poll: Should Trump allow his aides to testify? Yes 71%, No 22%, DK 7% (12/10-15/2019)
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, RachelMaddow: Advocates for fair Senate impeachment trial press Collins, others http://on.msnbc.com/2sj7MgN
// Senator Susan Collins is among several senators targeted by a new ad campaign paid for by Republicans who want to see a real impeachment trial with witnesses and evidence in the Senate, and hope to convince a few senators to resist Mitch McConnell’s plan to coordinate with the Trump White House.
⭕ 28 Dec 2019
🐣 RT @songlibah https://twitter.com/songlibah/status/1211039372952379393?s=20/photo/1
// tags: fake followers Trump fake followers; fake Trump followers 70.2% per SparkToro which uses a different methodology than TwitterAudit; (I have 2% w TwitterAudit, but 7% w SparkToro, mostly because SparkToro counts anyone who hasn’t tweeted for 90 days as “fake”)
DailyBeast, Margaret Carlson: McConnell’s Big Mistake Defending Trump? Listening to Him. http://bit.ly/37r0zdt
// The president’s calling the shots for the majority leader now, and it’s not going well.
🐣 RT @joekennedy The President of the United States spent last night amplifying far right accounts, disinformation, memes, and videos to millions of online followers across the world. ¤ This is not how the leader of the free world should behave. This is not normal. This is not ok.
🐣 RT @conspirator0 We started digging into the tweets and #MAGA accounts Trump retweeted last night (2019-12-27.) Due to suspensions/shadowbans, we missed a few. Unsurprisingly, Trump’s involvement sharply increased the traffic to the tweets he retweeted. cc: @ZellaQuixote 📌 https://twitter.com/conspirator0/status/1211163937133215744?s=20
🐣 RT @HotlineJosh “He is a president with the mind of a gangster, and as long as he is in office, he will head a gangster White House.”
⋙ TheAtlantic, David Frum: A Gangster in the White House http://bit.ly/
// The president tweeted the name of the presumed whistle-blower in the Ukraine scandal—demonstrating that he is unrepentant and determined to break the law again.
🐣 RT @robreiner Giuliani, Pompeo, Mulvaney & Bolton all know what happened. The American people need to know what happened. And when they do, the most Criminally Corrupt President in our Nation’s history will be history.
🐣 RT @BarbMcQuade Biggest political story of the decade is not Trump or impeachment, but GOP’s willingness to destroy the rule of law for political expediency. My grandfather would not recognize his Republican party. It’s like a star that flames bright red just before it dies.
🚫🐣 RT @visionsurreal Evidence suggests it’s more likely than not PSY-GROUP, the ISRAELI social media manipulation firm headed by JOEL ZAMEL, interfered in the 2016 US election. ¤ This comprehensive timeline tells the story of all-things “Psy-Group,” making reference to 21 articles on the subject. /1 📌 https://twitter.com/visionsurreal/status/1146598079312867329?s=20/photo/1
⋙ Threadreader version: http://bit.ly/2F0Ff29
🐣 RT @NatSecLisa There was no insurance policy. ¤ #2019in5words
🐣 RT @SethAbramson BREAKING NEWS: Trump has now, as of 11:34PM EST, retweeted the alleged name of the whistleblower directly in his feed (I won’t retweet/screenshot it). We need to hear from media now about this; it’s his *third* attempted outing (an act of felony witness intimidation) in 72 hours.
🐣 RT @treasonstickers A history of economies by President:
🔴 Bush: destroyed the economy
🔵 Clinton: fixed the economy
🔴 George W: destroyed the economy
🔵 Obama: fixed the economy
🔴 Trump: destroying the economy
It’s almost as if there’s a pattern. 🤔
🐣 RT @harrylitman The right play is to leave it to House Managers to move to quash on ground subpoena calls for irrelevant testimony, as it plainly does under FRE 402, which parties agree applies as background. If 51 vote, show up and answer. And House Rs move for Mulvaney Bolton etc
⋙ 🐣 RT @eliehonig Maybe Biden’s testimony is completely irrelevant. There’s a good argument that it is irrelevant. So then he needs to challenge a subpoena (if he gets one) – “move to quash,” in legalese – and if the court agrees, he’s off the hook. A unilateral refusal is contrary to rule of law.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @tedbrogan6901 It’s worse than that. Senate publicly grilling Biden is essentially giving Trump the political investigation he was initially extorting Ukraine for. There is no legitimate basis to call Biden.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @Chrisbrodber Indeed. An appearance by Biden only facilitates the ‘Russian narrative’ and disinformation. #QuashTheNotion
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @LauraKY06 You’ve jumped right into playing their game – smear Biden.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @HusarenH Even if Biden or his son did something wrong, that doesn’t get Trump off the hook. It’s Trump who is on trial here. First thing first.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @JustAddWine_ I agree he should comply, but it is completely irrelevant. I don’t care if Biden is the criminally of all criminals that ever crimed- it doesn’t change the facts that Trump was wrong to extort a foreign country for his personal benefit.
WaPo, Heather Long: Trump’s stock market rally is very good, but still lags Obama and Clinton http://wapo.st/2tSi1ZF ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1211024579818393604?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @JoeBiden I want to clarify something I said yesterday. In my 40 years in public life, I have always complied with a lawful order and in my eight years as VP, my office — unlike Donald Trump and Mike Pence — cooperated with legitimate congressional oversight requests.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoeBiden But I am just not going to pretend that there is any legal basis for Republican subpoenas for my testimony in the impeachment trial. That is the point I was making yesterday and I reiterate: this impeachment is about Trump’s conduct, not mine.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoeBiden The subpoenas should go to witnesses with testimony to offer to Trump’s shaking down the Ukraine government — they should go to the White House.
↥ ↧
🐣 We’ve spent all this time complaining about people defying Congressional subpoenas and then Biden says he won’t? Sorry, but I’m confused.
🐣 RT @AlexKokcharov #Russia’s goal in #Ukraine is not annexation of Donetsk & Luhansk but using them as tools of keeping all of Ukraine anchored in the Russian sphere of influence, stopping Kyiv’s drift to EU & NATO: analysis by @Stanovaya
⋙ ForeignPolicy, Tatiana Stanovaya (12/5): What the West Gets Wrong About Russia’s Intentions in Ukraine http://bit.ly/2t6sOzg
// 12/5/2019; Moscow never wanted an annexation—it just wanted a bargaining chip. Understanding that is the key to settling the conflict once and for all.
🐣 RT @SkinnerPm As a former CIA officer, I’d like to say:
One, who says ‘intelligence warriors’ and ‘bad guys?’ Stop it with your cartoonishly childish understanding.
Two: torture, which the agency did and called enhanced interrogation, is wrong and we should say that.
🐣 RT @SkinnerPm
Three: you literally smear your own employees and cravenly participate in the demeaning of government service.
Four: agency officials are not butlers and gofers for your family.
Five: seriously, ‘intelligence warriors’?
⋙ 🐣 RT @SecPompeo I watched “The Report.” Fiction. To be clear: the bad guys are not our intelligence warriors. The bad guys are the terrorists. To my former colleagues and all of the patriots at @CIA who have kept us safe since 9/11: America supports you, defends you and has your back. So do I.
⭕ 27 Dec 2019
TheHill: Turkey convicts, gives prison sentences to journalists who criticized Erdoğan http://bit.ly/2F0N2gu
💙💙 NYT: Ten years of scammers, conspiracy theories and fake news. http://nyti.ms/2Qx5suD
// alternative facts
🐣 RT @normative Trump is just “Triumph” with a couple letters shaved off. 💽 https://twitter.com/normative/status/1210776611097694208?s=20/photo/1
// “Triumph the Insult Dog”
TheHill: Blumenthal: Five to 10 Republicans have ‘severe misgivings’ about McConnell strategy http://bit.ly/2MBg76u
NYT: Joe Biden Says He’d Defy Subpoena to Testify in Trump’s Senate Trial http://nyti.ms/37i6eT2 “There is no evidence that the elder Mr. Biden, while serving as vice president, improperly intervened in Ukraine to benefit his son.”
// Mr. Biden said Republican demands that he testify were an effort to shift attention away from the president’s own actions.
🐣 RT @gtconway3d There’s pretty much a pre-existing unified field theory for @realDonaldTrump’s presidency. ¤ It’s the DSM-5’s diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder. #IMPOTUS https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1210784280642641921?s=20/photo/1-2
⋙ 🐣 RT @SpiroAgnewGhost https://twitter.com/ImperialwizardT/status/1210796787021148167?s=20/photo/1
// Malignant Narcissism
Newsweek: Ex-WH Ethics Lawyer Slams McConnell, Says Senator Thinks He’s ‘A Judge Impaneling An All-White Jury for a Klansman Trial’ http://bit.ly/39mO6cg Ex-Ethics lawyer under Bush 43, Richard Painter
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @RPWUSA The Constitution requires an oath. Any senator who will not take the oath approved of by the majority of the senate— the oath to do impartial justice— should be excused from the impeachment trial by the Chief Justice. ¤ Any senator who lies under oath should be expelled.
💽 MSNBC, AllInWithChris: Chicago shooting incidents down sharply http://on.msnbc.com/2ZuMCIF
// Shooting incidents in Chicago are down 40% from three years ago – a major untold story.
KyivPost: Decade In Review http://bit.ly/2F68UH3
// Editor’s Note: The decade started with Viktor Yanukovych and ended with Volodymyr Zelensky. In between came revolution, war and the joy of visa-free travel to Europe. The Kyiv Post highlights the main events of the decade that is coming to an end on Dec. 31.
2019: A new political era dawns as TV comedian comes to power
2018: Russia imprisons sailors as murder of Kherson activist sparks outrage
2017: Visa-free travel, stalled reforms highlight events
2016: Yatsenyuk out, Trump in; banking woes mount; Sheremet murdered
2015: Ukraine defends Donetsk airport, loses Debaltseve
2014: Victorious revolution triggers Russia’s war
2013: Ukraine ignites in revolution to seize control of its future
2012: Euro 2012 provides bright spot in an otherwise very grim year
2011: Yanukovych’s kleptocracy is brazen, with no one to stop him
2010: Yanukovych takes revenge, sells out Ukraine’s interests
💙💙 NYT, Michiko Kakutani: The 2010s Were the End of Normal http://nyti.ms/2rygiba //➔ The decade, pretty much summed up #longread
// How social media, the Great Recession and Donald Trump combined to bring out the ‘indigenous American berserk.’
In his wise and astonishingly prescient “Farewell Address,” from 1796, George Washington spoke of the dangers he saw the young new nation facing in the future. He warned against “the insidious wiles of foreign influence,” “the impostures of pretended patriotism,” and, most insistently, of “the baneful effects of the spirit of party” — imploring his fellow citizens not to let partisan or geographic differences plant seeds of mistrust among those who “ought to be bound together by fraternal affection.”
Every portion of the country, he wrote, should remember: “You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.” Citizens, he urged, must indignantly frown “upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.”
In this Series:
The 2010s Were the End of Normal
By MICHIKO KAKUTANI
My Decade in Google Searches
By VAUHINI VARA
Small Is the New Big Thing
By RUCHIR SHARMA
Twitter Made Us Better
By SARAH J. JACKSON
Milestones in Mistrust
By EVE PEYSER and FRANK AUGUGLIARO
The Cultural Canon Is Better Than Ever
By AISHA HARRIS
We Learned to Write the Way We Talk
By GRETCHEN McCULLOCH
I Can’t Even Trust Myself Anymore
By MONICA HEISEY
What Will the World Look Like in 2030?
By THE EDITORS
🐣 RT @StevenBeschloss This photo, and the press conference in Helsinki that followed, remains the moment for me—and I think anyone with eyes and ears—Trump made explicit he was beholden to Russia, would abandon America intelligence and betray the nation. https://twitter.com/StevenBeschloss/status/1210732405608157185?s=20/photo/1
// photo of Trump and Putin exiting meeting
🐣💙 RT @SpeakerPelosi The facts are clear and every witness told the same story, despite the President’s attempts to cover it up. President Trump abused his power for his own personal gain. #DefendOurDemocracy 💽 https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1210586483767332864?s=20/photo/1
// video: Two Weeks of Testimony, One Story of Betrayal (2:39)
Politico: Intel probe puts CIA’s Haspel in a bind http://politi.co/2ZvgXXk
// The review led by U.S. Attorney John Durham is making life uncomfortable for America’s cautious spy chief.
🐣 RT @RonaldKlain Thank you @JoyceWhiteVance for explaining how trials work. One side doesn’t get to call enemies just for kicks. Only witnesses with relevant evidence testify.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Here’s how trials work: Only relevant witness testimony is admissible. Biden has no relevant testimony to offer on Trump’s attempted bribery of Ukraines’s President & Trump’s obstruction of Congress by refusing to comply with subpoenas for testimony & documents.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @jonallendc Biden preemptively rejecting a subpoena has the effect of providing air cover for the White House.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @HoarseWisperer “Add Biden to the list…” ¤ No, Biden rejecting the political charade of a Republican Senate looking to provide air cover for Trump does not put him on the same list as parties involved in already impeached conduct.
NYT Editorial: A Stirring of Conscience in the Senate http://nyti.ms/2ryWnch
// At least one Republican, Lisa Murkowski, wants the Trump impeachment trial to be more than a test of party loyalty. Others should follow.
WaPo, Ian Bateson: What Rudy Giuliani’s version of reality looks like from Ukraine http://wapo.st/2Ztq6Qi “For journalists like me who have lived and worked in Ukraine for years, these claims were comical.”
WaPo Frida Ghitis: 2019 was a turning point in the global battle for democracy http://wapo.st/2MxtPae “The 2020 election will determine whether the nation that has been an icon of global freedom will shift to a democratic path or continue on the rutted road to authoritarianism”
BusinessInsider, Eliza Relman: Trump just retweeted a ‘QAnon’ conspiracy-theory hashtag to his 68 million followers http://bit.ly/37dC2Z3
● President Donald Trump retweeted a video message on Friday morning with a hashtag referencing a fringe pro-Trump conspiracy theory known as QAnon.
● The tweet included a video of a woman praising Trump’s approach to urban poverty and included the hashtag #WWG1WGA, which stands for the QAnon slogan “Where we go one, we go all.”
● Followers of the conspiracy believe that, among other things, the world is run by a satanic cabal of elites and pedophiles led by Hillary Clinton and the so-called deep state who Trump will eventually expose and defeat.
● Trump has promoted dozens of QAnon conspiracy accounts, and followers of the conspiracy have shown up at his campaign rallies and appeared in his ads.
🐣 RT @robreiner Each day that ticks by, more damning evidence of the most Criminal President in our Nation’s history is revealed. By the time he goes on trial even the consciously blind Republican cult might be forced to open an eye. Democracy cautiously awaits.
TheAtlantic, Yascha Mounk: Why Trump’s Second Term Will Be Worse http://bit.ly/2EXynm3
// Narendra Modi has been emboldened by reelection. The American president could be too.
🐣 RT @DefenseOne One thing we learned: “[U.S.] politicians think there’s more than one version of the truth, and that they can all have their own truths; and that really speaks to the way Russia has changed the way we think about information,” said @selectedwisdom.
TheBulwark, Philip Rotner: Where’s Rudy? http://bit.ly/2Q2BjUU
// The House managers should call him to testify, no matter what.
CNN, Stephen Collinson: Trump obsesses over Pelosi as sting of impeachment spoils his holiday break http://cnn.it/39hPHAi
🚫🐣 RT @SethAbramson What percentage of Trumpists—or Americans generally—do you think know the following: that everyone agrees, *including the Trump camp*, that on the night Steele’s dossier says Trump was with prostitutes at the Ritz Moscow, his Moscow pals did indeed offer to send him prostitutes? 📌 https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1210633333987782663?s=20
🐣 RT @mccaffreyr3 Totally agree. Turkey a bad partner for NATO. Erdogan essentially a quasi dictator. Closer to the Russians than NATO. They should be cut off from Alliance intelligence and funding. We need to get our NUKES and our bases out of Turkey.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RichardHaass It is not all that much of a quandary. US and NATO should accept that Erdogan’s Turkey is no partner (even if it remains a formal ally) and should reduce their reliance on its bases along with any sharing of sensitive intell/sales of advanced technologies.
⋙⋙ WSJ: NATO Faces a Fresh Quandary as Turkey Tips Toward Russia http://on.wsj.com/2Zy2o5t
// 12/25/2019; Alliance strains to resolve tensions with President Erdogan, who has threatened to evict U.S. bases if Trump administration imposes new sanctions
⭕ 26 Dec 2019
WashingtonMonthly, Nancy LeTourneau: Republicans Try to Re-Write History With Lies http://bit.ly/2Q3xIpx “the modern-day Republican Party poses a threat to our democracy”
🚫 WaPo, Eric Wemple: Rachel Maddow rooted for the Steele dossier to be true. Then it fell apart. http://wapo.st/2SycD8k
// Comment ⋙ This whole series is beating a dead horse. Steele was alarmed by what he was finding and shared a set of raw intelligence notes that he estimated was perhaps 70% accurate. Turns out an investigation had already been opened. The dossier provided possible leads. I’m glad to know Steele cared enough about our country to share what he had collected.
