3.3 Historical | The Blacklist Declassified

Trump🇷🇺Russia🇺🇦Ukraine

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 Recent (2023)

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2019 (below)

🇷🇺 Press Here For 7/26/2017 through 2018

📀 Press Here For Impeachment #1 Trial on Cspan (2020)

📀 Press Here For Impeachment #2 Trial on Cspan (2021)

📀 Press Here For January 6th Committee Hearings (2022)

💽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

“The interests of the nation must always come before any personal considerations.”

– Richard Nixon, Resignation Speech #DefendOurDemocracy pic.twitter.com/QGDKuYmblf

— Former Congresswoman Val Demings (@RepValDemings) December 18, 2019

🐣 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

📍New York City, New York
📍Denver, Colorado
📍Detroit, Michigan
📍San Antonio, Texas

This is a nationwide movement.#ImpeachmentEve pic.twitter.com/8sQMM7nOOM

— Stand Up America (@StandUpAmerica) December 18, 2019

// 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.

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,

With a weasel-eyed driver, so meek and so zany,
I knew in a moment he must be Mulvaney.

More shameless than con men, the sycophants came,
And Trump gloated, so bloated, and called them by name:

“Now, Rudy! Now, Jared! Now, Lindsey and Mitch!
Please fly this democracy into a ditch!

It is how you will save me. It is how I prevail.
Or else I will join poor Paul in the jail.

That’s the toll of a presidency ended too soon,
So you must sing along to my favorite tune:

‘It’s a witch hunt! A hoax!’ Those are lyrics for me.
That’s the verse, that’s the chorus, for eternity.”

He was dressed in a necktie, from his jowls to his soles.
He had tanned beyond tanning. Imagine the moles.

His hair, how it swirled! His legs, how they splayed!
On such fishy foundations was his confidence laid.

And we couldn’t stop looking — not his fans, not his foes.
That was what he was after: the show of all shows.

Its plot strained belief. Its appeal tested reason.
Still it was soaring toward a second season.

The economy roared. The Democrats whimpered.
Vladimir chortled. Emmanuel simpered.

In the bag that Trump carried, he had goodies galore:
Lower taxes, the Dow, right-wing judges and more.

They weren’t for the many, they favored the few,
But that was obscured by the smoke that he blew.

All was fog, all was mist, all was boast, all was fiction,
As he hid his true airs with bad diet and diction.

He could do as he wanted and never know fear,
For an elf — and a savior! — named Barr hovered near.

And then there was Tucker and of course Hannity
To put an extra-fine gloss on insanity.

What great luck to discover a country so riven
You could smash it and rule it if suitably driven.

You could summon the Russians, you could bully Ukraine,
Just as long as you made “It’s fake news!” your refrain.

I cringed as I watched him and cried for us all,
Our values, our futures hijacked by his gall.

A last bid to preserve them was cause to impeach
But his party’s corruption put him beyond reach.

So then why all his thrashing? His howls of dejection?
It was just a performance for the next election.

It brought more donations. It rallied the base.
You could see, if you looked, a clear smirk on his face.

If you listened, you heard it: a lilt in his voice.
In drama like this, he would always rejoice.

So as history scarred him, he could nonetheless yell,
“Merry TrumpMas to all! I’m the king of this hell.”

🐣 RT @GlennKesslerWP OMG, this Trump letter to Pelosi is filled with so many falsehoods, all documented in our claims database. It’s like written version of a Trump rally. http://bit.ly/36VDdwn 📌 https://twitter.com/GlennKesslerWP/status/1207021321152061441?s=20
⋙ 🐣✅ RT @GlennKesslerWP The Biden stuff is especially egregious. We’ev fact checked that repeatedly, such as here: WaPo: A quick guide to Trump’s false claims about Ukraine and the Bidens http://wapo.st/36In1ye
// 9/27/2019

🐣 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/2M4LqWU
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @MollyJongFast The president doesn’t want to be impeached
⋙ ≣ 🐣 RT @AndrewFeinberg NEW: @realDonaldTrump send[s] angry letter to @SpeakerPelosi protesting impeachment. https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1207018176686505986?s=20/photo/1-4
⋙ 🐣 RT @ More https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1207018182671785985?s=20/photo/1-2

🐣 RT @MollyMcKew Oh what, you mean POTUS was totally full of sh*t when he proclaimed THE OIL IS OURS and yes indeed, Syria had given sole rights to all its oil production to the Kremlin? No way.
⋙ Reuters: Syria hands oil exploration contracts to two Russian firms http://reut.rs/

🐣 RT @DavidCornDC The oligarch has been indicted by US & is fighting extradition. So @RudyGiuliani used a paid associate of a mob-linked Ukrainian oligarch to do a favor for Trump (get dirt on Biden) while this oligarch (repped by diGenova/Toensig) was trying to get a break from US DOJ. #Swamp!
⋙ 🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood Giuliani associate received $1 million payment from Ukrainian oligarch’s lawyer ¤ Justice Dept prosecutors say the oligarch has high-level ties to the Russian mob
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews U.S. prosecutors said in court on Tuesday that Lev Parnas, an associate of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, received a $1 million payment from a lawyer for Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash.
⋙ Reuters: Giuliani associate received $1 million payment from Ukrainian oligarch’s lawyer: prosecutor http://reut.rs/34rv2WF

U.S. prosecutors said in court on Tuesday that Lev Parnas, an associate of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, received a $1 million payment from a lawyer for Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash.

Prosecutors said that Parnas, who has been charged with campaign finance violations, should have his bail revoked because he concealed the payment from them, but U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in New York ruled at Tuesday’s hearing that Parnas may remain under house arrest in Florida.

Firtash, one of Ukraine’s wealthiest businessman, is fighting extradition by U.S. authorities on bribery charges from Vienna, where he has lived for five years.

[Comments, for context:]
⋙ 🐣 RT @jake_mcq Lev Parnas worked as an interpreter for Toensing & DiGenova who defend Dmitry Firtash. ¤ Toensing & DiGenova were able to get a meeting with William Barr, who declined to intercede. ¤ The couple also represent John Solomon who worked with Parnas on the interview with Lutsenko.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JF991 Reminder, Firtash is on Putin’s payroll, not normal Ukrainian. He is paid to destabilize Ukraine for Putin.
⋙ 🐣◕ RT @nikstift Just in case anyone needs context into who is referenced here: https://twitter.com/nikstift/status/1207024970892603392?s=20/photo/1,3
⋙ 🐣 RT @GEliseMenendez He’s a bad dude. And Hannity was in Vienna when he was nabbed.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TonyVMiami So does this mean Mr. Giuliani has been paid – possibly indirectly – literally by Putin? And he’s working for the President of the United States? Umm….anyone else see a problem with this?
⋙ 🐣 RT @[Cyrillic] Firtash is a well know FSB operative with close ties to Kremlin
⋙ 🐣 RT @ksush73 Here is some history on Firtash to refresh our memory.
⋙⋙ Reuters: Putin’s allies channelled billions to Ukraine oligarch http://reut.rs/34uZjE4
⋙ 🐣 RT @whatchalooking I can’t believe how long it’s taking for people to start saying this. Of *course* Dmytro Firtash is paying for all this. That’s been clear from your reporting for a long time now.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JFVega4 With Trump and the GOP, “all roads will ultimately lead to Putin.”

🐣 RT @ChrisMurphyCT My guess is that Republicans are trying to rush through a trial with no fact finding because the facts they would find would make their defense of the president’s actions even more unsustainable (which is hard).

🐣 RT @aaronblake Raskin suggests Trump could be prosecuted for bribery, extortion or honest services fraud at a later date (once out of office, of course).

🐣 RT @gtconway3d “TV channel Rossiya 1 aired a segment entitled ‘Puppet Master and ‘Agent’—How to Understand Lavrov’s Meeting With Trump

🐣 RT @MarshallCohen Former Trump campaign official Rick Gates gets 45 days in jail, which he’ll serve on weekends, for his role in the Manafort-led illegal lobbying and tax fraud schemes. Judge praised Gates for telling Mueller about Trump-Russia contacts, an issue of “grave national importance.”

🐣 RT @ThePlumLineGS .@SenSchumer, responding to McConnell just now: ¤ “I did not hear a single argument as to why the witnesses I suggested should not give testimony….Why is the President so afraid to have these witnesses come testify?” ¤ It’s plainly obvious that the GOP argument is untenable:
⋙ 🐣 RT @ThePlumLineGS The spectacularly absurd new process arguments from @SenatorCollins and @SenJoniErnst show just how weak the Trump defense has become. ¤ Now that 71% support hearing from witnesses at Trump’s trial, it’s clear this epic gaslighting is failing. ¤ New piece:
⋙ WaPo, Greg Sargent: Susan Collins and Joni Ernst reveal weakness of Trump defense http://wapo.st/2swSowV

🐣 RT @SykesCharlie “And with every passing scandal since then, the cumulative weight of these sunk costs has made independence from Trump less, not more, likely. Because while the doctrine of sunk costs is a fallacy for economic actors, it’s very real for political actors.”
⋙ TheBulwark, Jonathan Last: Trump Is Forever http://bit.ly/35s2ayW
// The four reasons why Republicans won’t turn on Trump, no matter what.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Who is paying for Rudy’s time & travel? Critically important question. Still unanswered.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NatashaBertrand Rudy Giuliani is talking again, this time to @kwelkernbc. Says he will present his “findings” to DOJ re: Yovanovitch and Biden “all in good time.”
⋙ 🐣 “All in good time, my pretty. All in good time” – Wicked Witch of the West @NatashaBertrand

🐣 RT @SenSchumer Americans want a fair trial for President Trump. ¤ 7 in 10 say his top aides should testify. ¤ The witnesses we proposed have direct knowledge of why the aid to Ukraine was delayed. ¤ We must hear from them, and we must see the documents we requested.
🐣◕ RT @Politidope Mitch McConnell is on the wrong side of history & the present in trying to block witnesses from testifying in the impeachment trial. https://twitter.com/Politidope/status/1206957707858731008?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 📊 ABCNews: Most expect fair trial for Trump; 7 in 10 say let aides testify (POLL) http://abcn.ws/36Cb7Ga
// Seven in 10 say Trump should let his aides testify in a Senate trial.

HuffPo: Guess Which Of Trump’s Fibs Won Him PolitiFact’s ‘Lie Of The Year’ Award http://bit.ly/2sySpjW
// A Donald Trump lie has won the title for a third year. He’s the only person to ever win it more than once.

Since the Sept. 26 release of the whistleblower complaint, the president has claimed more than 80 times that the complaint is “fake, fraudulent, incorrect, ‘total fiction,’ ‘made up,’ and ‘sooo wrong,’” PolitiFact reported.