MiamiHerald: Dave Barry’s Year in Review: 2019 was an ‘eventful’ – bad – year http://hrld.us/2EVE2ZW
Newsweek, Jeffery Martin: Ex-Giuliani Adviser Admits Giuliani is Deteriorating, More ‘Sloppy’ But Says It’s ‘All Part of a Calculated Plan’ http://bit.ly/2t6or78 “Rudy has said his goal is to disrupt the world and he’s doing that.”
TPM, Kate Riga: Officials Who Spoke Out Against Trump Continue To Pay The Price http://bit.ly/37h5Cx1
Trump likely won’t pardon anyone involved in Russia/Ukraine until the end of this term, if he loses, or the beginning of his next one, if he wins.
🐣 RT @SethAbramson With Russia, everyone thought the big day was June 9, 2016; it was really August 3, 2016. With Ukraine, everyone thinks July 25, 2019 is it, but it may be May 7, 2019: Zelensky, Yermak, Kobolyev, Bogdan and Hochstein meet secretly to discuss Trump’s plot.
⋙ CNN: Ukrainian President and advisers discussed pressure from Trump weeks before taking office http://cnn.it/362GcCX
// 10/22/2019
💙💙 📌 https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1210266703185223680?s=20
⋙ 🐣 3/ … Zelensky *knew* that Trump’s plot to steal the 2020 presidential election also involved a plot by his allies to take over Ukraine’s state-owned gas company via Kremlin agent Dmytro Firtash.
⋙ 🐣 6/ Giuliani, diGenova, Toensing, Parnas, Fruman, and Perry were working together, *with Trump’s blessing*, to restore Naftogaz to indirect Kremlin control by overthrowing Kobolyev and returning the Russian mafia-connected Firtash to a position of power in Ukraine’s energy market.
🐣 RT @aliasvaughn In a new poll, 41% of Germans named Trump as the most dangerous world leader for world peace, compared to Kim Jong Un at 17%, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Russian President Vladimir Putin at 8% and China’s Xi Jinping at 7%.
⋙ Newsweek: Donald Trump Is ‘Greatest Threat to World Peace,’ Ahead of Putin and Kim Jong Un, Germans Say in New Poll http://bit.ly/2St94QN
🐣🌎 RT @stuartgary mapsontheweb: Corruption around the world, 2018. https://twitter.com/stuartgary/status/1210370430994993153?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @kasparov68 This was my message to the media going into 2020. Your responsibility is to the truth, not to “giving both sides” when one side is lies. And you cannot expose lies without spreading them. So repeat the facts.
⋙ 🐣 RT @brianstelter “Just keep repeating the facts. Stop giving equal times to lies.” ¤ @Kasparov63 argues that an “outdated sense of fairness is killing our democracy.” 💽 https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1210268371725324288?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @sfpelosi Like many moms, mine is a master multi-tasker who can be many places at once. For instance, this Christmas she is cuddling with her youngest granddaughter in beautiful California – while apparently living rent-free in someone’s rage-tweeting head. #HappyHolidays
Axios: The insane news cycles of 2019 http://bit.ly/2MqnwW3 ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1210266948044492801?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind From #MoscowMitch’s home state paper: ¤ “We Kentuckians know that our word is our bond. Oaths are the most solemn of promises, and their breach results in serious reputational — and sometimes legal — consequences.”
⋙ CourierJournal, Kent Greenfield: Opinion: Donald Trump has violated his oath. Mitch McConnell is about to violate 2 http://bit.ly/2MwhW4r
Every senator has a constitutional obligation of impartiality. But McConnell’s role as Senate leader makes his obligation even more important and crucial to the constitutional framework. This is not a time for political cynicism or constitutional faithlessness. McConnell’s loyalty to Trump should not overwhelm his loyalty to the Constitution. If he fails in this, he is not only violating his Article I oath but his Article VI oath.
🐣 RT @Isakoff The plans @nakashimae reports U.S. Cybercom is developing to counter Russian attacks in 2020 echo the options drafted by Obama cyber chief Michael Daniel in 2016– until, as reported by @DavidCornDC and me in Russian Roulette, he was told to “stand down.”
⋙ YahooNews: ‘Stand down’: How the Obama team blew the response to Russian meddling http://yhoo.it/2EQSMcD
// 3/9/2018
⋙⋙ [Go to] WaPo: US Cybercom … http://wapo.st/34VfdId
// 12/25/2019
🐣 RT @neal_katyal They did. You blocked the witnesses and documents.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real “Look, the House is supposed to do all of this work on witnesses and documents BEFORE they send the articles over to the Senate, not to call in new witnesses, go through new documents – that work is supposed to be done in the House.” @KatiePavlich @foxandfriends
🐣 RT @JedGarren IMO: ¤ Firtash has done ALL of this, his attack on the 2016 Presidential election cycle, this attack on Joe Biden, all of it, on the orders of his boss, in the Russian mob,Semyon Mogilevich.
IMO: ¤ Firtash is simply a proxy for Semyon Mogilevich,The Russian mob wants to takeover Naftogas
⋙ 💙 🐣 RT @anders_aslund I think this is just right: Firtash colluded with Giuliani & other Trump figures to try to take over Naftogaz, so that he could steal more billions from the Ukrainian gas sector. At least Giuliani, Parnas & Fruman should be prosecuted in the US for this under FCPA. Also Perry?
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @ChrisLeeMaza the gist of this story is that the Parnas, Fruman, Giuliani operation in Ukraine was a Firtash-funded (i.e. Putin backed) effort to take over Naftogaz.
⋙⋙⋙ AP (12/23): Giuliani pals leveraged GOP access to seek Ukraine gas deal http://bit.ly/34VoLmF
🐣 RT @CFR_org In the past two years, far-right extremists were responsible for 15 out of 17 terrorist attacks. @hoffman_bruce says the trend is likely to continue in 2020. ¤ Track this trend and 6 others CFR experts are watching: https://on.cfr.org/2SreOL1 https://twitter.com/CFR_org/status/1210202068096602114?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 History is barreling down on Senate Republicans. Their vote on the impeachment trial will forever define their public life. Will they be remembered for voting in favor of McConnell/Graham’s no-witness rigged trial? Or will history record them as standing for fairness & justice?
WaPo: How Ukraine put Trump and Biden on a collision course http://wapo.st/3780bAg
MMFA: Fox contributor and Giuliani collaborator John Solomon is the 2019 Misinformer of the Year http://bit.ly/2QhgAvs
⭕ 🎅🏼 25 Dec 2019 🎅🏼
🐣 RT @Leshchenkos My new op-ed for @KyivPost. Giuliani’s interlocutors in Ukraine are not trustworthy. Most of them have long had contacts with Moscow, which seeks to shift responsibility for interference in the 2016 U.S. elections from Russia to Ukraine.
⋙ KyivPost, Sergii Leshchenko: By helping Giuliani, Ukrainian politicians help Russia http://bit.ly/398QlQB
WaPo, Max Boot: ‘Downton Abbey’ reminds us what ‘conservatism’ really means http://wapo.st/2ZAmigp ‘A movement devoted to conserving the best of America is tearing down the rule of law and tearing the country apart to protect a crude and cruel demagogue.’
💙 WaPo, Greg Miller and Greg Jaffe: In aftermath of Ukraine crisis, a climate of mistrust and threats http://wapo.st/2ZnJLB8
NYT: G.O.P. Senator ‘Disturbed’ by McConnell’s ‘Total Coordination’ with White House http://nyti.ms/2Mvz22t
// Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska revealed the first public qualms with Mitch McConnell’s vow to coordinate with the White House on a quick impeachment trial for President Trump.
WaPo: U.S. Cybercom contemplates information warfare to counter Russian interference in 2020 election http://wapo.st/34VfdId
⭕ ✨ 24 Dec 2019 ✨
Newsweek: Former Federal Prosecutor Says Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham Are ‘Mocking’ Juror Oath To Do ‘Fair And Impartial Justice’ http://bit.ly/2Q2mjGo
// Glenn Kirschner
Forbes, Mark Joyella: How Brian Williams Made 11 P.M. The Hottest Hour In Cable News http://bit.ly/2StQA2B
[I]t’s an achievement for any show that doesn’t air on Fox News to consistently take first place in the ratings, but 11th Hour has been unusually consistent, finishing #1 at 11 p.m. for three years in a row—a record run for an MSNBC show—and gaining the respect of viewers and critics alike.
“At this moment when journalism and a free flow of reliable information are under continual attack from the Trump administration and its many media allies,” wrote The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik back in August. “Our democracy is made stronger by having Williams and (The 11th Hour) at the end of each weeknight to offer perspective on the political and cultural warfare that now dominates the conversation of our nation’s civic life.”
Zurawik called The 11th Hour “the most important hour of the cable news night,” comparing Williams’ show to ABC’s Nightline in the hands of its iconic anchor Ted Koppel. Zurawik argued that Williams is serving an essential role in a time of chaos, putting the news of the day in its proper perspective—for today and for history—and preparing viewers for what comes next. …
Finally, I ask Brian Williams if he’s happy. ¤ “I think we’ve done an extraordinary job. We’re handed a moment in history, an administration that changed everyone’s life here. But there’s no great joy in this work. This is a wearing process because we all love our country. And no matter what side of this you’re on, if you’re right or left, it’s a troubling time for our country. So we’re always mindful that that’s what we’re chronicling here.”
🐣 RT @UROCKlive1 The body language in this photo says so much. I think it will be one of the most iconic moments of the Trump era.
⋙ 🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 And, notwithstanding the FACT that he had been told by the US intelligence community that Russia attacked our election, Trump stood up moments later and said, “Putin denied it” and “I don’t see why it would be” Russia. What does this picture tell us? https://twitter.com/glennkirschner2/status/1209620441268142081?s=20/photo/1
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Maybe this will impact Senate Republicans http://wapo.st/35Y0q0O “McConnell might … take up some of those “275 bipartisan bills” that have passed the House but still await consideration by the Senate.”
WaPo Editorial: The true meaning of Christmas http://wapo.st/2tKpPg0 “Christmas is the tale of a family driven from place to place by imperial decrees and the irrational fears of an unsettled ruler”
🐣 RT @tribelaw Art. I, Sec.2, Cl.5 of the Constitution gives the House the “sole Power of Impeachment,” and House Rules Ch. 27, Sec.8, expressly states: “The respondent in an impeachment proceeding IS IMPEACHED by the adoption of the House of articles of impeachment.” Q.E.D.
🐣 RT @BillBrowder I guess Putin’s plan to merge Russia with Belarus and become the head of the new merged country for the next 21 years is not going to be as easy as planned
⋙ 🐣 RT @AlexKokcharov Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka speaking about #Russian designs on #Belarus: “If there will be breach of sovereignty, there will be war” https://nn.by/?c=ar&i=243407
🐣 RT @owenawhaley Recent administrations with the MOST criminal indictments:
Trump (Republican) – 215
Nixon (Republican) – 76
Reagan (Republican) – 26
Recent administrations with the LEAST criminal indictments:
Obama (Democrat) – 0
Carter (Democrat) – 1
Clinton (Democrat) – 2
Notice a pattern?
WorldWarZero.com ~ Climate action (John Kerry)
🐣 RT @kyledcheney From this Dear Colleague letter sent Saturday (made public today): https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1209623978173747200?s=20/photo/1-2
// Nancy Pelosi
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 And, notwithstanding the FACT that he had been told by the US intelligence community that Russia attacked our election, Trump stood up moments later and said, “Putin denied it” and “I don’t see why it would be” Russia. What does this picture tell us?
⋙ 🐣 RT @DrGJackBrown THREAD: Body Language Analysis No.4323: Trump Putin Helsinki Summit Press Conference • 📌 https://twitter.com/DrGJackBrown/status/1019012358365048833?s=20
// 7/20/2019
🐣💙 RT @BillKristol “Let the children have their night of fun and laughter…Let us grown-ups [be] resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world.” — Churchill, Christmas Eve, 1941
DailyKos, Hunter: Rudy Giuliani claims George Soros ‘controls’ ambassadors and FBI agents, decries plots against him http://bit.ly/2ZjnTqH
DailyBeast: Giuliani Falsely Claims He Was U.S. Attorney General on Facebook Profile http://bit.ly/2rm7ODU
NBCNews, Suzanne Garment: Trump vs. Nixon: The difference between 2019’s impeachment and Watergate is shame http://nbcnews.to/2rqeuRD Suzanne Garment is the author of “Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics”
// Nixon, a canny political analyst, knew the jig was up. But Trump will do almost anything to avoid acknowledging defeat.
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Some gifts I would like to give Trump, Republicans and others http://wapo.st/35UeisV My favorite: “Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.): A life-size cutout of late senator John McCain”
🐣 RT @NicholsUprising In a closed-door session with top Republicans, a senior aide to Trump’s campaign discussed voter suppression and outlined voter intimidation schemes for battleground states like Wisconsin. They have done the math: they know they can’t win a fair election.
⋙ TheNation, John Nichols: A Trump Reelection Aide Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud http://bit.ly/35VQTqT
// “Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes,” he said. State attorneys general must investigate the GOP’s voter suppression tactics.
🐣 RT @JustSchmeltzer Pelosi has a really easy answer for Trump and McConnell: ¤ We agree to your witnesses (Hunter Biden, Chalupa, the whistleblower, if his identity is protected). ¤ Agree to ours (Bolton, Mulvaney, Pompeo, Giuliani) and we send over the articles in 2 minutes.
⋙ 💙 NBCNews, Eric Schmelzer: As Trump’s impeachment heads to the Senate, Democrats should push for witnesses (including Hunter Biden) http://nbcnews.to/2EPCe4Q
// (Eric Schmeltzer is a political consultant and former press secretary for Rep. Jerrold Nadler); Schumer and Senate Democrats should agree to the witnesses that Trump claims he wants. There is no real downside, but the payoff could be huge.
🐣 RT @ThePlumLineGS Yes, also this thread. What Trump and McConnell really have going for them is that many media figures refuse to describe the situation accurately, because it’s impossible to neutrally describe it in terms that aren’t deeply incriminating to them:
⋙ WaPo (12/19): Why doesn’t McConnell want witnesses at Trump’s trial? Because he’s guilty. http://wapo.st/3647c5f
⋙ 🐣 RT @brianbeutler There’s a lot of playing dumb going on about this. Pelosi isn’t going to toss the articles in the fire, she’s holding on to them for some period of time to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable Senate Republicans might team up with McConnell to complete a cover-up.
⋙ ⋙ 🐣 RT @brianbeutler Those Republicans may do that anyhow. But just because it’s widely known within the national press corps that Republicans are deeply cynical doesn’t mean efforts to shine a light on the cynicism are inscrutable or pointless.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @brianbeutler This is a good start, would say it’d be wise to increase the ominousness of the message if and as these Republicans fall into line. ¤ They may think that a quick coverup vote will put this all behind them. In fact, it will be very much in front of them.
⋙⋙⋙ TPM, Josh Marshall (12/19): A Modest Proposal http://bit.ly/371229S
Not that anyone is asking but if I were one of the Democratic leaders I would be saying something like this.
“Sen McConnell has made it clear he wants a phony trial, a trial with no evidence and no witnesses and maybe no jurors. But there are a handful of Senators who say they’re moderates and who’ve said they want a fair trail. They want to do their job as jurors. Sens Gardner, McSally, Collins, Tillis, Romney and a few others. So we’re going to take a deep breath and see if they can use the holidays to make their voices heard with Sen McConnell and maybe the White House. Because there should be a fair process like they said they wanted.”
🐣 RT @MSNBC .@HeidiNBC on Speaker Pelosi’s strategy of withholding articles of impeachment from the Senate: “She’s drawing it out so that the public knows full well that these witnesses are being blocked.”
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, Hardball: Heidi Przybyla: Most Americans want witnesses to testify in impeachment trial http://on.msnbc.com/2PRVJQe
// NBC News Reporter Heidi Przbyla cites a recent poll that shows most Americans want witnesses to testify in the Senate impeachment trial.
🐣🌎 RT @franakviacorka Population losses during World War II [map:] https://twitter.com/franakviacorka/status/1209409873919782913?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 23 Dec 2019
CNN, Zachary Wolf: 15 things you need to know about how Senate impeachment trials work http://cnn.it/2rnRGlv
1. The rules were first written for the Senate trial of Andrew Johnson
2. The sessions are choreographed in a very specific way
3. Senators take an oath to “do impartial justice”
4. Any of the rules can be changed
● Rule XI says the Senate picks a committee to take testimony and issue orders on the Senate’s behalf. Unless otherwise ordered. Indeed, a 1974 report on the Senate rules, updated for a possible Nixon impeachment, makes clear such a committee should not be formed for a presidential impeachment. (Remember, the Senate also handles other impeachments, including of judges.)
● Normal Senate procedure governs the special impeachment committee. Unless otherwise ordered.
● The trial convenes each day at high noon. Unless otherwise ordered.
● Opening statements are delivered by one person and closing statements can be made by two people. Unless otherwise ordered.
● And so on.