Despite the president’s repeated insistence that the report was filled with lies, the anonymous whistleblower actually got the call “almost completely” right, the fact-checking site’s managing editor, Katie Sanders, wrote.

NYT: We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated http://nyti.ms/2YX3Spt By George T. Conway III, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Rick Wilson
// Lincoln Project; The president and his enablers have replaced conservatism with an empty faith led by a bogus prophet;
George T. Conway III is an attorney in New York. Steve Schmidt is a Republican political strategist who worked for President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. John Weaver is a Republican strategist who worked for President George H.W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Gov. John Kasich. Rick Wilson is a Republican media consultant and author of “Everything Trump Touches Dies” and the forthcoming “Running Against the Devil: A Plot to Save America From Trump and Democrats From Themselves.” ~

… Another Union general, Winfield Scott Hancock, had only minutes to reinforce the line. America, the nation, the ideal, hung in the balance. Amid the fury of battle, he found the First Minnesota Volunteers.

They charged, and many of them fell, suffering a staggeringly high casualty rate. They held the line. They saved the Union. Four months later, Lincoln stood on that field of slaughter and said, “It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”

We look to Lincoln as our guide and inspiration. He understood the necessity of not just saving the Union, but also of knitting the nation back together spiritually as well as politically. But those wounds can be bound up only once the threat has been defeated. So, too, will our country have to knit itself back together after the scourge of Trumpism has been overcome.

🐣 RT @jimsciutto We’re seeing foreign election interference play out before our eyes: the president’s personal attorney seeking damaging information on political opponents from foreign sources of questionable credibility. The lesson of Mueller & impeachment appears to be: this is now acceptable.
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 She should consider suing. Rudy is lying about her. Saying he “forced her out” because she was corrupt is like Rudy saying he had to rob the bank because the bank president was corrupt. His arguments are pure nonsense. Rudy’s smears of Ambassador Yovanovitch are actionable.
⋙ 🚫 🐣 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 @davidaxelrod Does anyone believe that if Mulvaney and Bolton had exculpatory testimony, that the WH would withhold it?

📊 WaPo: Americans locked in partisan stalemate on removing Trump from office, Post-ABC poll finds http://wapo.st/2PXmfqa
⋙ Crosstabs: http://wapo.st/2M5CKzD 71% want Trump to produce witnesses

⭕ 16 Dec 2019

🐣 RT @TheAtlantic Under Donald Trump, America has become a “known unknown,” increasing the risk of crises from the Middle East to East Asia to Central America, says a new survey. @UriLF has the rundown:
⋙ TheAtlantic, Uri Friedman: America Is Making the World More Unstable http://bit.ly/2Z3JAus
// The country is now a known unknown, increasing the risk of crises from the Middle East to East Asia to Central America, a new survey suggests.

CNN: Rudy Giuliani said he needed US ambassador to Ukraine ‘out of the way’ http://cnn.it/2PuKn4D

🐣 RT @NewYorker Regardless of whether he is removed from office, Trump will always be a President who was impeached, and the two articles describing his oﬀenses will be scrutinized in textbooks.
⋙ NewYorker, Amy Davidson-Sorkin: Trump’s Impeachment Timeline and the 2020 Election http://bit.ly/2Ptotic

🐣 RT @JohnWDean ABSOLUTELY! Indeed, if the House cannot get a fair trial, the Articles should not go to the Senate, and the investigation of Trump must continue! If rules for a fair trial are not agreed upon make it a campaign issue everywhere!
⋙ 🐣 RT @tribelaw BREAKING NEWS: Schumer’s proposal to McConnell. If he rejects these reasonable ground rules & insists on a non-trial, the House should consider treating that as a breach of the Senate’s oath & withholding the Articles until the Senate reconsiders

WWaPo, Lawrence Tribe: Don’t let Mitch McConnell conduct a Potemkin impeachment trial http://wapo.st/34teOfZ

🐣 RT @ZevShalev This story seems to have broken through.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ZevShalev I went back to the show and cut a short clip from when I first reported about the events of Summer 2018 when Parnas funnelled almost $500,000 into the GOP and another $500,000 to Rudy Giuliani. A $1M hit on a U.S. Amb by a foreign agent. #ImpeachmentHearings @narativlive 💽 https://twitter.com/ZevShalev/status/1206792863943712769?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @dailybeanspod Tuesday’s @dailybeanspod is now live for our Patrons ✨¤ We discuss Chuck Schumer’s letter to Mitch McConnel, Dems push for Justin Amash as house manager, Flynn gets an earful, and Russia airing Giuliani’s OANN interview. [‼️]

🐣 RT @Terri_Kanefield (Thread) Over the Cliff Notes* ¤ *name suggested by clever Twitter Peeps. ¤ I read the Impeachment Report to Accompany H. Res. 775 http://bit.ly/34oGKl7
Ready for some nerdy fun?🤓 Let’s dive in. Spoiler: Yup, Trump committed “multiple federal crimes.” 📌 https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1206746867934982145?s=20
// one of Terri Kanefield’s awesome threads

🐣 RT @JeffreyGoldberg “There’s more support for impeaching Trump now than there was at the equivalent stage in the Watergate scandal— right after articles of impeachment were approved by the House Judiciary Committee. Rather than face impeachment, Nixon resigned.”
⋙ TheAtlantic, David Graham: The Big Untold Story of Impeachment? It’s Incredibly Popular. http://bit.ly/2Eob44D
// Referring to FoxPoll, apparently; The overlooked story of the past three months is that support for removing the president has remained strong.