5. John Roberts’ power is limited
6. It takes a majority to call a witness
7. There are restrictions on who the TV cameras can focus on
8. If senators want to ask witnesses a question, it must be put in writing.
9. A lot of the discussion might be behind closed doors
10. If there are witnesses, they may be deposed in private or on video
11. The accusers get the first and last word
12. It only takes 34 senators to acquit
13. A senator could respond “present” and help Trump stay in office
14. There is no filibuster
15. Senators stand and vote from their seats
Newsweek: Legal Experts Slam Attorney General Barr Over Impeachment: He’s ‘Up To His Eyeballs’ in Corruption http://bit.ly/2s9UJ18
🐣 RT @Basia745 Strengthening authoritarian regimes and abandoning allies everywhere – that’s the Trump administration. Fight alongside us and able to prove it? A target for genocide thanks to POTUS‘ self interest? Yeah – we still won’t let you immigrate here.
⋙ DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Trump Admin Fights Bill Punishing Turkey for Its Russian Deal http://bit.ly/34ZIAt2
// The State Department laid out the administration’s opposition to sanctions on Turkey in a seven-page memo sent to the Senate, and obtained by The Daily Beast.
🐣 RT @brianklaas “I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much… Gases are spewing into the atmosphere. You know we have a world, right? So the world is tiny compared to the universe. So tremendous, tremendous amount of fumes.” ¤ —A man with sole control of nuclear weapons
CAP, Sam Berger and Max Bergmann: Senators Must Be Briefed on Russian Disinformation Before the Impeachment Trial http://ampr.gs/2MryeeP
🐣 RT @MSNBC “We have a president who’s far more concerned with how things look than about how things really are.”@FrankFigliuzzi1 on fmr. national security adviser Bolton suggesting that the Trump admin. is bluffing about stopping North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, DeadlineWH: When it comes to North Korea, John Bolton says the Trump administration may have to do something it rarely does: admit it was wrong http://on.msnbc.com/2MqDlMq
// In a new interview, former national security adviser John Bolton says he doesn’t think the Trump administration “really means it” when it comes to stopping Kim Jong Un from further developing nuclear weapons
🐣 RT @forwardarc Giuliani Calls Prosecutors ‘Assholes,’ ‘Idiots’ Who Are Motivated by ‘Jealousy,’ Says ‘My Attitude About My Legacy Is F*** It’, in an interview where he showed up with his fly unzipped, dribbled saliva onto his his sweater, gesturing unnaturally & wildly.
⋙ Newsweek, Jeffery Martin: Giuliani Calls NY Prosecutors ‘Assholes,’ ‘Idiots’ Who Are Motivated by ‘Jealousy,’ Says ‘My Attitude About My Legacy Is F*** It’ http://bit.ly/34YldQA
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump’s decisions and statements reveal a hair-raising pattern of compromising U.S. national security to advance Russia’s interests. [Text Block]: https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1209299722294480899?s=20/photo/1
⋙ DefenseOne, Sarah Chayes: Russia Is Waging Asymmetric Warfare Against the US — And We’re Letting Them Win http://bit.ly/2MoMnJS
// 12/18/2019; We must do more to harden against these attacks on our economy, institutions, and the public.
💽 MSNBC, 11thHour: Language expert: Trump is a truly inferior person to be leading a nation http://on.msnbc.com/2QemDRA ⋙ fascinating!
// Scholar and linguist John McWhorter joins to discuss what we can learn from all the President’s words.
🐣 RT @AnnRiceAuthor Christianity Today’s support of impeachment has far greater influence, I think, than critics suppose. The editorial is now a part of history — a distinguished & respected part of a vital ongoing commentary on the Trump crisis.
⋙ 🐣 RT @madrid_mike Christianity Today calls for impeachment. National Review calls for impeachment. Polling shows majority support for impeachment. Polling shows steep decline among white evangelical voters….. @ProjectLincoln launches.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @scottlay This is the one that shocked me. I don’t expect editorials from conservative mainstream papers calling for impeachment soon, but an open, comprehensive, and fair trial should be called for in editorials. NatRev: http://bit.ly/2tHTfeF
RawStory, Bob Brigham: Mitch McConnell ripped for wanting ‘Soviet justice’ for Trump: ‘In this country we have real trials’ http://bit.ly/2MoMxB4 intvw Neal Katyal; sources: WaPo, MSNBC
🐣 RT @MsMariaT Parnas & Fruman assoc David Correia allegedly told friends via text he was in Vienna w/ Firtash for a week over the summer 2019 (had returned to US by mid 8/19), and that he was in Dubai w/ Firtash’s Dubai-based atty to “close a deal w/Firtash” on 10/7/19. 📌 https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/1209337048898736128?s=20
⋙ 💙 CNN, Vicky Ward: The invisible man: Text messages reveal former golfer’s role in Ukraine scandal http://cnn.it/3913VoW
🐾
⋙ ABCNews: For Ukraine help, Giuliani turned to unlikely Florida fixers http://abcn.ws/2MmNMAo
// 9/28/2019
WaPo: Impasse over Senate impeachment trial likely to last weeks as both sides dig in http://wapo.st/3940pdH
🐣 RT @mmpadellan FUN FACT: The law that trump broke by holding up Ukraine funds is the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. ¤ The law restricts how a president can suspend congressionally approved funds…and was signed by Nixon, months before he resigned.
🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff Impeachment of a president is a serious undertaking.
The Senate’s role is to act as an impartial jury and provide a fair trial.
Fair to the President and to the American people.
That means seeing all the evidence, documents and witnesses.
What is McConnell afraid of?
CNN, Zachary Wolf: 15 things you need to know about how Senate impeachment trials work http://cnn.it/2rnRGlv
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 If you agree with the contention that Putin owns Trump then so much of what Trump says & does makes sense (or at least his motives can be understood, as he rarely “makes sense”). If you disagree with the contention that Putin owns Trump that little of what Trump does makes sense.
🐣 RT @BillKristol “So who told Duffey to send the email? How fully did they explain the link between the email he was to send and the call between Trump and Zelensky?…And what did Duffey tell others…? Senators need witnesses who will be able to tell the truth.”
⋙ WaPo, Neal Katyal and Joshua Geltzer: New evidence for impeachment keeps turning up. That’s why we need witnesses. http://wapo.st/2EMclCC
// The Senate can’t judge the president without all the facts.
NBCNews: Giuliani says he’s ‘more of a Jew’ than Holocaust survivor George Soros http://nbcnews.to/2Qdj0eG
// Asked if the comments were made in jest, Giuliani told NBC News, “I’m more Jewish than half my friends.”
🐣 RT @FBI FBI trivia was on @Jeopardy tonight, but we’re not stumped. The #ClueCrew visited the FBI to film prompts for the “FBI Headquarters” category, and now the #BuCrew is here to give you more facts. #TodayonJ. 📌 https://twitter.com/FBI/status/1209281969990897664?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @FBI Some artifacts from famous #FBI cases like Watergate are on public display for the first time at The FBI Experience. Interactive exhibits allow you to gather evidence, search for hidden cameras & immerse yourself in our mission. Visit http://ow.ly/U39U30q4uHQ to schedule a tour.
🐣 RT @BarbMcQuade Kind of like a superseding indictment to add new charges when additional crimes are discovered before trial. Works for me.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Nothing in the Constitution prevents this
⋙⋙ Politico: House counsel suggests Trump could be impeached again http://politi.co/39hgPiW
// The comment came in a filing with federal court that argues Democrats still need testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.
NYT: Fresh Evidence in Hand, Schumer Demands More Emails and Documents http://nyti.ms/34Qys5x
// Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, laid out a long list of records Democrats would like to see as the House pressed for testimony from a former White House counsel.
🐣 RT @ThePubliusUSA McConnell + Graham should be disqualified given their admission that they will not be impartial. Such a concession is troubling and antithetical to the principles on which our republic was founded. So too should every Senator who has received Kremlin-tied donations (e.g., Scott).
WaPo, Joe Scarborough: Trump has made courage scarce. But there are still brave leaders out there. http://wapo.st/2rmfuWO
WaPo: House Democrats say in court filings new impeachment charges possible http://wapo.st/36ZgSO8
WaPo, Philip Bump: New emails help peel back the layers of pressure surrounding Trump’s July 25 call with Zelensky http://wapo.st/35Rosul
🐣 RT @xtrixcylclex Putin is only formidable to the extent his oligarchs can bribe and his intelligence services can extort foreign heads of state. Isolate Kremlin money and stop criming to get it and Russia is a large irradiated land mass with aging broken nukes and GDP smaller than California.
🐣 RT @MSNBC Historian Jelani Cobb discusses the 6-page letter that Pres. Trump sent to Speaker Pelosi on the eve if impeachment, saying, “This was mean spirited, it was petty. It was in full sentences, but it was somehow still Twitter-rific.”
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, AMJoy: Trump’s impeachment and legacy weighed by historian http://on.msnbc.com/2ZfVe5O
// Donald Trump wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the eve of his impeachment that many found rambling and abusive, while the president apparently intended it to be taken up as an important document for posterity. Historian and Journalist Jelani Cobb joins Joy Reid to discuss this, plus comparisons between Trump’s impeachment and Richard Nixon’s near-impeachment.
🐣 RT @SteveBeschloss On my wish list: A secure election system, in which results are reliable, foreign adversaries can’t interfere, neither presidents nor candidates seek help from Russians w/o going to jail, president children can’t acquire voting machine trademarks & the GOP won’t turn a blind eye.
🐣 RT @DirkSchwenk Rudy Ghouliani just confirmed some of the biggest points in my Rudy thread last week. The article also has some fantastic writing, so cheers to Olivia Nuzzi. https://twitter.com/DirkSchwenk/status/1209208918163042305?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @DirkSchwenk (12/17) The bell tolls for Rudy. A “it’s about to get hairy” thread. 📌 https://twitter.com/DirkSchwenk/status/1207058009014358018?s=20
🐣 RT @DevinCow Unzipped fly, tooth stuck to the olives in his Bloody Mary, ran into a wall in the restaurant, is more Jewish than a Jewish man, uses Google translate since Lev was arrested, generally doesn’t do business with people convicted of a crime….there’s more. This is gorgeous 🐮
🐣 RT @MollyJongFast The presidents free lawyer has some amazingly horrific quotes in this.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT Giuliani informed @Olivianuzzi he’s tightening his circle and doesn’t trust anyone anymore as he proceeded to unfurl himself over cocktails after his Ukraine trip.
⋙⋙💙💙 NYMag, Victoria Nuzzi: A Conversation With Rudy Giuliani Over Bloody Marys at the Mark Hotel http://nym.ag/2SnhPM7
🐣 RT @ScottMStedman It’s fine to laugh at Giuliani but he’s literally being paid – by extension – by the Russian mafia. He spreads disinformation originated by Russian intelligence and he got a great Ambassador fired. He’s not a joke.
🐣 RT @davidaxelrod This electoral map with @realDonaldTrump approval ratings overlaid reflects why @realDonaldTrump must utterly disqualify and destroy his opponent. Even in a strong macroeconomy, he can’t win a referendum on himself. ¤ It’s what drove him to commit impeachable acts w/Urkraine
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @politidope Here is Trump’s approval ratings in all 50 states converted into Electoral College format, per @Civiqs’ daily tracking data. http://bit.ly/2YOgSBi https://twitter.com/Politidope/status/1209164916776742912?s=20/photo/1
💙💙 NBCNews, Josh Lederman: Inside Giuliani’s new push to flip the script on Trump’s impeachment http://nbcnews.to/35QHMI9
// President Donald Trump’s personal attorney continues to move ahead with new allegations against Democrats on Ukraine but his evidence is vague at best.
[D]ocuments obtained by NBC News, interviews with people familiar with Giuliani’s activities and a review of his public comments show he’s relying almost entirely on assertions by Ukrainians whose credibility is questionable at best. In some cases, the allegations have already been thoroughly debunked.
Giuliani’s allegations have found a receptive audience in Trump, who says Giuliani will “make a report” to Attorney General William Barr about his “good information.” In the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and two other Republican chairmen are seeking interviews with Ukrainians and Americans with purported knowledge about what Giuliani alleges.
That has created the prospect that even as the Senate holds a trial on whether to remove Trump from office, Senate Republicans could counter-program the trial by carrying out their own publicized probe into Biden and his son Hunter and alleged Ukrainian meddling in 2016.
● former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko
● former journalist Oleksandr Dubinsky
● former Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin
● Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach
● Mykola Zlochevsky, the Ukrainian oligarch who founded Burisma
● Andriy Telizhenko, the former Ukrainian diplomat who says he witnessed the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington collude with the Democratic National Committee in 2016
● Mykhaylo Okhendovsky, who chaired Ukraine’s Central Election Commission until the Parliament fired him last year
● Kostiantyn Kulyk, a former prosecutor who compiled a dossier about Hunter Biden
TIME, Joyce White Vance: Trump May Be Acquitted in a Senate Impeachment Trial. That’s Not the Same as Being Exonerated http://bit.ly/2s5lq7a
🐣💙≣ RT @SenSchumer Here are the specific documents we will need to ensure a fair Senate impeachment trial. ¤ The email from Michael Duffey shows why it is so important for the White House to produce the requested documents and let witnesses testify under oath. https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1209147896089731072?s=20/photo/1-4
WaPo: McConnell, Pelosi dig in on impasse over Trump’s Senate trial http://wapo.st/39asxfg
AP:💙 Giuliani pals leveraged GOP access to seek Ukraine gas deal http://bit.ly/34VoLmF
// Lev and Igor
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Now why would @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy lie about the findings of the IG Report – findings concluding that the Russian interference investigation was PROPERLY opened. Well, he was taking money from Lev Parnas . . . https://twitter.com/glennkirschner2/status/1209097101759651841?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi The House cannot choose our impeachment managers until we know what sort of trial the Senate will conduct. ¤ President Trump blocked his own witnesses and documents from the House, and from the American people, on phony complaints about the House process. What is his excuse now?
DailyBeast, Michael Tomasky: Are Republicans Crazies or Cowards? http://bit.ly/34MYeb2
// The evidence against Trump just keeps piling up, not that it matters.
NYT, Patrick Leahy: What the Senate Does Now Will Cast a Long Shadow http://nyti.ms/2MmLxgq
// Mitch McConnell and the other 99 senators must serve the institution and the Constitution that established it, not President Trump.
NYT, Andrew Higgins: Russia Is a Mess. Why Is Putin Such a Formidable Enemy? http://nyti.ms/34MQyoX
// Its economy is sputtering and its young people are frustrated, but with America and Europe in tumult, Russia and its leader of two decades are on a roll.
NYT: Durham Surprises Even Allies With Statement on F.B.I.’s Trump Case http://nyti.ms/35QsrqJ
// The federal prosecutor leading a review of the origins of the Russia inquiry has a reputation for keeping his mouth shut. At a sensitive moment, he didn’t.
⭕ 22 Dec 2019
🐣 RT @owenawhaley
Democrats won the popular vote in:
2016
2012
2008
2000
1996
1992
Republicans won the popular vote in:
2004
It’s been over 15 YEARS since a Republican presidential candidate won the popular vote.
Tell me again which party represents the American people.
🐣📋RT @DavidCayJ Next time a Trumper brings up his 63 million votes note that 74 million voted against him. ¤ HRC got 66 million while Johnson, McMullin, Stein, etc. got more than 8 million. ¤ Trump got just 46% with 54% against him. [FEC:] http://bit.ly/34L2yYg
// Link: 2016 FEC presidential vote totals by state and candidate
Dkos, Jon Perr: The impeachment letter Trump could have sent to Nancy Pelosi http://bit.ly/2ShUN9H
↥ ↧ // Trump’s letter
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson This is SO good: ¤ ‘Translation’ of Donald Trump’s December 17, 2019, letter to Nancy Pelosi by Bandy X. Lee
⋙ 💙💙 Medium Bandy X Lee (12/18): “Translation” of Donald Trump’s December 17, 2019, letter to Nancy Pelosi http://bit.ly/2sB94DF (Forensic psychiatrist, violence expert, president of the World Mental Health Coalition (dangerouscase.org), and editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.”)
// 12/18/2019
↥ ↧
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, AMJoy: Trump’s impeachment and legacy weighed by historian http://on.msnbc.com/2ZfVe5O
// 12/21/2019; Donald Trump wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the eve of his impeachment that many found rambling and abusive, while the president apparently intended it to be taken up as an important document for posterity. Historian and Journalist Jelani Cobb joins Joy Reid to discuss this, plus comparisons between Trump’s impeachment and Richard Nixon’s near-impeachment.
NYT: Democrats, Citing White House Emails, Renew Calls for Impeachment Witnesses http://nyti.ms/2sXKzAs ‘The White House asked officials to keep quiet over the suspension of military aid to Ukraine just 90 minutes after Mr. Trump leaned on Zelensky to investigate Biden’
// With lawmakers at odds over a trial’s format, impeachment proceedings are in limbo.
WaPo Editorial: How a Putin ally is aiding Giuliani in Ukraine http://wapo.st/34Rfr2Z “Mr. Firtash’s motives might seem obvious: to escape U.S. prosecution and take revenge on Mr. Biden. But he also has an interest in … restoring the pro-Russian regime under which he profited.”
🐣 RT @PalmerReport Trump’s twelve days of Christmas:
12 stupid tweets
11 lies a day
10 calls to Putin
9 slurred words
8 hours of Fox News
7 advisers arrested
6 bankruptcies
5 golden showers
4 Big Macs
3 ring circus
2 articles of impeachment
And he’s going to prison for treason
🐣 RT @kasparov63 As I always say, Larry, I believe in coincidences, but I also believe in the KGB! This entire Ukraine extortion project came from the Kremlin, tying it to shifting blame for 2016 interference and getting sanctions lifted.
⋙ 🐣 RT @tribelaw Pence’s Chief if Staff Mark Short says it was just “coincidence” that OMB’s Michael Duffy emailed DOD to hold the $391M just 2 hours after Trump’s July 25 shakedown call with Ukraine’s president Zelensky. How gullible do these dudes think we are? Duffy must testify in the Senate
💙💙 🔄 Spend a few minutes to call/email for A FAIR TRIAL: (1/3)
Lamar Alexander 202-224-4944 http://bit.ly/35OedH7
Mike Braun 202-224-4814 http://bit.ly/2PMXONl
Richard Burr 202-224-3154 http://bit.ly/2MmVjiN
Shelly Moore Capito 202-224-6472 http://bit.ly/35NHl1f ¤
↥ ↧
Spend a few minutes to call/email for A FAIR TRIAL: (2/3)
Susan Collins 202-224-2523 http://bit.ly/2kdVOAu
Joni Ernst 202-224-3254 http://bit.ly/2Sd9VFg
Cory Gardner 202-224-5941 http://bit.ly/39365EG
Martha McSally 202-224- 2235 http://bit.ly/2ripjVI ¤
↥ ↧
Spend a few minutes to call/email for A FAIR TRIAL: (3/3)
Lisa Murkowski 202-224-6665 http://bit.ly/371125G
Mitt Romney 202-224-5251 http://bit.ly/35LQKq4
John Thune 202-224-2321 http://bit.ly/2EVUcmh
Thom Tillis 202-224-6342 http://bit.ly/2rj25Pf ¤
⭕ 21 Dec 2019
🐣 RT @Strandjunker The word “trumpery” appeared in the 15th century with the meanings “deceit” or “fraud”. 100 years later, it was being applied to objects of little or no value. Then in the 1900’s, it came to mean “showy but worthless”. ¤ Our universe has a damn morbid sense of humor.
WaPo: Trump touts Putin speaking out against his impeachment http://wapo.st/2EFQlcI whut⁉️
NBCNews: Newly released emails provide details in White House pause of Ukraine aid http://nbcnews.to/34MBCHm
// “Given the sensitive nature of the request,” an official wrote hours after Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president. “I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute direction.”
🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi This was a historic week in the House of Representatives. Here are a few moments that stand out:
⋙ Medium, Speaker Pelosi: Madam Speaker: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the U.S. Speaker of the House (Dec 14 — Dec 20, 2019) http://bit.ly/2tClKKM
🐣 RT @StevenBeschloss The White House also wants to argue he’s 185 pounds, he’s not orange, he already released his tax returns, his call was perfect, he gave Zelensky a parade down 5th Avenue, he really cares about rule of law, no one’s ever done more for NATO and he’s not beholden to Vladimir Putin.
⋙ 🐣 RT @CBSNews White House considers arguing that Trump wasn’t impeached https://cbsn.ws/2EK2Hkc
CNN: Newly released emails offer more details in timeline of pause to Ukraine aid http://cnn.it/2SgQafO
⋙ 🐣💙💙 RT @SenSchumer This email from Michael Duffey—approximately 90 minutes after President Trump’s call with the president of Ukraine—is all the more reason why we need Duffey and others to testify in a Senate trial. ¤ The “sensitive nature”? What is that about? [letter:] https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1208483207013978114?s=20/photo/1
DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Russian State TV Backs Trump’s Wild Impeachment Attacks http://bit.ly/35Nh5nF (@JuliaDavisNews © monitors Russian State TV so we don’t have)
// State television praised Trump’s letter to House Speaker Pelosi, calling him a “highly educated” writer of “multiple bestsellers” who wrote the letter “for future generations.”
🐣 RT @maggieNYT During the impeachment inquiry, there was a steady disappearance of comments from GOP lawmakers saying his call w Zelensky was problematic after some said so early on. POTUS made clear he wanted people to say call was fine.
⋙ NYT: Fear and Loyalty: How Donald Trump Took Over the Republican Party http://nyti.ms/34JSnTU by Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman
// The president demands complete fealty, and as the impeachment hearings showed, he has largely attained it. To cross him is to risk a future in G.O.P. politics.
🐣💙 RT @zacharyfb Here’s the first copy of the email. “Given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held to those who need to know to execute direction.” https://twitter.com/ZachFB/status/1208261040217247744?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @GovHowardDean Viola the smoking gun!!
🐣 RT @AshaRangappa_ In the FBI, this is what we called “a clue.”🕵🏽♀️
🐣 RT @ChrisMurphyCT 🚨This is breaking news and it’s important. New documents show:
1. Ukraine aid was held just hours after the Trump/Zelensky “do us a favor” call
2. Internal notes show Trump’s direct involvement
3. Staff knew it was wrong, kept it secret
🐣 RT @gtconway3d It was of a “sensitive nature” because it could get someone impeached. #IMPOTUS
🐣 RT @Delavegalaw Among many damning facts explicit within these docs, and implied by multiple redactions, are those that tell a chilling story of public servants campaigning internally, struggling mightily to get the Trump Admin NOT to break the law. We must hear from these witnesses.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance This administration provided these documents only after a court battle over FOIA with a watchdog group. Note that Michael Duffy, who authored the July 25 emails halting aid to Ukraine is one of the 4 witnesses @SenSchumer has asked for at the impeachment trial.
⋙⋙💙 🐣 RT @dabeard Just-released documents show the White House moved to stop vital military aid to #Ukraine less than two hours after his July 25 call with Ukraine’s President https://publicintegrity.org/national-security/digging-ukrainedocs-omb-foia/… Here’s a White House memo to the Pentagon: #UkraineDocs https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1208401040246280193?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @rgoodlaw Exquisite observation by former FBI General Counsel and Mueller lieutenant, Andrew Weissmann👇¤ It sure looks like Pres. Trump is unwilling to state under oath or in submission to Congress that there was no quid pro quo with Ukraine. ¤ Jewel of an insight parsing letter to Pelosi. 💽 https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1208453525564469256?s=20/photo/1
DailyBeast, Center for Public Integrity: Trump Administration Officials Worried Halt to Ukraine Aid Violated Spending Law http://bit.ly/2Q6Mv1K
// But key details of what they said to one another are again blacked out in documents released to the Center for Public Integrity under court order.
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Think about this – in his call to Pres. Zelensky, Trump NAMED BILL BARR AS ONE OF HIS CO-CONSPIRATORS. Trump has been impeached for a dirty deal that Trump expressly said included Bill Barr. The next AG will need to investigate and, if the evidence dictates, prosecute Bill Barr.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RepHankJohnson .@TheJusticeDept A message for Attorney General Barr: resign. [letter:] https://twitter.com/RepHankJohnson/status/1207767044369899520?s=20/photo/1-3
⭕ 20 Dec 2019
Salon, Chauncey Devega (12/20): Mental health professionals read Trump’s letter: A study in “the psychotic mind” at work http://bit.ly/358qxkt
// Bandy Lee, Justin Frank, Lance Dodes, David Reiss and others unpack a “venomous and vitriolic” historic document
RollingStone, Peter Wade: How Disinformation Spreads, According to Chuck Todd http://bit.ly/2Q0y1Bw
// Chuck Todd has had a front-row seat for the spread of disinformation. Here’s how he sees it happening and the media’s role in it
NYT, Jamelle Bouie: Impeachment Hurts, and Trump Knows It http://nyti.ms/34IRhYw
// The idea that the president thinks it will help him politically is wrong. Just listen to what he is saying.
NBCNews, Dean Obeidallah: Nancy Pelosi was right about Trump’s impeachment (and Democrats were wrong) http://nbcnews.to/35MTuDB
// Pelosi’s skills as speaker and her ability to stand her ground have paid dividends.
Snopes (Oct): EXCLUSIVE: Expanding Pro-Trump Outlet ‘The BL’ Is Closely Linked to The Epoch Times http://bit.ly/2Q8v0hu
// 10/11/2019; Both The Epoch Times and The BL deny any connection whatsoever. Our report makes that a challenging argument to defend.
🐣 RT @MSNBC “The Republicans are right in a way – that it was always kind of predetermined, it was fated, that Trump would be impeached. But that is because of Trump’s nature, and his character.” – @chrislhayes
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, AllIn: Chris Hayes: Trump warned us about who he was http://on.msnbc.com/34L8oca
// Chris Hayes: Trump is well aware of what being impeachment means for his legacy.
MotherJones, Tim Murphy: Trump’s Not Richard Nixon. He’s Andrew Johnson. http://bit.ly/2QciWeW
// J-F 2020 issue; Betrayal. Paranoia. Cowardice. We’ve been here before.
🐣 RT @amandarivkin The genius of #QAnon is that it feeds human curiosity and serves as a catch all for various and divergent conspiracy theories. Rather than an intelligence operation though, I would classify it as a psyop for it tries to regulate behavior, information, thoughts and emotions.
🐣 RT @amandarivkin The CIA studied these techniques and for good reason: our adversaries were using them on hostile foreign regimes that threatened US national security. But once you open a Pandora’s box it can be hard not to fall in and so many such movements including likely Q have intel ties. https://twitter.com/amandarivkin/status/1208305601903808513?s=20
🐣 RT @amandarivkin I have a very good idea who is behind #QAnon and fully anticipate this will be the response. However, I want to give reporters I have given this to the time to do their work. Already I have trolled him so viciously he has doubled down in support of the #QAnon cult. https://twitter.com/amandarivkin/status/1208296918302044162?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @ghoulbuns Q anon isn’t a cult. Cults don’t tell you to do your own research. Cults have visible leaders. Q anon is an intelligence operation, that’s it.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @amandarivkin However, it is very much built on intelligence work on mind control tactics. It artfully deploys the techniques shared by all destructive mind control cults going back to Chinese CP in the 50s. ¤ http://youtu.be/-_FO84Y8F-k [or pdf:] http://bit.ly/35KkovN
🐣 RT @rjsmithcpi Here’s what we learned from new Ukraine documents given to us this evening by the Pentagon and OMB under a court order. None were provided to Congress before we got them. Thread to follow: 📌 https://twitter.com/rjsmithcpi/status/1208256373865226240?s=20
⋙ PublicIntegrity (CPI): Trump Administration officials worried Ukraine aid halt violated spending law http://bit.ly/392caB6
💙 TheBulwark, William Kristol and Jeffrey Tulis: America’s Mitch McConnell Problem http://bit.ly/2PH0PyS
// The Senate majority leader is a danger to the Constitution.
🐣 RT @MSNBC Meet the “squishy Republicans.” Here’s the role they could play in the 2020 elections. https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1208221076498657280?s=20/photo/1
⋙ MSNBC, MTPdaily: ‘Squishy Republicans:’ New NBC News/WSJ poll identifies potential 2020 swing voters http://on.msnbc.com/2s7O0of
// A look at potential 2020 swing voters and what they mean for both Republicans and Democrats.
// 📊 NBC/WSJ Poll (12/14-17/2019); 34% Certain to vote for Trump; 48% Certain to vote against Trump, 18% “Squishy Republicans”
🐣 RT @JohnWDean This is playing out so far like I dreamed it could, and it can get better if the House Democrats continue to sit on the articles. This is Trump’s nightmare because more can and will come out on his guilt. Mitch’s nightmare too, notwithstanding his pretending otherwise.
⋙ 🐣 RT @MaxBoot Like I said, “Trump would dearly love to be acquitted by the Senate, and he will not be happy if McConnell denies him what he desires…. This suggests that Democrats have a strong hand to play if they don’t fold prematurely.” In @PostOpinions: https://
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @kaitlincollins Sen. Graham tells @BretBaier that President Trump is “mad as hell” tonight over the possible impeachment trial delay. “I just met with the president, and he is demanding his day in court.”
🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “Imagine the meeting inside the Kremlin when Russian intelligence agencies are briefing Putin on their plan… Putin says… I’m gonna tell Trump directly myself… What that essentially makes the president is a co-conspirator with Putin” – Jeremy Bash w/ @NicolleDWallace
TheAtlantic, Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes: The Remedy for Mitch McConnell http://bit.ly/35IzqC5
// The Senate majority leader seems uninterested in fulfilling his constitutional duties.
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo, Phillip Bump: How Trump’s conversations with Putin overlapped with his emerging Ukraine conspiracy theories http://wapo.st/34Hgt1p
🐣💙💙 RT @storygrrl If you want to see a fair trial in the Senate, Call these Senators:
Lamar Alexander 202-224-4944 http://bit.ly/35OedH7
Mike Braun 202-224-4814 http://bit.ly/2PMXONl
Richard Burr 202-224-3154 http://bit.ly/2MmVjiN
Shelly Moore Capito 202-224-6472 http://bit.ly/35NHl1f
Susan Collins 202-224-2523 http://bit.ly/2kdVOAu
Joni Ernst 202-224-3254 http://bit.ly/2Sd9VFg
Cory Gardner 202-224-5941 http://bit.ly/39365EG
Martha McSally 202-224- 2235 http://bit.ly/2ripjVI
Lisa Murkowski 202-224-6665 http://bit.ly/371125G
Mitt Romney 202-224-5251 http://bit.ly/35LQKq4
John Thune 202-224-2321 http://bit.ly/2EVUcmh
Thom Tillis 202-224-6342 http://bit.ly/2rj25Pf
// email list
MotherJones, David Corn: The Inevitability of Donald Trump’s Impeachment http://bit.ly/2PHjnio
// His decades-long record of misdeeds and wrongdoing made this moment inescapable.
🐣 RT @CNNSitRoom “The President is raging because for the very first time in his life he’s being held accountable for his actions,” says Democratic Rep. Jim Himes about President Trump’s continued attacks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi amid his impeachment. https://cnn.it/35DBrQ2 💽 https://twitter.com/CNNSitRoom/status/1208169008580612096?s=20/photo/1
WaPo, Jeff Flake: The president is on trial. So are my Senate Republican colleagues. http://wapo.st/2s793Y4 “My colleagues, the danger of an untruthful president is compounded when the coequal branch follows that president off the cliff, into the abyss of unreality and untruth.”
Call it the founders’ blind spot: They simply could not have envisioned the Article I branch abetting and enabling such dangerous behavior in the Article II branch. And when we are complicit, we cede our constitutional responsibilities, we forever redefine the relationship between Congress and the White House and we set the most dangerous of precedents.
But what is indefensible is echoing House Republicans who say that the president has not done anything wrong. He has. ¤ The willingness of House Republicans to bend to the president’s will by attempting to shift blame with the promotion of bizarre and debunked conspiracy theories has been an appalling spectacle. It will have long-term ramifications for the country and the party, to say nothing of individual reputations.
Nearly all of you condemned the president’s behavior during the 2016 campaign. Nearly all of you refused to campaign with him. You knew then that doing so would be wrong — would be a stain on your reputation and the standing of the Republican Party, and would do lasting damage to the conservative cause.
Ask yourself today: Has the president changed his behavior? Has he grown in office? Has the mantle of the presidency altered his conduct? The answer is obvious. In fact, if the president’s political rally in Michigan on Wednesday is any measure, his language has only become more vulgar, his performance cruder, his behavior more boorish and unstable.
Next, ask yourself: If the president’s conduct hasn’t changed, has mine? Before President Trump came on the scene, would I have stood at a rally and cheered while supporters shouted “lock her up” or “send them back”? …
As I said above, I don’t envy you. You’re on a big stage now. Please don’t accept an alternate reality that would have us believe in things that obviously are not true, in the service of executive behavior that we never would have encouraged and a theory of executive power that we have always found abhorrent.
If there ever was a time to put country over party, it is now. And by putting country over party, you might just save the Grand Old Party before it’s too late.
AP (Madison, WI): Trump adviser: Expect more aggressive poll watching in 2020 http://bit.ly/34HZfkr
WaPo, Catherine Rampell: Two years later, every promise made about the GOP tax cuts has been broken http://wapo.st/2PHkgaQ
WaPo: Trump administration demanded Democrats strip Ukraine aid language from spending package http://wapo.st/2PJAiAW
// The language would have required the White House to release Ukraine defense aid quickly.
Politico: ‘I’m never afraid and I’m rarely surprised’: Pelosi emboldened http://politi.co/2ScyvpN
// The speaker reflects on Trump and a tumultuous year back in the majority in an interview with POLITICO.
🐣 “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” ~ Lincoln
🐣 RT @mccaffreyr3 STRANGE. Sec State fires US Charge to Ukraine. Says he’ll avoid any meetings in US Embassy Kiev. He views our professional Country Team with its security as a bastion of the DEEP STATE? Pompeo has disappeared as a rational public servant.