🐣💙💙 RT @HeidiNBC What’s our duty — as the media — at this pivotal moment in our history and what does it mean to be fair and impartial? ¤ To tell people the truth, not both sides version of it. ¤ That is all.

🐣 RT @JakeTapper Former Gov Tom Ridge (R): “I am disappointed and troubled” that Trump would “ask a foreign leader of a troubled country who’s been besieged by an enemy of the United States, to do him a political favor. As far as I’m concerned, it is abuse of power.”
⋙ PittsburgPostGazette: Former Pa. Gov. Tom Ridge says Trump asking a foreign leader for a political favor is an ‘abuse of power’ http://bit.ly/2tswviZ

RawStory, Travis Getty: Here are 5 key takeaways from the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment report http://bit.ly/36H672X

1. “President Trump’s abuse of power encompassed both the constitutional offense of ‘Bribery’ and multiple federal crimes,” the report states. “He has betrayed the national interest, the people of this Nation, and should not be permitted to be above the law. It is therefore all the more vital that he be removed from office.”
2. The report found that Trump acted directly and indirectly to “corruptly” solicit Ukraine’s government to announce investigations into Joe Biden and “discredited theory promoted by Russia” that Ukraine, rather than Kremlin agents, had interfered in the 2016 election.
3. “Taken together, the articles charge that President Trump has placed his personal, political interests above our national security, our free and fair elections and our systems of checks and balances,” the report says.
4. The report also alleges that Trump engaged in further wrongdoing even as the impeachment inquiry was presented in public hearings. “President Trump also attempted to muzzle witnesses, threatening to damage their careers if they agreed to testify, and even attacked one witness during her live testimony before Congress,” the report notes.
5. “While there is no need for a crime to be proven in order for impeachment to be warranted,” the report adds, “here, President Trump’s scheme or course of conduct also encompassed other offenses, both constitutional and criminal in character, and it is appropriate for the Committee to recognize such offenses in assessing the question of impeachment.”

🚫🐣 RT @ChanelRion Watch ALL THREE of @OANN’s EXCLUSIVE Investigation w @RudyGiuliani + Ukrainian Witnesses. ¤ [link below] Firsthand Testimony, Documents, Affidavits, Bank Statements, Ukrainian Parliament, Latvian Money Laundering Division… ¤ We’ve only just begun.
🚫⋙ OANN: OAN Investigates http://bit.ly/2RYy95W
// EXCLUSIVE: Watch the unraveling of the biggest political scandal in US history. Travel with OAN’s Chanel Rion and Rudy Giuliani to Budapest and Kiev to capture explosive first-hand interviews with key Ukrainian officials highlighting DNC collaborated foreign interference into the 2016 presidential election. Hear the shocking first hand testimony of former Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin on why he was fired and what corruption he uncovered. ¤ Watch all 3 parts FREE below.
// disinfo

🐣 RT @ScottMStedman This is an American disgrace.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ShimonPro More Rudy Giuliani. This to The NY Times. Mr. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, described how he passed along to Mr. Trump “a couple of times” accounts about how the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch, had frustrated efforts that could be politically helpful to Mr. Trump.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @kenvogel NEW: @RudyGiuliani early this year briefed TRUMP on claims that YOVANOVITCH was impeding investigations into the BIDENS & 2016. ¤ @POTUS then connected GIULIANI with @SecPompeo to discuss. ¤ The interactions likely led to Yovanovitch’s ouster, Giuliani says.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @kenvogel GIULIANI has briefed several members of Congress on the findings of his interviews in Europe with Ukrainian prosecutors about the BIDENS, 2016, etc. ¤ He predicted that the info. could constitute “a perfect defense” for TRUMP in a Senate impeachment trial.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 Way to breathless. I hope you have read Adam Entous in The New Yorker. Rudy’s been cavorting with opportunists and fabulists, all of them.
⋙⋙⋙ NYT, Kenneth Vogel: Giuliani Provides Details of What Trump Knew About Ambassador’s Removal http://nyti.ms/2PsgBxl
// Rudolph Giuliani said in an interview that he briefed the president “a couple of times” about Marie Yovanovitch, the envoy to Ukraine, setting her recall in motion.

Tumblr, TessaTheorist: Blacklist Timeline http://bit.ly/2RYjCY3
// updated 6/20/(2019?)

🐣 RT @RepSwalwell This week the House will vote on the impeachment of @realDonaldTrump. Our case is powerful and uncontradicted. But most remarkable, it was built with ZERO documents provided by the @WhiteHouse. Just imagine what else we would know if Trump didn’t obstruct. #WhatIsTrumpHiding

🐣 RT @anders_aslund When you think that Giuliani cannot fall lower in moral degradation, he succeeds in being ever worse. How can this blatant criminal accuse the US Embassy of refusing visas for his blatant criminals? Is he completely dement on top of his criminality?
🐣 RT @BradMossEsq Even Ingraham isn’t buying this
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn Rudy Giuliani on Yovanovitch: I didn’t need her out of the way, I forced her out because she’s corrupt 💽 https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/status/1206780625530900481?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @VeraMBergen NEW: Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a deal in which a US company co-owned by a former donor to Rick Perry got the rights to develop a huge complex of oil and gas fields while he was Energy Secretary 📌 https://twitter.com/VeraMBergen/status/1206756359569629184?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @VeraMBergen In a draft of the complaint obtained by TIME, Naftogaz alleges that the Ukrainian govt acted illegally and with bias when it granted the oil and gas fields to the company owned by one of Rick Perry’s longtime allies and financial backers, @shustry reports
⋙ TIME: Exclusive: Lawsuit Raises Questions About Rick Perry’s Role in Ukraine’s Energy Sector http://bit.ly/35t9lab

Vox, Sean Collins: Giuliani returns from Ukraine with new, very questionable “evidence” that the Bidens committed “multiple crimes” http://bit.ly/2M2OyT1
// As Trump faces impeachment, Giuliani returns to television to expound upon the conspiracy theories that lead to the impeachment inquiry.