⋙ 🐣 RT @MarkHertling A Secretary of State avoiding a US Embassy – where one gets updates from the country team most informed on current events in the country – to hold meetings in a hotel that has no compartmented intel facility. Yup, totes secure, totes normal.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @KatiePhang Pompeo is now scheduled to arrive in Kyiv on Jan. 3. Pompeo “wanted to visit the country after Taylor’s departure”. Taylor has been instructed to step aside before Pompeo’s trip. ¤ “Pompeo said he wanted to avoid the embassy altogether and would hold meetings in his hotel.”
🐣 RT @CNNnewsroom “The American people should have assurances that there’s going to be a fair trial and the outcome is not going to be rigged,” says @RepSwalwell about Speaker Pelosi’s refusal to immediately send the articles of impeachment passed by the House to the Senate https://cnn.it/35I3lKP 💽 https://twitter.com/CNNnewsroom/status/1208038880156377091?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger who would anonymously say that Trump was a Putin puppet but refuse to come forward to provide testimony well before we even got to an impeachment proceeding? Not a patriot
⋙ WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: The latest Russia bombshell bolsters Democrats’ demand for evidence http://wapo.st/35HIYx7 “we’ve had more confirmation … of what’s been long suspected, that our president’s national security briefings come from Putin, not our own [IC].”
RawStory/Salon, Chauncey Delavega: ‘Unhinged, paranoid and manic’: Psychiatrists agree Trump’s bizarre anti-impeachment letter shows he is mentally compromised http://bit.ly/36T73Bj “the letter is a treasure trove for psychiatric residents who want to study the psychotic mind”
🐣 RT @MCJalonick ”He just got impeached. He’ll be impeached forever. No matter what the Senate does. He’s impeached forever because he violated our Constitution,” Pelosi said in an interview with The Associated Press. From AP’s @LisaMascaro
⋙ AP, Lisa Mascaro: Pelosi: Power of gavel means Trump is ‘impeached forever’ http://bit.ly/2Q8JIFd
🐣 RT @DeanObeidallah Trump now trashes good Christians who speak out- this is a warning to all Christians that Trump is not your friend. Remember John 3:20: “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.” This is Trump.
DailyBeast, Erin Banco: Trump Pulled Plug on Pompeo’s November Ukraine Trip Over Impeachment Heat http://bit.ly/2PEqI2d
// The secretary of state will visit Kyiv in January. But he was supposed to make a trip there in November—until the plans were abruptly canceled.
🐣 RT @tribelaw Memo to @senatemajldr McConnell: A huge risk you run if you keep guys like Bolton & Mulvaney from testifying at trial: when they finally DO go public — and they will — it’ll be clear to everyone exactly what you were hiding. That time bomb is bound to explode eventually.
⭕ 19 Dec 2019
JustSecurity, Conor Shaw (12/19): The Senate Must Conduct an Impeachment Trial That Is Serious and Fair http://bit.ly/2SAuVpF
AlFranken: It’s in Roberts’ Court http://bit.ly/36YuaKP “Mitch McConnell has already told us that he will violate the oath. Actually, violating the oath is itself grounds for impeaching a U.S. Senator”
The impeachment trial of a president brings together all three branches of the federal government for this solemn process. So solemn that there is a special oath for members of the Senate who (I swear to God) will swear to God that they “will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.” ¤ Mitch McConnell has already told us that he will violate the oath. Actually, violating the oath is itself grounds for impeaching a U.S. Senator.
In a poll released this week, 71% of Americans want Trump Administration officials like acting White House chief of staff, Mick “Get Used to It” Mulvaney and former national security advisor John “Drug Deal” Bolton to testify during the Senate trial. That number includes 64% of Republicans and 72% of independents!
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Republicans are outmatched, outwitted and outclassed http://wapo.st/34P5CCt
🐣 RT @neal_katyal I’ve always felt the case for impeachment and removal is just as conservative as it is liberal. This fabulous analysis by @rameshponnuru explains why. Four Tests for Impeachment | National Review
⋙ NationalReview, Ramesh Ponnoru: Four Tests for Impeachment http://bit.ly/2Zd4fwp
// And how the president meets them
WaPo, George Conway III: Republican senators run the risk of being shamed by Trump himself http://wapo.st/2ZcJrVK
🐣 RT @MaddowBlog “He is the third president to be impeached in United States history — and the first from Queens.” http://bit.ly/2sOBFp7
WaPo, Aaron Blake: This is who should testify in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial http://wapo.st/2PJr08c ● Rudolph W. Giuliani, ● John Bolton, ● Mick Mulvaney, ● Joe Biden, ● Ron Johnson, ● Andriy Yermak
// In an ideal world
TheAtlantic, Emma Green: How Trump Lost an Evangelical Stalwart http://bit.ly/2PEY1lQ
// The editor in chief of Christianity Today explains his scathing editorial about the president’s behavior—and the damage he argues his fellow Christians are doing to the Gospel.
WaPo, Dana Milbank: Trump’s impeachment provokes a deeper descent into demagoguery http://wapo.st/2Q7g9DQ
DailyBeast, Anna Nemtsova: Putin Can Teach Trump a Lot About Hanging on to Power http://bit.ly/2SafHHx
// At his Thursday press conference, Putin defended Trump and celebrated 20 years in power and counting. Trump’s listening. The rest of us should be, too.
NYT Editorial: President Trump Deserves a Real Trial http://nyti.ms/2SaNNeD
// Mitch McConnell’s plan to rush to an acquittal is an affront to the Constitution and a disservice to the nation.
NYT, Paul Krugman: Democrats May Save Us Yet http://nyti.ms/2s3QzHO
// America’s defenders of democracy take a stand.
TheIntercept, Mehdi Hassan: The A to Z of Things Trump Could and Should Have Been Impeached For http://bit.ly/2Q3ZBN3
🐣 RT @NormOrnstein I am hoping @SpeakerPelosi can delay sending over the impeachment accounts until the Lev Parnas/ Rudy Giuliani situation plays out. It could be a bombshell
⋙ 🐣 It already should be:
💰 Russia/Putin ➔ Firtash ➔ Parnas ➔ Giuliani ➔ Trump
Trump has not declared “gift” of free services from Rudy on his financial disclosure forms.
🐣 RT @IAmSophiaNelson This picture taken yesterday in the House of Representatives has stuck with me all night. It’s the #Republican Caucus sitting on the floor during the #IMPEACHMENTVOTE a picture is worth a thousand words. This is the 2019 party of Lincoln: White. Male. Hopping mad! https://twitter.com/IAmSophiaNelson/status/1207659420320194560?s=20/photo/1
DailyBeast, Matt Lewis: I Was a Lifelong Republican. The GOP Is Now the Evil Party. http://bit.ly/38Y8DUD
// When I was coming of age, the Democrats were the moral relativists and the victims and the purveyors of sacrilege. Now, it’s the Republicans. It’s sickening to watch.
🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “It’s unbelievably historic… Here you have seeking foreign assistance in an election and there can be no question that Donald Trump knew at the time he did this, that that was illegal… It was very conscious” – Andrew Weissmann w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1207824000321302528?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 Weissmann was one of Mueller’s lead prosecutors. I’m glad he is finally vindicated.
NYT, Spencer Bokat-Lindell: Nixon at His Worst Wouldn’t Do That’ http://nyti.ms/2Q3xs8R
// A Watergate-era Republican on Trump and impeachment, then and now.
WaPo (10/23): Tom Daschle and Trent Lott: The Senate can hold a fair impeachment trial. We did it in 1999. http://wapo.st/2ZbKKnR
// 10/23/2019
🐣 RT @ProudResistor
— 15,413 lies & misleading claims
— 5,400 children separated
— 4,600 dead in Puerto Rico
— 215 criminal indictments
— 26 Russians indicted
— 25 sexual assault allegations
— 6 Trump advisors guilty
— 2 articles of impeachment
— 1 Impeached President
⋙ 🐣 On the first day post impeachment #IMPOTUS gave to me … @gtconway3d
VanderbiltU (Feb): Grassley, Klobuchar most effective senators of 115th Congress, according to study http://bit.ly/2BXCkpL
// 2/28/2019
🐣 RT @HillaryClinton The president has abused his power—using his office to further not the nation’s objectives but his own personal, political objectives—and, together, we are holding him accountable. Feel proud. Keep going.
🐣 RT @gtconway3d I agree that the president deserves a full and fair trial with lots of live witnesses who have relevant testimony
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn Lindsey Graham: I just left President Trump, he’s mad as hell that they would do this to him and now deny him his day in court 💽 https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1207846427835154432?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Axios Biden: “If anyone has reason to be angry with the Republicans and not want to cooperate it’s me, the way they’ve attacked me, my son, my family. I have no love. But the fact is we have to be able to get things done and when we can’t convince them, we go out and beat them.” 💽 https://twitter.com/axios/status/1207840009086210048?s=20/photo/1
💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: How 2 Soviet Émigrés Fueled the Trump Impeachment Flames http://nyti.ms/2Q2ceZ8
// “Lev and Igor” were obscure businessmen who became fixtures of the Republican donor set. Then they played an unlikely role in the proceedings gripping the nation.
WaPo Editorial (9/5): Trump tries to force Ukraine to meddle in the 2020 election http://wapo.st/2lCfNcO
// 9/5/2019; discussed on @Maddow
🐣💙 RT @Libericks
A Congressman gave a depiction
Of Donald’s impeachment affliction
As treatment less fair
Than Christ had to bear,
Which, fact-wise, is pure (cruci-)fiction.
⋙ DailyBeast: GOP Congressman Compares Trump to Jesus: Pontius Pilate Was Fairer Than Democrats http://bit.ly/34DGCyd
“During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than Democrats afforded this president in this process,” he concluded.
🐣 RT @maggieNYT POTUS lawyers are looking at various options for proceeding if House doesn’t send articles of impeachment to the Senate. POTUS doesn’t want it to be left hanging that he was impeached and nothing was done by Republicans to defend him in the Senate.
🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin Does anyone expect Trump not to have Russian backing again in 2020? Maybe the Saudis or others will join them. We need our law enforcement and intel service to monitor, assess and thwart these attacks. Trump, Barr and Durham are attempting to prevent that. It’s very dangerous.
CNN: Washington Post: Trump said he believes Ukraine interfered in 2016 election because ‘Putin told me’ http://cnn.it/35FKMa7
🐣 RT @michaeldweiss Yeah, sure, why not.
⋙ TheIndependent: Putin says rule limiting him to two consecutive terms as president ‘can be abolished’ http://bit.ly/3913FGL
// Russian president raised the prospect of dropping clause restricting ”two consecutive terms” – though confusion remained as to what exactly he meant by it.
🐣 RT @TheTweetOfJohn “Until we can get some assurances from the majority leader that he is going to allow for a fair and impartial trial to take place, we would be crazy to walk in there knowing he set up a kangaroo court.”
⋙ NBCNews: McConnell declares ‘impasse’ in talks with Democrats over Trump trial in Senate http://nbcnews.to/35HDUcd
// A trial of the president can’t begin in the Senate until it receives the abuse of power and obstruction measures passed by the House on Wednesday.
🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin Durham now pursuing the call records & emails of ex-CIA Director John Brennan, all to undermine the US intel assessment of the obvious: Putin backed Trump in 2016. This will chill investigations into future foreign backing of Trump. That’s the point.
⋙ NYT: Durham Is Scrutinizing Ex-C.I.A. Director’s Role in Russian Interference Findings http://nyti.ms/34FnxMb
// The federal prosecutor investigating the origins of the Russia inquiry is examining testimony by the former C.I.A. director John Brennan and seeking his communications records.
🐣 RT @tribelaw There are no options. Trump desperately needs a Senate trial that acquits him. The irony is that the Potemkin pseudo-trial McConnell is offering him can’t deliver anything but an OJ pseudo-acquittal.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT POTUS lawyers are looking at various options for proceeding if House doesn’t send articles of impeachment to the Senate. POTUS doesn’t want it to be left hanging that he was impeached and nothing was done by Republicans to defend him in the Senate.
🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi When our Founders wrote the Constitution, they suspected we might one day have a rogue president. I doubt they thought we would have a rogue president and a rogue leader of the Senate at the same time. #DefendOurDemocracy
🐣 RT @McFaul I didn’t have time to watch entire proceedings yesterday. Did any Republican argue that Trump has the right to use American taxpayer money to pressure a foreign government to help his reelection campaign?
⋙ 🐣 No! They all argued process or else ‘You just hate Trump’ or ‘You hate Trump supporters.’ Oh, and one guy compared impeachment to Pearl Harbor and another to the trial of Jesus Christ.
🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “After making Donald Trump the third president in American history to be impeached… Nancy Pelosi now says she will wait to transmit the articles of impeachment for some guarantees that the Senate trial will be fair…Throwing the timing… into limbo” – @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1207771611585286172?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @caitlincollins Bolton: “There’s obviously a lot swirling around in that department, including some litigation that could affect my status. Although I have a lot to say on the subject, the prudent course for me is just to decline to comment.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @MorningEdition @AmbJohnBolton has avoided interviews since President Trump fired him as national security adviser — just before the impeachment inquiry began. Now Bolton exclusively tells @NPRinskeep he has “a lot to say on the subject.”
🐣 RT @BillMcKibbon An important moment: Christianity Today, the key evangelical magazine founded by Billy Graham, calls for Trump’s impeachment, describing him as “a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.”
🐣 RT @nealrogers This is big: Christianity Today calls for Trump’s impeachment. ¤ “It’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence.”
🐣💙 RT @gtconway3d “The typical [Christianity Today] approach is to stay above the fray and allow Christians with different political convictions to make their arguments in the public square …. We want CT to be a place that welcomes Christians from across the political spectrum ….” 📌 https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1207826217119956992?s=20
🐣 RT @acosta Christianity Today: “The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents… it is profoundly immoral.”
⋙ 💙💙 ChristianityToday, Mark Galli: Trump Should Be Removed from Office http://bit.ly/2Z7eIJH
// It’s time to say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what it was.
🐣 RT @AshleyParker It is impeachment, and it is for life. It’s historical and it’s constitutional. It’s not something Trump can squirm his way out of, or cut a hush money check to make disappear. My latest on the indelible stain of impeachment that forever marks Trump—>
⋙ WaPo, Ashley Parker: ‘It’s a horrible thing they did’: Trump now bears the indelible mark of impeachment http://wapo.st/2EyxOis
// The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter’s insights
WaPo, Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman: Why doesn’t McConnell want witnesses at Trump’s trial? Because he’s guilty. http://wapo.st/2SgKP8B
🐣 RT @MaxBoot .@WhipClyburn said Dems will wait “as long as it takes” to send over impeachment. “It looks like the prosecutors are getting cold feet,” McConnell said. To the contrary, the prosecutors are getting smart: They realize there is no need to play a rigged game.
⋙ WaPo, Max Boot: Democrats can prevent a sham trial in the Senate if they hang tough http://wapo.st/35FkTr3
NYT: Trump Impeachment Trial in Doubt as Democrats Weigh Withholding Articles http://nyti.ms/2PFGVEh
// Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would wait to see what the trial in the Senate would look like before sending the two articles of impeachment there, leaving the timing in doubt.
🐣 RT @mitchellreports Potential game changer: Emerging democratic strategy voiced by @RepBlumenauer in the debate has @SpeakerPelosi delaying sending #impeachment articles to Senate until @senatemajldr agrees to better trial terms with @SenSchumer as suggested by Harvard Law Prof Larry Tribe
⭕ 18 Dec 2019 ‼️ Impeachment ‼️
NBCNews: What Russia’s tactics teach us about disinformation in U.S. politics http://nbcnews.to/3657F73
// Masha Gessen, Staff Writer for The New Yorker, and Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, join Meet The Press for a special edition, to discuss the Russian disinformation playbook and evidence it’s being used in American politics and media.
💙 TheIndependent, Bandy X Lee (12/18): I’m a forensic psychiatrist at Yale. I took a look at Trump’s letter to Nancy Pelosi — and it left me very worried http://bit.ly/2QpVgnH
// I feared we would enter a stage of shared psychosis, and here we are
No healthy human being — not even a Republican who loves Donald Trump — can read his letter to Nancy Pelosi and feel comfortable. The letter is a very obvious demonstration of a troubled state of mind. This occurs in the wake of more than 800 mental health professionals eventually signing onto a petition that the House Judiciary Committee consider mental health aspects.
The assertions Trump makes in the letter should alarm not only those who believe that the president of the United States and the commander of the most powerful military on earth should be mentally sound, but also those who are concerned about such a compromised individual’s influence on society. …
Reading Trump’s letter to Pelosi without arming oneself with the right interpretation ends up playing into the hands of pathology and helping it. In the most extreme cases, the dynamics contribute to what is called “shared psychosis.” Shared psychosis is a phenomenon that happens commonly in households where a severely ill individual goes untreated: rather than the sick person growing healthy, healthy family members often take on symptoms of the sick person. I have seen some of the most intelligent and otherwise high-functioning persons succumb to the most bizarre delusions from close contact with someone whose mental state is not normal. Shared psychosis can also happen on a national scale, as renowned mental health experts such as Erich Fromm have noted.
The president is quite conscious of his ability to generate this mass hysteria, which is the purpose of his letter. He engenders it unconsciously, through what he refers to as his “gut”. He correctly recognizes that primitive “abilities” strengthen when higher functions are compromised or bypassed.
According to neuroscientists, the unconscious mind accounts for about 98 per cent of mental activity. Delusions form when a person has extreme difficulty tolerating reality and must create an alternative reality to get by. The emotional drive behind this is so strong, it “infects” others more effectively than would conscious lies or strategy. The sheer influence on all those who are exposed, as well as the destructiveness, shows that it is a disease process. Meanwhile, that person also exhausts those who do not adopt his symptoms.
The book I edited — The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump – contained three warnings: that the president was more dangerous than people suspected; that he would grow more dangerous with time; and that ultimately he would become uncontainable. We are entering the “uncontainable” stage, and that’s because of shared psychosis.
While attempting to convince the public the exact opposite of the truth through his letter, the president inadvertently gives away his innermost thoughts and fears — and also his own, very clear recognition of reality. With the signs of pathology he reveals, he should submit to a mental health examination or, if he refuses, remove himself from office.
Some are afraid that bringing up mental impairment would exonerate Trump, but mental incapacity to do a job is not the same as incapacity to stand trial or to be criminally responsible. In fact, criminal-mindedness combined with mental incapacity is the most dangerous situation of all.
In order to do its duty to the American people, Congress should resolve, through whatever means at its disposal, this public health emergency.
Bandy X Lee, MD, MDiv., is a forensic psychiatrist at Yale School of Medicine, president of the World Mental Health Coalition, and author
NYRB, Michael Weiss: The Long, Dark History of Russia’s Murder, Inc. http://bit.ly/2MuGMBO
// GRU
DefenseOne, Sarah Chayes: Russia Is Waging Asymmetric Warfare Against the US — And We’re Letting Them Win http://bit.ly/2MoMnJS
// 12/18/2019; We must do more to harden against these attacks on our economy, institutions, and the public.
MotherJones, David Corn: The Inevitability of Donald Trump’s Impeachment http://bit.ly/2PHjnio
// His decades-long record of misdeeds and wrongdoing made this moment inescapable.
Politico, John Harris: Impeachment and the crack up of the conservative mind http://politi.co/38ZFKr9
// The Trump years have knocked conservatives off a high horse they’d been riding since the Reagan era.
💙 ≣ BaltimoreSun: Transcript of U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer’s speech on the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump http://bit.ly/2Q1Xycw
The pages of our history are filled with Americans who had the courage to choose country over party or personality. But, as President Kennedy wrote: ‘The stories of past courage …can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.’
I urge my colleagues in the House and in the Senate: look into your soul. Summon the courage to vote for our Constitution and our democracy. To do less betrays our oath and that of our Founders, who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Let us neither turn away from the evidence, which is so clear, nor from our good conscience, which compels us to do what in our hearts we know to be right. Let us not allow the rule of law to end or for tyranny to find its toehold.
🐣 RT @jimsciutto Consider this gravely: WH officials feared the Russian president successfully influenced the US president to plant a conspiracy theory & exonerate Russia.
🐣 RT @DavidCornDC This article shows how @realDonaldTrump and his Republican defenders have been useful idiots for Putin. It could be grounds for impeachment or the 25A. Every American who gives a damn about the country should read this.
🐣 RT @john_sipher What gets me about this is how the people who work most closely with Trump realize he’s unhinged and dense. They worry about something crazy “getting stuck in his head”. They know he can’t process information or discern truth from fiction.
⋙ 💙💙 WaPo: Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced the president’s views on Ukraine and 2016 campaign http://wapo.st/2rceHYz
NYT Editorial: Trump Has Been Impeached. Republicans Are Following Him Down. http://nyti.ms/38Vdndn
// Ignoring facts and trashing the impeachment process is no way to protect democracy.
🐣 RT @PoliticoEurope ICYMI: Trump is the first US president impeached for abuse of power
⋙ Politico: Trump impeached in historic rebuke http://politi.co/35BhMAp
// For only the third time ever, US House of Representatives recommends a president’s removal from office.
CNN, Paul Begala: Trump’s letter to Pelosi isn’t ‘sick,’ it’s evil http://cnn.it/2PCselC
🐣 RT @sfpelosi Donald Trump wanted to smear Joe Biden both as a rebuke to Barack Obama and to eliminate a threat for the 2020 election. He could have sought “dirt” anywhere – but the #TrumpGiulianiScheme chose Ukraine in order to please Russia. #AllRoadsLeadToPutin #Impeachment
🐣 RT @MSNBC “You are not asleep. This is not a dream, this is really happening, this is your life, this is our country and our time. It is Wednesday, the 18th of December in the year 2019, and President Donald Trump is impeached.” – @Maddow
⋙ MSNBC, Maddow: Donald Trump impeached; Congress passes both articles http://on.msnbc.com/36Ui31h
// Rachel Maddow announces the result of the vote in Congress minutes earlier on two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, with both articles passing, making Trump only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.
🐣 RT @KeeganHBrown I’m sorry, but Billy Long literally having cash sticking out of his pocket during the #TrumpImpeachment debate is beyond parody. https://twitter.com/KeeganHBrown/status/1207423416623681536?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin I think it’s the other way around. Trump is guilty of abuses that prior presidents wouldn’t have even contemplated. To the contrary, this impeachment increases the chances that future presidents will not be so stupid and craven as to behave similarly and require impeachment.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Reince From here on out, most Presidents will now get impeached when the opposite party holds the House. This is a new political game that will play out for decades to come.
DailyBeast, Jonathan Alter: The People Speak: President Trump Is No King http://bit.ly/2Z1Xa1C
// In a very real constitutional sense, the people declared Wednesday that it’s not OK for a president to solicit a foreign power to smear a political rival.
WaPo Editorial: Why the House’s impeachment of Trump was proper and necessary http://wapo.st/34DdneG
🐣 RT @tribelaw Read this and think about all the ways in which it’s an understatement. All the ways someone willing to do what Trump has done can injure you as an ordinary citizen. Think of cyber attacks he can orchestrate with foreign help. The prospects are limitless.
⋙ NYT, Bret Stephens: The Conservative Case for Impeachment — and Removal http://nyti.ms/2PBAFh6
‘The most heinous act in which a democratic government can engage is to use its law enforcement machinery for political ends.’
NYT: Timing of Trump Impeachment Trial in Limbo as Pelosi Holds Out for Assurances http://nyti.ms/2ShNUFt
// In declining to say when she might send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested she might keep them as leverage for negotiations on the rules for a trial.
🐣 RT @JohnDingell (Dec 2018) We’ve had presidents of almost every stripe, but this one will be remembered as the smallest and most vile. A petty man with no interest in a greater good for us all. All I want for Christmas is January 20th, 2021.
// 12/24/2018
🐣 RT @fbajak If you had to choose one photo for 2019 … maybe Feb. 5 by Andrew Harnik/AP https://twitter.com/fbajak/status/1207508220975230976?s=20/photo/1
// Nancy Pelosi clapping at Trump
🐣 RT @gregpmiller Consider how hard Trump had to work to be impeached. Pelosi spent 2 yrs fending off impeachment demands from her D members. Trump survived mortal danger of Mueller report. Russia “cloud” was gone. Then picks up phone and asks for a “favor, though.”
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom Stepping back from the damage Trump has done to the Constitution, it’s amazing the damage he did today to the GOP. As recently as five years ago, I thought the Republicans were going to stay a solid majority for a long time. Trump destroyed that and saved the Dems. /1 📌 https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1207491358598021120?s=20
🐣 Doug Collins is what happens when an auctioneer screws a turkey.
🐣📊 RT @geoffgarin NO TRUMP RECOVERY: New NBC/Wall Street Journal survey shows that nearly half of all voters say they are certain to vote against Donald Trump next year. Trump’s base* remains at just 34%. https://twitter.com/geoffgarin/status/1207429663599026178?s=20/photo/1
// *“certain to vote against’ 34%; certain to vote against 48%; depends on nominee 18%
🐣 RT @billkuchman 📰 Here’s tomorrow’s impeachment @politico front page. https://twitter.com/billkuchman/status/1207490771026358272?s=20/photo/1
TPM, Josh Kovensky: I Watched OAN’s Unhinged Ukraine Impeachment Special So You Don’t Have To http://bit.ly/2Ey2kZL
Politico: Pelosi threatens to delay Senate impeachment trial http://politi.co/2s0LZKy
// Some legal scholars have suggested she could consider refusing to transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate.
🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind [To @real] World’s biggest loser – RESIGN! https://twitter.com/Amy_Siskind/status/1207507675833143297?s=20/photo/1-2
// NYT and WaPo cover pages (paper)
🐣 RT @tribelaw You may’ve missed the import of @SpeakerPelosi’s magnificent statement that the two Impeachment Articles do more than merely refer charges for Senate trial. They state as “established fact” this president’s “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” in abusing power and obstructing Congress.
🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Mitch McConnell has made it clear he’s the WH’s man at the impeachment trial. Sen Graham says he doesn’t need to hear the evidence to acquit. Americans want a fair trial, so thank God for Nancy Pelosi. Acquittal at a rigged trial won’t exonerate Trump, no matter what he claims.
⋙ 🐣 RT @tribelaw Growing support for the idea of impeaching today but withholding the articles from the Senate until a meaningful trial can be conducted:
⋙⋙ WaPo: Pelosi says House may withhold impeachment articles, delaying Senate trial http://wapo.st/35NRpqI
HollywoodReporter: Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah React to Trump’s Reaction to Impeachment Vote http://bit.ly/2PC2Lc3
🐣 RT @B52Malmet We would not have seen history made this evening if it wasn’t for these courageous women. Let’s hear it for the brave patriots who bucked Trump’s tirades and testified. There are others. But I want to highlight Prof Karlan, Dr. Hill, Laura Cooper and Ambasssor Yovonavitch. https://twitter.com/B52Malmet/status/1207492493748498434?s=20/photo/1-4
🐣 RT @tedlieu Senate Rules for Impeachment require senators to take this oath: “I solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of [the person being impeached], now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: So help me God.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @DavidJollyFL Mitch McConnell: ‘I’m not an impartial juror’ ahead of Senate impeachment trial
⋙⋙ CNN: Mitch McConnell: ‘I’m not an impartial juror’ ahead of Senate impeachment trial http://cnn.it/2r5tKTG
🐣 RT @amyklobuchar The Founding Fathers included impeachment provisions in the Constitution because they feared that a President could betray the trust of the American people to a foreign power. ¤ Today, the House is fulfilling their constitutional obligation. ¤ No one is above the law.
🐣 RT @neal_katyal McConnell wants zero witnesses. An attempted complete cover up by someone scared of the truth coming out.
🐣 RT @rgoodlaw Sounds like Professor @tribelaw’s proposal to me. ¤ “We’ll make our decision as to when we’re going to send it when we see what they’re doing on the Senate side.” ¤ @SpeakerPelosi (in response to @mkraju) 💽 https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1207501767157661697?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @tribelaw Senate rules requiring the House to “immediately” present its articles of impeachment to the Senate clearly violate the constitutional clause in Article I giving each house the sole power to make its own rules. It’s up to the House when and how to prosecute its case in the Senate
CNN: House of Representatives impeaches President Donald Trump http://cnn.it/38VhaHA
🐣 RT @pbump https://twitter.com/pbump/status/1207496109817565190?s=20/photo/1
// WaPo cover (paper)
🐣 RT @StandUpAmerica No one is above the law. https://twitter.com/StandUpAmerica/status/1207499359421698048?s=20/photo/1
// NYT cover (paper)
🐣 RT @shirlsadams .@Pelosi, dressed in all black, and wearing a golden brooch that was a tiny replica of the Mace of the Republic — a ceremonial staff that represents the power of the House of Representatives…” #TeamPelosi #StrongDemocratWomen
⋙ NYT: Nancy Pelosi Went Dark for the House Debates. Her Pin Shined. http://nyti.ms/2PyhaFU https://twitter.com/ShirlsAdams/status/1207440958746431489?s=20/photo/1
// As she opened the impeachment debate in the House of Representatives, her black suit and shining brooch made a statement.
🐣 RT @JoeBiden President Trump abused his power, violated his oath of office, and betrayed our nation. This is a solemn moment for our country. But in the United States of America, no one is above the law — not even the President.
🐣 RT @kasparov63 If I wanted to hear morally bankrupt cowards deny reality and praise the dear leader in identical talking points I’d have stayed in Russia. The GOP has sealed its fate as the party of Trump and Trumpism, and nothing else.
🐣 RT @ChrisLHayes I don’t believe that demographics are destiny – all kinds of people can have all kinds of politics, – yet my god the difference in the diversity of the two major coalitions in this country is just so so so stark. Feels very much, watching this, that it’s the core of the thing. 📌 https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/1207450741994086400?s=20
🐣 RT @RepDebDingell The times have found us. Thank you for strong leadership and an empathetic hand @SpeakerPelosi https://twitter.com/RepDebDingell/status/1207378358482456581?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @briantylercohen Justin Amash: “I rise today in support of these articles of impeachment. I come to this floor not as a Democrat, not as a Republican but as an American.” ¤ Take note, GOP. This is what putting country over party looks like.
🐣 RT @DanRather Just seeing the headline, PRESIDENT TRUMP IMPEACHED … the import of the moment struck me as those three words became etched into the annals of our history. A perilous and surreal moment.
🐣 RT @SenJeffMerkley THREAD: Our founders created the process of impeachment b/c they were deeply concerned about two significant dangers: first, foreign influence that might corrupt American democracy; and second, abuse of power by a president tempted to use his powers to become more like a king. 📌 https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/1207480881155395586?s=20
🐣 RT @ananavarro Trump won’t be removed by spineless Republicans in Senate.
It’s also true that he has been impeached.
It’ll be in his obituary and history books.
Future generations of Americans will read about the unfit, unethical, criminal 45th President.
It is his shameful lasting legacy.
🐣 RT @NBCNews “We did all we could, Elijah,” Speaker Pelosi says, taking a moment to recognize the late Rep. Elijah Cummings. “We passed the two articles of impeachment. The president is impeached.” https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1207487606705053697?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @kyledcheney NEW: The House voted to impeach Donald Trump Wednesday on charges of abusing his power and obstructing congressional investigations, a historic rebuke in a political era that has threatened to upend the nation’s constitutional order. W/ @AndrewDesiderio
⋙ Politico: Trump impeached in historic rebuke http://politi.co/35BhMAp
// For only the third time ever, the House recommends a president’s removal from office.
🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood has asymmetric polarization produced a qualitative difference in temperament, values and intellectual integrity between the Democratic and Republican parties? ¤ you decide:
Schiff—->Nunes
Nadler—->Collins
Cummings—->Jordan
Pelosi—->McCarthy
Obama—->Trump
🐣 WashingtonPost Cover https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1207482945742749699?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff After hours of debate, one thing is clear: ¤ My Republican colleagues don’t want to defend the President’s conduct. They haven’t argued that he did, in fact, uphold his oath of office. ¤ Because President Donald J. Trump’s abuse of power and obstruction of Congress is indefensible.
🐣 RT @gtconway3d It’s incredible. How did it get this bad?
⋙ 🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger The gap in character and intellect between the two parties is stunning
🐣 Covers: Online NYT and WaPo https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1207479574809993217?s=20/photo/1-2
🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger No letter, no tweet, no Fox News spin can repair the reputations of Trump enablers. The right-wing media that cheered them on will, like outlets that rooted for Jim Crow and demonized Freedom Riders, be shunned by decent, freedom-loving people
⋙ WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Trump is impeached and joins the ‘losers’ of presidential history http://wapo.st/2M8Goc0
🐣 RT @ NEWS: Acting amb to Ukraine Bill Taylor was instructed by a top Pompeo aide to hand over responsibilities for his post just days before Pompeo planned to visit Kyiv, allow Pompeo to avoid meeting or being photographed with him. @mgordonwsj @georgikantchev
⋙ WSJ: U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Was Asked to Step Aside Ahead of Pompeo Visit http://on.wsj.com/38LL6WG
// Timing counters earlier suggestions that Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor’s precise departure date was predetermined
🐣 RT @RepValDemings “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. #DefendOurDemocracy
⋘ (nap) ⋙
🐣 RT @RepJerryNadler These two articles charge that President Trump placed his private, political interests above our national security, above our elections, and above our system of checks and balances. 💽 https://twitter.com/RepJerryNadler/status/1207357450879418369?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @BrettBruen “In an age when everything has become so hyper-partisan, their testimony was a refreshing reminder of the common values we are all supposed to share. At a time when courage is in short supply, they gave us reason to hold out hope for principles & purpose.”
⋙ BusinessInsider: The impeachment hearings could have a lasting positive effect on America’s diplomatic corps http://bit.ly/2M8sfeQ
🐣 RT @RighteousBabe4 Collins. 💽 https://twitter.com/RighteousBabe4/status/1207410511916220418?s=20/photo/1
// Backwoods banjo kid from Deliverance
🐣 RT CAPActiom “Three consecutive days in July tell so much of the story.”
July 24: Mueller testifies, Trump thinks he’s clear.
July 25: Trump to Ukraine “I would like you to do us a favor though.”
July 26: Trump call w/ Sondland “so he’s going to do the investigation.”