🐣 RT @Hardball On Senate Republicans mulling a speedy impeachment trial, Leon Panetta says “I think what history will say is that this is the most depressing moment in the history of the United States Senate if they allow that to take place.”
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, Hardball: Leon Panetta: ‘Most depressing’ moment in Senate history if impeachment trial dies quickly http://on.msnbc.com/2r3DP3G
// On Senate Republicans mulling a speedy impeachment trial, Leon Panetta says “I think what history will say is that this is the most depressing moment in the history of the United States Senate if they allow that to take place.”

TheBulwark, AB Stoddard: Why Is Mitch McConnell Afraid of This Man? http://bit.ly/35uqMar The rush to be done with impeachment before any more news connects Russian money to President Trump

NYT: Moderate Democrats Line Up Behind Impeachment as House Prepares to Vote http://nyti.ms/2sxPMyZ
// Several vulnerable freshmen who had expressed reservations about the effort said they would vote to impeach President Trump, despite the political risks.

RawStory: McConnell trashed by former solicitor general: He is ‘scared silly’ of the trial introducing new facts http://bit.ly/2qXg9h9 Neal Katyal

🐣 RT @EricBoehlert 76% paying attention. doesn’t really fit common media narrative that impeachment is a nonstarter and Dems have failed
⋙ 🐣 RT @BrianStelter Per CNN’s new poll: How closely have you been following the impeachment proceedings against Trump?
Very closely: 42%
Somewhat closely: 34%
Not too closely: 12%
Not closely at all: 11%

🐣 “Support for impeachment” includes people who think Trump committed impeachable offenses, but we are getting close to an election so they oppose. The polls that ask about wrongdoing are more informative.

WaPo Editorial: Will any Republicans show respect for the Constitution? http://wapo.st/2sxJuiR

NYT, Michelle Goldberg: On Tuesday, March for Impeachment http://nyti.ms/35ooHwB
// The anti-Trump majority needs to make itself seen.

🐣 RT @HeidiNBC “Trump’s numerous and flagrant abuses of power are precisely what the Framers had in mind as grounds for impeaching and removing a president.”
⋙ ⋙ 🐣 RT @HeidiNBC “his dereliction in protecting … the 2020 election from Russian disinformation and renewed interference, arouse once again the Framers’ most profound fears that powerful members of govt would become, in Hamilton’s words, “the mercenary instruments of foreign corruption.”
⋙ NYT: Hundreds of Historians Speak Out on Impeachment http://nyti.ms/36GRT1Z
// Over 750 historians — including Robert Caro and Ken Burns — signed onto a statement condemning President Trump’s ‘numerous and flagrant abuses of power.’

WaPo, Eugene Robinson: Nixon was bad. Trump is much worse. http://wapo.st/35uzmWu

🐣 RT @NatashaBertrand Russian commentators are also drawing parallels between Trump and ousted Ukrainian president Yanukovych, who fled to Rostov-on-Don in Russia upon his ouster in 2014. “Should we get another apartment in Rostov ready?” joked one, per @JuliaDavisNews..
⋙ DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Russia’s State TV Calls Trump Their ‘Agent’ http://bit.ly/2qZAkez
// Russian commentators note, rightly, that “sooner or later, the Democrats will come back into power,” and they’re already joking about offering Trump asylum.
● “Russia’s state television uses every opportunity to demoralize the Ukrainians with talking points based on Trump’s distaste for their beleaguered country.”
● “Putin has expressed undisguised delight with the crusade led by Trump and Giuliani to whitewash Moscow’s interference in the U.S. elections.”

WaPo, David Ignatius: Rudy Inc. http://wapo.st/2M2UN9o
// How Giuliani’s far-flung business interests have intertwined with his role as Trump’s global fixer

CBSNews: Schumer sends letter to McConnell to set framework for Senate impeachment trial http://cbsn.ws/2qWrhuI

≣ CNN: READ: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s letter requesting witnesses in Senate impeachment trial http://cnn.it/2tp27py
// Senate Minority Leader Schumer wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Sunday evening, calling for at least four witnesses to testify in a Senate impeachment trial. Those witnesses include: acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, former national security adviser John Bolton, senior adviser to the acting White House chief of staff Robert Blair and Office of Management and Budget official Michael Duffey.