— @RepAdamSchiff 💽 https://twitter.com/CAPAction/status/1207410551745331201?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @BillKristol “And it would require that the State Department and the Intelligence Community report to Congress every 90 days on whether or not the Kremlin is meddling in U.S. elections. That last provision drew pointed criticism from the Trump administration…”
⋙ DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Trump Administration Battles New Sanctions on Russia http://bit.ly/2rZiQzn
// On Tuesday, President Trump claimed he was tougher on Russia than his predecessor. At the same time, his subordinates strongly opposed a bill imposing new sanctions on Moscow.
NBCNews: Live Blog / Live updates: House votes on impeachment of President Trump http://nbcnews.to/35DFf3Y
// The latest from the historic vote in Congress, a day after Trump derided the process as a Democratic “crusade.”
🐣💙💙 RT @jentaub 🧵 Live-thread. Impeachment of Donald John Trump. December 18, 2019. The House is voting now on a Republican motion to adjourn in protest of impeachment. Vote will take around fifteen minutes. ¤ 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/jentaub/status/1207303012651327489?s=20
🐣 RT @girlsreallyrule Adam Schiff uses a predicting quote from Alexander Hamilton to describe Trump: a man “unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, [who would] throw things into confusion [and] may ride the storm and direct the whirlwind..” 💽 https://twitter.com/girlsreallyrule/status/1207407122016813063?s=20/photo/1
// George Washington quote
🐣💙💙 RT @moscow_project .@RepJerryNadler: “After months of investigation, there can be no serious debate about the evidence at hand:” Trump demanded Ukraine investigate his political opponents, and withheld military aid and a White House meeting to force them to comply. 📌 Thread of highlights https://twitter.com/moscow_project/status/1207352346403131393?s=20
🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Chairman Nadler: “We do not hate President Trump. But we do know that President Trump will continue to threaten the nation’s security, democracy and constitutional system if he is allowed to remain in office.” Via CBS 💽 https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1207390062528253953?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @CNN “There is one simple question that can clarify this impeachment. … Do you think American presidents should ask foreign powers to investigate domestic political rivals?” |@JohnAvlon writes for @CNNOpinion
⋙ CNN: The one question to ask yourself about impeachment http://cnn.it/36O6lp1
WaPo: Some House Democrats push Pelosi to withhold impeachment articles, delay Senate trial http://wapo.st/34BYzwU
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Myths exploded on impeachment day http://wapo.st/2PyH2Se
1. He did not mention former vice president Joe Biden in the July 25 call. In fact, he and his son were mentioned multiple times.
2. He cared about corruption. He never raised the topic, concealed the reason that aid was held up, dispensed his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to get smears solely about Biden and Burisma from corrupt Ukrainians, and released aid before any anti-corruption measures were taken. The entire national security team understood this was about Burisma, and Burisma meant the Bidens.
3. The aid was eventually released. Not before more Ukrainians were killed and only after Trump was caught.
4. Biden did something wrong. No, the Obama administration and the West more generally wanted prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired because he was not investigating corruption. And no, there was no ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden.
5. The impeachment process was unfair. Trump could have participated but did not. He was afforded every right prior impeached presidents received.
🐣 RT @mmpadellan Anyone who compares trump to Jesus, as Rep. Loudermilk did today, is obscenely deranged and probably needs to turn in their Christian card. ¤ So sayeth us all. ¤ Amen. https://twitter.com/mmpadellan/status/1207400544257683457?s=20/photo/1
// compares Jesus to Trump
🐣 RT @CAPAction “Each generation has fought for the preservation of our democracy, and that is what brings us to the House floor today…Congress has done its due diligence. Today, we send a clear message—we will not tolerate abuses of power from the president of the United States” —@RepPressley 💽 https://twitter.com/CAPAction/status/1207394348633075712?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @HouseJudiciary Rep. Cohen: “From our founding, the Untied States has been a special nation. A city upon a hill… In the United States we don’t have a king. We choose our leaders. We vote.” 💽 https://twitter.com/HouseJudiciary/status/1207372708310331392?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @BillKristol Thanks to Donald Trump, we can say Merry Impeachmas again
🐣 RT @CNN Rep. @tedlieu: “Whether Donald Trump leaves in one month, one year or five years, this impeachment is permanent, it will follow him around for the rest of his life and history books will record it. … It’s all very simple: No one is above the law” https://cnn.it/35BoE0C
🐣 RT @leahmcelrath Trump obtained the office of the presidency with the illegitimate assistance of a foreign power. ¤ Trump is trying to retain the office of the presidency with the illegitimate assistance of a foreign power. ¤ Trump is a threat to national security and must be impeached and removed.
🐣 RT @brianklaas Why do Trump, Giuliani, and their clownish sycophants on TV constantly spread lies and disinformation? Because it works. Here’s why it works, and how journalists can do a better job pushing back. My column:
🐣 RT @brianklaas “The role of journalists is to be objective, not “balanced.” If a Trumpian commentator trots out a well-worn lie, the host needs to correct it immediately. And if they trot out lies over and over, that person should not be a guest again.” My latest:
⋙ WaPo, Brian Klaas: Unfortunately, Trump’s lies in the media work. Here’s why. http://wapo.st/2EvgkUj
// depressing
🐣 RT @SimonWDC Mueller investigation was initiated by a Trump appointee and carried out by a lifelong Republican. ¤ Ukraine investigation was initiated by a Trump appointee (IG IC), and everyone who testified either worked for or works now for the President. ¤ Ds have had little to do w/either.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Michelleinbklyn Years ago some of us naively hoped that someday the fever would break and a few Republicans would stand up for the republic against a grotesque demagogue. Instead here’s one suggesting Trump is more of a martyr than Jesus Christ.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm Rep. Loudermilk: “When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers.” 💽 https://twitter.com/michelleinbklyn/status/1207381382550474752?s=20/photo/1
WashingtonTimes, Andrew Napolitano: Trump impeachment: Undisputed evidence that he abused his power http://bit.ly/2M8w5Ey
🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin Will not a single House Republican rise in defense of the Constitution and the rule of law?
🐣 RT @dgordon52 Let’s debunk the GOP’s talking points on impeachment using their own words. ¤ It’s all on video. Follow thread for clips. ¤ (1 of 7) 💽 https://twitter.com/dgordon52/status/1204436181989101570?s=20/photo/1
TheAtlantic, David Graham: The Stain of Impeachment Will Last Forever http://bit.ly/38PUA3e
// The House is poised to indelibly alter Trump’s legacy.
🐣 RT @ HouseJudiciary Rep. Johnson: “It’s not just that our elections were attacked, our elections are under attack right now. The very day the Judiciary Committee voted out Articles of Impeachment, President Trump welcomed Rudy Giuliani back to the White House.” 💽 https://twitter.com/HouseJudiciary/status/1207370191811821577?s=20/photo/1
WaPo, Paul Waldman: Trump is getting the one kind of accountability he fears http://wapo.st/2PX28J2 “Nothing has ever mattered more to him than image, the view of him in the eyes of others.”
🐣 RT @RepRaskin In my one-minute speech on the Articles of Impeachment, I tried to distill the principles at stake in this moment to their essence. 💽 https://twitter.com/RepRaskin/status/1207366887371419649?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi It is tragic that the President’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice. It is a matter of fact that the President is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections, the basis of our democracy. #DefendOurDemocracy 💽 https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1207374048310833154?s=20/photo/1
NYT: Steering Impeachment With an Iron Grip, Pelosi Forges a Legacy She Never Sought http://nyti.ms/2Q0QHQm
// Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to be remembered for her legislative accomplishments, like passing the Affordable Care Act. But her legacy is now tied to the impeachment of the 45th president.
🐣 RT @MittRomney Russia consistently opposes the best interests of not just the US, but entire regions of the world. Russia has interfered in our elections and those of our allies, conducts malicious cyberattacks, and imprisons and assassinates political dissidents.
DailyBeast, Dean Obeidallah: If the Senate Won’t Hold a Fair Trial, the House Should Refuse to Send Over the Articles http://bit.ly/2YZduQM
// Under the rules, the House can apparently just sit on the articles—not refer them to the Senate, not appoint managers. And that’s exactly what House Dems should do.
DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Anna Nemtsova: Rudy Giuliani—and Russia—Pay Close Attention to This Ukrainian Conspiracy-Peddler http://bit.ly/2Q0k8SC
// Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach’s wild theories are easily disproved—but that hasn’t stopped them from gaining traction with the top tiers of U.S. government and Trump’s lawyer.
🐣 RT @EJDionne The most disingenuous Republican argument is that this #impeachment is “partisan,” and that this is the Democrats’ fault. ¤ No. ¤ It’s partisan because no Republican has the guts to say that #Trump’s effort to get a foreign power to smear a domestic political opponent is despotism
🐣 RT @stuartpstevens I’ve spent a lot of my life around politicians. Most have large egos – which I don’t consider a negative, so do great artists & athletes – & most care about their image. What baffles me is R inability to grasp history will not be written by Fox & Friends. They will look shameful.
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Here’s the thing: the Republicans COULD say, “Mr. President, it’s dead wrong to enlist or extort foreign assistance/interference in our election. It’s dead wrong to attach personal conditions to congressionally appropriate money – conditions designed to help you politically. 📌 https://twitter.com/glennkirschner2/status/1207311531010068480?s=20
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: How to run against Republican toadies and flip the Senate http://wapo.st/35zlZEJ
🐣 RT @AriMelber New: Congress has now begun floor proceedings to impeach Donald Trump today — he would be the *first* elected President ever impeached in his first term.
🐣 RT @SimonWDC 1/GOP not winning Impeachment argument:
22% no witnesses
24% ok to solicit foreign help in election
37% Trump didn’t commit bribery
38% Trump didn’t abuse his office
38% House acted unfairly
39% Trump didn’t improperly pressure Ukraine
50%/49% Remove
Fox News, ABC/WaPo. 📌 https://twitter.com/SimonWDC/status/1207282137705136129?s=20
✅ WaPo Factchecker, Glenn Kessler: Fact-checking President Trump’s impeachment letter to Pelosi http://wapo.st/2YZme9u
WaPo: ‘Dump Trump!’ Protesters across the nation rally for impeachment http://wapo.st/2PYDKqo
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson It’s a permanent stain, Donnie.
🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Let Mulvaney, his chief of staff, Bolton & Michael Duffy at OMB testify. No one prevents witnesses who exonerate them from testifying. While you’re at it, declassify material about Pence’s call with Zelensky, let McGahn testify, tell us who’s paying Rudy & release your taxes.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts. This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!
⋙⋙ [ @JoeNBC on @Morning_Joe Nancy Pelosi already did. ]
DailyBeast, Michael Tomasky: Trump Deserves Impeachment. The Trumpists Will Fight for a Generation to Deny That. http://bit.ly/35BC5NQ
// This won’t end in the Senate. We’re going to keep having this fight over this impeachment, and Trumpism generally, for a generation as Trump’s defenders fight history’s verdict.
🐣 RT @MSNBC Rep. Schiff: “Whatever the Senate does, there is merit in what we do today to tell the rest of the world that we are a functioning democracy. We do hold our president accountable even at this point if it is only in one House and not in the other.”
⋙ MSNBC, MorningJoe: Rep. Adam Schiff: Timing on impeachment driven by urgency http://on.msnbc.com/35xxRXO
// Intel Chair, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., says explains the timing for the articles of impeachment against the president.
🐣 RT @tribelaw Who is to blame for the absence of even one Republican in the House endorsing either Article of Impeachment and thus the lack of bipartisan support for this outcome? Not the Democrats, for sure.
⇈ ⇊ ⋙ (written statement the same time, in response to same speaker)
🐣 The reason there is not bipartisan support for impeachment is not the fault of the Democrats. Republicans have sold their souls to Trump. They have forsaken the Founding Fathers, the Constitution and the Enlightenment and its faith in reason, truth and rule by law not by a king.
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson This is SO good: ¤ ‘Translation’ of Donald Trump’s December 17, 2019, letter to Nancy Pelosi by Bandy X. Lee
⋙ 💙💙 Medium Bandy X Lee: “Translation” of Donald Trump’s December 17, 2019, letter to Nancy Pelosi http://bit.ly/2sB94DF (Forensic psychiatrist, violence expert, president of the World Mental Health Coalition (dangerouscase.org), and editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.”)
🐣 RT @SenBobCasey Let me get this straight: The Secretary of State is pushing out a distinguished public servant because the President of the United States won’t like seeing him in pictures?
⋙ NBCNews: Top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine to leave post at end of year http://nbcnews.to/38Rh2sG
// Bill Taylor testified at the House Intelligence Committee’s inquiry into President Donald Trump’s hold on military aid to Ukraine.
🐣 RT @Righteousbabe I’m just a bill. Only just a stack of bills. Stuck in a 🐢 shell on Capitol Hill ⋙ 🐣 RT @SenWhitehouse This is the pile of House-passed bills, 90% bipartisan, dead on Mitch McConnell’s desk in the Senate #LegislativeGraveyard https://twitter.com/SenWhitehouse/status/1207312222441136128?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @RepValDemings “The interests of the nation must always come before any personal considerations.” ¤ – Richard Nixon, Resignation Speech #DefendOurDemocracy
https://twitter.com/RepValDemings/status/1207316880899395585?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @real “It’s sad. Here’s a gentleman who came to the White House and all they had was never to let him have an easy breath. All they wanted to do is impeach him. They started the day after he was elected, even the day after he was sworn in. But this President came to Washington and….
⋙ 🐣 RT @jentaub Sir, for years, you’ve done a lot wrong. Fake university racketeering. Money laundering casino. Tax evasion. Campaign finance fraud. Charity abuse. Now you got caught cheating on the election by shaking down a desperate nation that Russia attacked. Impeachment is forever. Enjoy!
⋙⋙ 🐣 MT @jentaub Sir, it’s sad. Trump was very dirty before and never cleaned up as President.
● Dirty university: http://n.pr/38OWDEI
● Dirty casino: [FinCen] http://bit.ly/38RkSlK
● Dirty taxes: http://nyti.ms 2DPWUvz
● Dirty campaign: http://nyti.ms/2YZD4VK
● Dirty charity: http://nyti.ms/2PW92hz
🐣 RT @AssetPodcast The House votes today on whether to impeach President Donald Trump. ¤ This season on #TheAsset, we explained how Trump’s corrupt and criminal behavior brought the country to this historic moment:
⋙ 🔊 AssetPodcast: Season 2, Episode 4: Impeaching http://bit.ly/34uI1qR
DailyBeast, Asawin Suebsaeng and Erin Banco: Trump Tells Rudy to Keep Pushing the Biden Conspiracies Even though it’s the reason why he’s getting impeached. http://bit.ly/38OUKYE
⋙ [Asawin Suensaeng:]
⋙⋙ DailyBeast, Betsy Swan, Asawin Suebsaeng and Spencer Ackerman (Oct): How Rudy Giuliani’s Bid to Discredit Mueller Played Into Impeachment Probe http://bit.ly/2Ez9UmM
// 10/5/2019; The former New York mayor dug around Ukraine to undermine Robert Mueller’s investigation. He may have hamstrung his client’s presidency instead.
🐣 RT @DavidRothkopf Attention @WhiteHouse: You were asking yesterday about power moves?
⋙ 🐣 RT @JesseRodriguez NBC News: Speaker Pelosi will preside over both votes on the articles of impeachment.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @JesseRodriguez NBC News: Speaker Pelosi will speak at the opening of general debate.
🐣 RT @StevenBeschloss Firtash funds Parnas. Parnas funds Giuliani. Giuliani works for Trump for free=Firtash funds Trump.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Mimirocah1 Think about how crazy this is: Putin-linked Oligarch indicted by US Justice Dept with attacking the 2016 election is now funding the President’s team to interfere in the 2020 election.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @Tom_Winter NBC News: Federal prosecutors say that an attorney for indicted Ukranian Oligarch Dmytro Firtash (and Paul Manafort associate) is behind the $1 Million loan to Lev Parnas. ¤ Further, they raise questions as to whether this really was a loan or a loan disguised as a payment.
🐣 RT @adamcancryn A defining impeachment day must-read from @heatherscope @BresPolitico @sarahnferris on Nancy Pelosi, “the one person in Washington who can beat Trump at his own game, though she never wanted to play it”
⋙ Politico: ‘In a class by herself’: Pelosi has roared back in the Trump era http://politi.co/2EvTsE2
// The speaker’s return to power and legacy will be linked forever to her battles with the norm-busting president.
🐣 RT @RFERL A U.S. Senate committee will debate the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act, which has been described as the “sanctions bill from hell.”
⋙ RFE/RL: U.S. Lawmakers To Discuss Russia Sanctions Bill ‘From Hell’ http://bit.ly/2sAkLdD
🐣 RT @npfandos A little history to start your day from @AlMitc @peterbakernyt @eilperin on Dec. 19, 1998
⋙ NYT: IMPEACHMENT: THE OVERVIEW — CLINTON IMPEACHED; HE FACES A SENATE TRIAL, 2D IN HISTORY; VOWS TO DO JOB TILL TERM’S ‘LAST HOUR’ http://nyti.ms/2Et0WHJ https://twitter.com/npfandos/status/1207299376676249600?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 17 Dec 2019
🐣 RT @DirkSchwenk (12/17) The bell tolls for Rudy. A “it’s about to get hairy” thread. 📌 https://twitter.com/DirkSchwenk/status/1207058009014358018?s=20
WaPo: Russian disinformation network is said to have helped spread smear of U.S. ambassador to Ukraine http://wapo.st/35zDFQx
// The web analysis firm Graphika has linked posts to a known Russian operation.
🐣 RT @MSNBC “If the Democrats pick the right candidate next year, by that I mean the candidate whose character and conduct contrasts most powerfully with what we’ve seen and heard from Donald Trump, he or she will take him down.” – @HardballChris
⋙ MSNBC, Hardball: Chris Matthews: If Democrats pick the right candidate, they’ll take down Trump in 2020 http://on.msnbc.com/2EvFou9
// Chris is hedging his bets on this: “If the Democrats pick the right candidate next year, by that I mean the candidate whose character and conduct contrasts most powerfully with what we’ve seen and heard from Donald Trump, he or she will take him down.”
🐣 RT @Strandjunker Rick Gates: Convicted.
Paul Manafort: Convicted.
George Papadopoulos: Convicted.
Mike Flynn: Convicted.
Michael Cohen: Convicted.
Roger Stone: Convicted.
Donald Trump: #ImpeachmentEve.
Hillary Clinton: Enjoys nice walks in the woods.
🐣 RT @TheHill Question: “Your reaction to the president’s letter?”
Speaker Pelosi: “I don’t have a reaction. It’s ridiculous.”
Question: “You have no reaction — why not?”
Pelosi: “I mean, I haven’t fully read it. We’ve been working. I’ve seen the essence of it though and it’s really sick.”
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Project Lincoln: Can patriotic Republicans save the country? http://wapo.st/2PynqO8
🐣 RT @ justinamash Conservatives will someday face the horrible truth that the Republican Party fought so hard to justify and excuse an amoral and self-serving president, and what he gave them in return was bigger government and erosion of the principles and values they once claimed to cherish.
🐣 RT @JohnWDean Trump’s pathetic letter embodies all the reasons he should not be President and why he is in the mess he has created for himself. As always others will fix it (here Senate GOP) so he can do even worse next time. Real solution, resign Donald, you’re unfit!
🐣◕ RT @j2dumfounded Let’s see if this works ¤ Oh all that is missing is that Rudy works for Trump for FREE https://twitter.com/j2dumfounded/status/1207176904295370752?s=20/photo/1
// Relationship chart org chart
🐣 RT @sfpelosi Thank you to the resisters who joined in a prayer for America tonight in San Francisco as we prepared for #Impeachment and the inevitable Trump backlash at the most vulnerable among us. We are here for each other and will #DefendOurDemocracy
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Giuliani falsely calls Ambassador Yovanovitch “corrupt” and Secretary of State Pompeo fails to speak up, fails to push back, fails to support his State Department employee. Pompeo is a coward and the exact opposite of a “leader.” What a shameful “man.
⋙ NBCNews: Giuliani boasts, then backtracks on some details of engineering Yovanovitch ouster http://nbcnews.to/36QbwVF
// “She was going to make the investigations difficult for everybody,” Giuliani told The New Yorker of the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES “We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature“A. Lincoln @ProjectLincoln
🐣 RT @neeratanden Tomorrow I’ll speak at the Capitol at a gathering at 9 am. This is a moment history will record. Our grandchildren will ask us what side we were on. I will be able to say I stood with the Constitution. ¤ I am looking forward to tomorrow. Please come out and support the rule of law
🐣 RT @HotlinJosh “A lawyer for Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash was the source of $1 million that was deposited into a family bank account of Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, the U.S. said.”
⋙ Bloomberg: Giuliani Ally Got $1 Million From Ukraine Oligarch’s Lawyer http://bloom.bg/2Q306am
● U.S. prosecutor makes disclosure at Lev Parnas’s bail hearing
● Funds from Russia went to account of Parnas wife in September
DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: Trump Will Be Impeached but Trumpism Will Fuck Us Forever http://bit.ly/34sv9kU
// The stain will be on Trump’s record, but the Republicans abased themselves, and the Democrats couldn’t stop him. Nice republic while we had it.
There is no Hallmark movie ending in this story, where the low-stakes Holiday Bakeoff in Mistletoe Falls leads to a chaste kiss between star-crossed lovers on Christmas Eve. Instead, Washington is teetering over an abyss from which it will likely never emerge. The Republican Senate, led by Mitch McConnell, is now flagrantly, overtly telling America to fuck itself, hard. Oh well. It was a nice republic while we had it.
This isn’t merely some partisan skirmish where either the guys with the red flags or the guys with the blue flags win a round and everyone has a beer after. This is the real, raw test of a corrupt and lawless executive our Founders feared, and we are as a country failing that test. Impeachment, the most consequential and serious check on executive power in our constitutional system, has been reduced to a partisan joke by the Senate Republicans. …
It isn’t simply that Trump’s actions in Ukraine are impeachable and justify removal from office.
Oh, no. It’s so much worse than that. It’s that the impeachment articles omit a broader constellation of other illegalities that richly deserve the ultimate political sanction. It’s that the GOP has developed an immune system that renders it impervious to the shame of defending the indefensible.
The Republicans lack the moral center to do the right thing, and the Democrats seemingly lack the political will and the skills to hold them to account.
Sadly, there was no other scenario here, ever. The inevitable, malignant progress of Trumpism is to consume everything: its host party, the balance of powers, the law, the Constitution, and the truth.
There is no bottom, there is no limit, and there are no rules in the new game of Trump partisanship. Republicans know the truth, and choose the lie. They know the right course, and choose lawlessness. They know they are in service to a man with no moral center, no love of anything beyond his own ego, and no regard for the law, but pretend their defense of him is just ordinary partisanship.
Democrats know what they should be doing, but just can’t seem to get there. At a moment when we need the disciplined party to have a conscience and the conscientious party to have discipline—we have neither.
🐣 RT @MollyMcKew Today is probably a good time to remind it isn’t just crazy tweets: POTUS has targeted and removed experienced US counterintelligence personnel who understand Russia, and is targeting and dismantling institutions we need to defend our national security.
DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Senate Republicans Push Ahead With Probe of ‘Ukraine Collusion,’ Despite Warnings It’s a Kremlin Operation http://bit.ly/34wGMar
// It’s a move that will frustrate national security, law enforcement, and intelligence officials.
MSNBC, Hardball: 41 out of 44 Dems in competitive districts will vote on articles of impeachment http://on.msnbc.com/2M9tvyq
// According to an NBC news tally, 41 Democrats in competitive districts, out of 44, say they will vote for both articles of impeachment.
🐣 RT @StandUpAmerica
📍New York City, New York
📍Denver, Colorado
📍Detroit, Michigan
📍San Antonio, Texas
This is a nationwide movement. ¤ #ImpeachmentEve
https://twitter.com/StandUpAmerica/status/1207122302728646658?s=20/photo/1-4
// great photos
WaPo, Dana Milbank: On impeachment eve, Trump repeats the crime http://wapo.st/35KeeLW
🐣 RT @SenSchumer It is not lost on Senators that the White House has made a choice to block witnesses from testifying under oath and has refused to provide documents in evidence. ¤ Anyone in America watching this would draw the same logical conclusion, that President Trump has something to hide.
🐣 RT @TheAtlantic “Throughout the Trump presidency, his reluctant allies have asked the public to imagine that there are effectively two Trumps … [but] the idea has always been a thin fiction, and the letter to Pelosi rips through it like tissue,” argues @GrahamDavidA:
⋙ TheAtlantic: An Angry Letter Reveals the Fiction of the Two Trumps http://bit.ly/2Ezzrw9
// The president’s allies have long asked the public to distinguish between the president’s tweets and his official acts.
🐣 RT @danbbaer If you read the President’s insane letter from earlier today, please also read @SpeakerPelosi’s letter from today which is an eloquent expression of patriotic grace.
🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Pelosi’s letter to House Democrats is everything Trump’s letter to her is not. She reminds them that they are all, by virtue of their oaths, guardians of the Constitution.
⋙ 💙 🐣 ≣ RT @Phil_Mattingly .@SpeakerPelosi sends letter to Democratic Caucus on eve of impeachment vote: https://twitter.com/Phil_Mattingly/status/1207069717300744192?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Natasha edtrand Sens. Feinstein, Wyden, and Peters asked Sens. Grassley, Graham, and Johnson in a letter today for “any evidence” they have that supports an investigation into Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election, an allegation that they note is part of a Russian disinformation campaign [letter:] https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1207069924339986433?s=20/photo/1
🐣✅ RT @ddale8 Trump’s anti-impeachment letter to Pelosi is littered with lies, misleading claims and claims lacking key context — on his dealings with Ukraine, on Biden, on impeachment, on his professed accomplishments, on the…Salem witch trials. ¤ A fact check:
⋙ CNN, Daniel Dale and Tara Subramaniam: Fact check: Trump’s wild letter to Pelosi is filled with false and misleading claims http://cnn.it/2YYS5al
🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣≣ RT @EricLiptonNYT Full copy of rule H. Res. 755 https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT/status/1207137277819924486?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @JakeSherman AND THERE IT IS … tomorrow in the House. https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1207126405781360645?s=20/photo/1
// House Floor Schedule for tomorrow
💽 MSNBC, Hardball: David Jolly says Trump ‘tearing at the fabric of Article 1’ of constitution http://on.msnbc.com/38NtvxD
As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on two articles against President Trump, he is raging at his accusers.
WaPo: Schiff says Pence’s office may have purposefully misled panel about contents of his Zelensky call http://wapo.st/2Ev2v8g
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: It is hard to capture how bizarre and frightening Trump’s letter to Pelosi is http://wapo.st/35t3YYx
🐣💙 RT @ericuman So prosecutors have just said Rudy co-worker Lev Parnas got a $1 mil from oligarch Dmitry Firtash. ¤ Now you know what you should listen to? ¤ The TRUMP INC WE HAD LAST MONTH ALL ABOUT FIRTASH.
⋙ 🔊 ProPublica: Follow the Money in the Ukraine Scandal http://bit.ly/2qbC6IV
// 11/13/2019; On this week’s “Trump, Inc.” podcast, we’re looking at what happened in Ukraine from a different vantage point: not the politics but the finances.
🐣 RT @kyledcheney NEWS: Democrats propose 6 hours of debate on articles of impeachment.
🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood impeachment appears to distress the president quite a bit
🐣 RT @brianbeutler The most important dynamic in politics.
⋙ 🐣📊 RT @Civiqs Opposition to Trump is much firmer than support. New poll:
– Support Trump, almost nothing could change that: 30%
– Support Trump, open to changing mind: 14%
– Oppose Trump, open to changing mind: 5%
– Oppose Trump, almost nothing could change that: 48%
http://bit.ly/2EpOKYm
⋙ 🐣📊 🐣 RT @Civiqs Among Republicans, 67% say they support President Trump, and there’s almost nothing that could change that. ¤ But, 22% of Republicans say that although they support Trump right now, they are open to changing their mind if things change later.
🚫🐣 RT @MikeDelMoro Giuliani goes further via text to NBC News, connecting Yovanovitch’s “obstruction” explicitly to the Bidens saying she tried to prevent testimony “about Ukrainian collusion with DNC, Biden bribery and Biden and Yanukovitch-Poroshenko massive money laundering with US institutions”
🚫 ⋙ 🐣 RT @RudyGiuliani Yovanovitch needed to be removed for many reasons most critical she was denying visas to Ukrainians who wanted to come to US and explain Dem corruption in Ukraine. She was OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE and that’s not the only thing she was doing. She at minimum enabled Ukrainian collusion.
🐣 RT @pbump Me: This Trump letter to Pelosi is just a big thread of his tweets. ¤ Also me: Here is a thread of Trump’s tweets that together constitute the claims he makes in the letter.
⋙ WaPo: Trump makes his closing argument, cobbling together his greatest Twitter hits http://wapo.st/2rZtEgN
NYT: Trump Denounces ‘Partisan Impeachment Crusade’ on Eve of House Vote http://nyti.ms/2Z0iwfZ
// In an irate, six-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Trump denounced the impeachment inquiry in scathing terms, asserting that he had done nothing wrong and that Democrats would pay a political price in 2020.
🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger Look on the bright side: 1. Brave Dems taking votes against self-interest to defend the Const. 2. Van Drew blew himself up 3. R’s have 70% of country against them for refusing witnesses 4. Trump’s insane letter covered as an insane letter 5. Project Lincoln up and running
🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind Since the impeachment probe, Trump has taken all sorts of stops not to ensure he doesn’t make the same mistake again, but rather to enable him to continue to do so: cutting NSC & # of folks on his calls w/foreign leaders & # who see readouts, dismissing non-loyalist diplomats.
Law.com, C.Ryan Barber: Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s Had a Front Row Seat for Mueller Cases http://bit.ly/2S2LPwN
// Judge Jackson’s courtroom in Washington has been the central venue for various Mueller-related cases, giving the judge a unique outlet to express views on the Russia investigation—and the defendants.
🐣 RT @michaeldweiss See how this works? Republicans spent months saying Ukrainian officials interfered in the 2016 election all while they were soliciting disgraced Ukrainians to help interfere in the 2020 election. It’s all very Soviet: accuse your enemy of doing what you yourself are guilty of.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Tom_Winter NBC News: Federal prosecutors say that an attorney for indicted Ukranian Oligarch Dmytro Firtash (and Paul Manafort associate) is behind the $1 Million loan to Lev Parnas. ¤ Further, they raise questions as to whether this really was a loan or a loan disguised as a payment. 📌 https://twitter.com/Tom_Winter/status/1207009450651004928?s=20
🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “I think Donald Trump makes his mental fitness a part of the issue every single day… You read that letter that he sent today to the House and it’s just six pages of pure crazy, weapons-grade nuts…” – @TheRickWilson w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1207078759876177920?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @jenmercieca Trump’s letter is a tu quoque–an appeal to hypocrisy. Trump claims that Democrats are violating the rule of law and the Constitution when they claim to be upholding the rule of law and the Constitution. ¤ That’s exactly what I said he’d say. 📌 https://twitter.com/jenmercieca/status/1207048230426550273?s=20
// Dr Jennifer Mercieca is a professor of rhetoric
🐣 RT @emptywheel ABJ (Amy Berman Jackson), who has seen more of Mueller’s work close up than Billy Barr, pushes back against his claims that it’s bogus.
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshgerstein The judge used her moment in the spotlight, or at least the news, to push back against the AG Barr claim of ‘completely bogus narrative’ driving Trump-Russia probe. She said there was ‘ample’ basis to investigate. 📌 https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1207105324781584384?s=20
🐣 RT @juliaioffe When not even a looming impeachment will induce the president to change his behavior.
⋙ CNN: Giuliani says Trump still supports his dirt-digging in Ukraine http://cnn.it/34Awxln
🐣 RT @BarbMcQuade If Trump weren’t already facing impeachment, this letter would do it. Pelosi should send it back with a note that says, “It appears some prankster got ahold of your letterhead.”
⋙ 💙✅ NYT: Read Trump’s Letter to Pelosi Protesting Impeachment http://nyti.ms/34taQnn [interactive, annotated]
// We fact-checked President Trump’s rambling and angry letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi in which he expressed his “most powerful protest” against the impeachment process. The House is expected to vote on two articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump on Wednesday.
WaPo: Foiled in 2016, ‘Never Trump’ Republicans launch new super PAC in effort to oust Trump in 2020 http://wapo.st/2Pybk7F
[Humor]: How the Gringrich Stole Christmas http://stanford.io/2S9CnYm
// Gingrinch, Gingrich 😅
NYT, Frank Bruni: ’Twas the Eve of Impeachment ~ Finding verse in this curse. http://nyti.ms/2rO5ki6 Impeachment poem
’Twas the eve of impeachment, when all through the House
No Republicans wavered, each last one a louse.
The articles were drafted by Democrats with care
In hopes that a conscience would soon bloom there.
We pundits were tossing all steamed in our beds,
While Trump’s certain acquittal danced in our heads.
And I in frustration, feeling all solemn,
Wished I could capture my woe in a column,
When out on the web there arose such a clatter,
I signed in to Twitter to see what was the matter.
And there I beheld him, the master of lies,
Weaving fresh falsehoods, to no one’s surprise.
He savaged the Bidens, he smeared Adam Schiff,
And cycled through villains in a furious jiff,
Not to mention distractions, like the teeth of the Speaker.
Could a “leader” be cruder, could his morals be weaker?
So now he’s a dentist, in his all-knowing ways?
I prayed for deliverance one of these days.
When what to my cynical eyes did appear
But a raft of excuses pulled by mangy reindeer,
🔴 Scribblings & Scuttlebutt
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🔴 Scribblings and Scuttlebutt Aug 2019 –
Link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-9NM
My little corner: musings, comments and personal notes. This is probably the closest thing on this blog to a “blog.” I post lots of notes on things not working or behind (with explanations and apologies!). Increasingly, that’s been mostly what it is. Reverse chronological. Comments are open.
– LizzieB90
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