WaPo: Michael Flynn’s sentencing set for Jan. 28 after judge rejects his attacks on the FBI, Justice Department http://wapo.st/38JViza

🐣 RT @2dumfounded Whoa. This New Yorker story by Adam Entous about Lutsenko naturally touches on Shokin and I would suggest it is a MUST READ for anyone who wants to better understand Rudy’s shenigans.
⋙ 🐣 RT @jaysbookman This is a great story, probably the definitive story on the Burisma/Biden/Giuliani controversy. It doesn’t reflect well on Hunter Biden, who clearly traded on his dad’s name, nor on the ex-VP, who apparently chose not to know. But there’s no evidence of criminality. Also …. 📌 https://twitter.com/jaysbookman/status/1206590608699248646?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @jaysbookman … it depicts Giulliani as a crazed house cat chasing a laser beam, pouncing wherever shady Ukrainians aimed it and always coming up empty, without ever understanding why. He gets played for a fool, because he IS a fool….
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @jaysbookman … He keeps pressuring the US Justice Department to investigate his “evidence” against Biden and the Clintons, and he keeps failing because his “evidence” is transparent bullshit. If even Bill Barr won’t touch it, you know how groundless it must be….
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @jaysbookman … At one point, Rudy even tells the New Yorker reporter it might have been Joe Biden, not Russia, who hacked the DNC computers, and that Biden arranged $40 million in illegal donations from Ukrainian oligarchs to Hillary. (I bet Trump is hearing the same shit, but believes it.)
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @jaysbookman … It also tells you a lot that having failed to interest Trump’s DOJ, failed to interest Senate Republicans, and failed to interest even Fox News, Rudy is reduced to peddling his nutso conspiracies via OAN, which is Breitbart for people too stupid to read.
🐣 RT @adamentous Giuliani promised Lutsenko a meeting with Attorney General Barr. When Giuliani realized that setting up the meeting could get him in trouble, he decided instead to launch a smear campaign using pro-Trump media to pressure DoJ/FBI to investigate the Bidens
🐣 RT @ShimonPro !!!! The quote below from Giuliani is a stunning admission. ¤ “I believed that I needed Yovanovitch out of the way,” he said. “She was going to make the investigations difficult for everybody.”
⋙💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ NewYorker, Adam Entous: The Ukrainian Prosecutor Behind Trump’s Impeachment http://bit.ly/2PpXmoi All the background on Ukraine, Bidens and Giuliani ~ great journalism @adamentous
// 12/23/2019; print issue; How the efforts of Yuriy Lutsenko and Rudy Giuliani to smear Joe Biden led to a Presidential crisis.
⋙ See under Entire Articles: NYr Entous Lutsenko 12-16-2019

NYT, Ben Casselman and Karl Russell: There Are Economic Warning Signs for Trump in the Midwest http://nyti.ms/35o86Jg

💙💙 JustSecurity: Federal Criminal Offenses and the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump http://bit.ly/2RX9kqZ by Andrew Weissmann, Sam Berger, Randall Eliason, Barbara McQuade, Paul Seamus Ryan, Susan Simpson, Gary Stein and Michael Stern

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo, Greg Sargent: Democrats just made a strong case that Trump committed crimes. Now what? http://wapo.st/38HEEQw Bribery. Honest services fraud. Wire fraud.

The case the report makes is as follows. Federal statute makes “bribery” a crime if a public official “demands” or “seeks” anything “of value personally,” in return for performing “an official act,” and all of this has been done “corruptly.”

The report notes that Trump’s plot fits all these criteria. Trump sought announcements of investigations that would smear a political rival and help absolve Russia of 2016 electoral sabotage on his behalf. Trump directly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to do this, and numerous texts show U.S. ambassadors negotiating with Ukraine for a statement announcing it, which was confirmed by testimony from ringleader Gordon Sondland and others.

Those were “things of value” to Trump. His own lawyer Rudolph Giuliani openly said they would be “very helpful” to Trump himself. And we know from those texts and from extensive testimony that Trump conditioned two official acts — a White House meeting and the granting of military aid — on getting those things of value.

Trump did all this “corruptly” — he subverted our foreign policy to his personal and political ends. The talking point that Trump cared about “corruption” is laughable: Trump, Giuliani and Sondland sought only investigations that would help him politically; the Pentagon had recommended releasing the aid; and there is zero evidence that any of this amounted to a policy judgment on Trump’s part in any meaningful sense.

The report also argues Trump committed related crimes: “Honest services fraud,” because he defrauded the American people of honest service as a public official, and a subsidiary of that, “wire fraud,” because he communicated his corrupt scheme over a phone line.

Randall Eliason, a professor of white-collar criminal law at George Washington University who has just posted an extensive new analysis at the Just Security website about the relevance of bribery statutes to Trump’s misdeeds, told me the House report is correct as a matter of law.

Meanwhile, former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade has just posted a separate case that Trump committed honest services fraud.

All of this has numerous implications, none of them particularly good.

First, this should prompt us to revisit the Justice Department’s failure to launch a criminal investigation of the whistleblower complaint laying out much of this corrupt scheme. Remember, the CIA’s general counsel made a criminal referral to the Justice Department, which declined to investigate.A full reckoning with this scandal must also get to the bottom of that decision, particularly now that Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, is working overtime to discredit the Russia investigation, just as Trump pressured Ukraine to help him do.

Presumably McConnell would not argue that his own Senate’s trial is also illegitimate, so that excuse is now out the window. So if Senate Republicans refuse to hear from these witnesses, after Trump corruptly blocked them, good luck defending the proceedings in the court of public opinion.

And if they do go through with that, but Trump wins reelection anyway, good luck to the rest of us.

WaPo, Jonathan Capehart: The deplorable hypocrisy of Lindsey Graham and the Republican Party http://wapo.st/2swRtMW

🐣 RT @RepMarkMeadows I find it amazing for Chairman Schiff to claim he didn’t know of FISA abuse evidence. The whole Nunes memo laid it out. Schiff saw the same evidence we did. He chose to ignore it and scoff at it, and many in the media elevated him and took his side. They were wrong.
⋙ 🐣 The FISA abuse dealt exclusively with Carter Page after he left the campaign. The FBI investigation was based on a statement Papadopoulos made to an Australian diplomat. Mueller was appointed by a GOP DAG after Trump fired the FBI Director.

🐣 RT @ZevShalev #MoscowMitch is in a pickle courtesy of Chuck Schumer These witnesses and their lack of testimony are a big part of Article 2. If he doesn’t call Bolton et al, McConnell will be aiding and abetting, if not conspiring with, the President in obstructing congress. @NarativLive
⋙ 🐣 RT @ZevShalev Schumer wants Bolton and Mulvaney to testify in the senate trial as Dems threaten to hold back the articles of impeachment from the Senate unless they can guarantee a fair trial. @Narativlive [letter:] https://twitter.com/ZevShalev/status/1206507198932750336?s=20/photo/1-3

🐣 RT @tribelaw That’s my point exactly: Vote for the Articles of Impeachment in the House, then hold them like a Sword of Damocles over Trump and McConnell until he agrees to abide by his oath and hold a fair trial in the Senate, not a Trumpian whitewash. @ianbassin & @JRubinBlogger are right.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ianbassin There’s a growing view that unless McConnell agrees to hold a fair trial, the House should vote to impeach but not send the articles to the Senate. If the Senate won’t do its job honestly, they shouldn’t be allowed to do it dishonestly.

WaPo FactChecker: President Trump has made 15,413 false or misleading claims over 1,055 days http://wapo.st/34ti0Ie 🍄🍄🍄🍄 ¤ 🍄🍄🍄🍄 ¤ 🍄🍄🍄🍄

🐣 RT @KenDilanianNBC It’s hard to overstate how much Webster is respected, even revered, in the national security community. His criticisms of Barr here will reverberate. “I Headed the F.B.I. and C.I.A. There’s a Dire Threat to the Country I Love.”
🐣 RT @ChrisAlbertoLaw This Is An Extraordinary Alarm! ¤ William Webster, a former federal judge, director of the FBI from 1978 to 1987, & the CIA from 1987 to 1991 issues a serious warning: ¤ Trump, AG Barr & Giuliani are engaged in efforts that will destroy our democratic institutions & the U.S.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ChrisAlbertoLaw Former Director of FBI & CIA: ¤ Trump’s & AG Barr’s unrelenting lies & baseless vilification against the FBI, CIA, & DOJ IG is a lethal threat to our constitutional republic. ¤ “This is about the rule of law.” GOP & Dems “should defend it above all else.”
🐣 RT @DanRather We know what is happening is wrong, very wrong. It is incumbent on those who have positions of credibility to speak. Here William Webster with its impeccable credentials pulls no punches. A must read, and share…
🐣 RT @Mimirocah1 This is patriotism. William Webster – former judge, only person to serve as head of CIA & FBI (under Dems & Repubs), & a friend of Barr & Giuliani, speaks out. Thank you.
⋙ 💙 NYT, William Webster: The F.B.I. Is Not Broken http://nyti.ms/38KWtyg Mr. Webster is a former federal judge and the former director of both the F.B.I. and the C.I.A.
// And President Trump and William P. Barr are wrong to say that it is.

⭕ 15 Dec 2019

🚫🐣 RT @RudyGiuliani Budapest | Kiev | Vienna ¤ After hundreds of hours & months of research, I have garnered witnesses & documents which reveal the truth behind this impeachment, which includes NO wrongdoing by @realDonaldTrump. ¤ These threads only touch the surface. Read & watch all. More to come. 📌 https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1206290547360579587?s=20
// disinfo

🐣 RT @tribelaw BREAKING NEWS: Schumer’s proposal to McConnell. If he rejects these reasonable ground rules & insists on a non-trial, the House should consider treating that as a breach of the Senate’s oath & withholding the Articles until the Senate reconsiders

🐣 RT @NormOrnstein Perfect that Trump would pick as his advocate the corrupt Florida AG who took an illegal $25,000 effective bribe to shut off the investigation of Trump University
// Pam Bondi

🐣 RT @neal_katyal It’s not just @justinamash’s politics in not being a democrat. It’s that he has demonstrated a serious and smart understanding of the Constitution and Trump’s wrongdoing. I hope this happens.
⋙ 🐣 RT @rachaelmbade SCOOP: 30 freshman House Democrats are trying 2 draft Rep. @JustinAmash (I) as an impeachment manager 4 the Senate trial of Trump ¤ Pelosi makes the call, but these Dems want a bipartisan showing & Amash is among the most conservative members in the House
⋙⋙ WaPo: Freshman Democrats push for Amash as impeachment manager http://wapo.st/2EmCacq

📊 FiveThirtyEight: Democratic Primary Race (just now) http://53eig.ht/38FTcQF
● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1206463238029955076?s=20/photo/1
// Biden 26.4, Sanders 17.3, Warren 14.8, Buttigieg 9.4

🐣 RT @CraigCaplan House Judiciary Committee 658-page report on their articles of impeachment against President Donald John Trump resolution was filed in the House. http://bit.ly/ https://twitter.com/CraigCaplan/status/1206447686985175047?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 💙💙 📔 Report: House Judiciary Committee report on their articles of impeachment against President Donald John Trump http://bit.ly/2Ek2rIa 658p

Conclusion (Obstruction): As the Investigating Committees concluded, “it would be hard to imagine a stronger or more complete case of obstruction than that demonstrated by the President since the [impeachment] inquiry began.” [Footnote:] 941 In the history of our Republic, no President has obstructed Congress like President Trump. If President Nixon’s obstruction of Congress raised a slippery slope concern, we now find ourselves at the bottom of the slope, surveying the damage to our Constitution.

That damage is extraordinary. As explained above, and as set forth in Article II, President Trump has “sought to arrogate to himself the right to determine the propriety, scope, and nature of an impeachment inquiry into his own conduct, as well as the unilateral prerogative to deny any and all information to the House of Representatives in the exercise of its ‘sole Power of Impeachment.’”942 This abuse of the Presidential office, moreover, “served to cover up the President’s own repeated misconduct and to seize and control the power of impeachment—and thus to nullify a vital constitutional safeguard vested solely in the House of Representatives.”943 If President Trump is left unchecked, we will send an alarming message to future Presidents.

In word and deed, President Trump has sought to write the Impeachment Clause out of the Constitution. If his excuses for that conduct are accepted, then every future President can choose to ignore House subpoenas, and a bulwark against tyranny will be undone. This time, courageous and patriotic public servants defied the President’s direction and offered testimony about his corrupt solicitation and inducement of foreign interference in our elections. Next time, we may not be so fortunate, and a President may perpetrate abuses that remain unknown or unprovable. That is exactly what the Framers feared most as they designed the Office of the President. It is what they warned against in their deliberations, and what they sought to prevent by authorizing impeachments. We are the inheritors of that legacy—of a Republic, if we can keep it.

🐣 RT @RBReich What do these newspapers have in common?
NY Times
Washington Post
USA Today
LA Times
Salt Lake Tribune
Tampa Bay Times
Orlando Sentinel
Boston Globe
NY Daily News
Chicago Sun-Times
Philadelphia Inquirer
SF Chronicle
Their editorial boards have all called for impeachment.

Newsweek: Rudy Giuliani Shares His Ukraine Findings in Series of Tweets http://bit.ly/2EjVlUd
↥ ↧
🚫 🐣 RT @RudyGiuliani Budapest | Kiev | Vienna
After hundreds of hours & months of research, I have garnered witnesses & documents which reveal the truth behind this impeachment, which includes NO wrongdoing by @realDonaldTrump. ¤ These threads only touch the surface. Read & watch all. More to come.
📌 https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1206290349422981120?s=20

🐣 RT @Jacksaurus3 God I love Robert De Niro – ¤ “The president is supposed to set an example of trying to do the right thing. Not be a nasty little bitch. Because that’s what he is. He’s a petulant little punk. There’s not one thing that I see in him or his family, not any redeeming qualities.”
⋙ TheHill: Robert De Niro blasts Trump as a “nasty little bitch,” says he would never play the president http://hill.cm/nhSpJe6 http://bit.ly/

🐣 RT @stuartstevens What Republican Senators need to realize is that just because others are breaking their oath of office doesn’t change the reality that the responsibility to uphold oath is still individual. Each took the oath. There’s no out clause based on group failure.
⋙ FoxNewsSunday Chris Wallace asks Pam Bondi how the Senate can do impartial justice when Senator McConnell is taking cues from the White House: “We should be working hand-in-hand with them.” #FNS #FoxNews #Impeachment 💽 https://twitter.com/stuartpstevens/status/1206262994960818176?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @SenWhitehouse If Republicans aren’t “even trying to pretend” to be fair jurors on impeachment, does that mean they won’t take the oath?
⋙ CNN: ‘I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here’: Graham predicts Trump impeachment will ‘die quickly’ in Senate http://cnn.it/2YPL3Vi

✅ WaPo FactChecker, Glenn Kessler: 🍄🍄 The biggest Pinocchios of 2019 🍄🍄 http://wapo.st/2EjDrki Trump is closing in on 15,000 falsehoods

WaPo: Schumer calls for testimony from Mulvaney, Bolton in proposal to GOP on parameters for Trump impeachment trial http://wapo.st/36BqXAJ

🐣📊 54% favoring impeachment is more than favored Nixon’s when he resigned. As for it being more partisan now, I don’t think so. There were liberals & conservatives in both parties. Remember the Southern Democrats? Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” had begun, but took years to play out. ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1206388298425552896?s=20/photo/1
● horizontal https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1206402433779453952?s=20/photo/1
⇈ ⇊
🐣◕ RT @Rschooley Bizarre that approval Trump’s removal is polling similarly at the start of the process as Nixon’s was at the end and yet it’s still presented as if Democrats are the ones overplaying their hand. https://twitter.com/Rschooley/status/1206330979075256321?s=20/photo/1
// Nixon approval Trump approval

WaPo, Max Boot: The only principle Republicans have left is partisanship http://wapo.st/2Pr2SHk

🐣📊 RT @FoxNewsSunday Fox News Poll: Has the President abused power? Obstructed Congress? Committed bribery?#FNS #FoxNews #Polls #Impeachment https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/1206222424590704640?s=20/photo/1
Yes/No: Abused His Power 53/38; Obstructed Congress 48/34; Committed Bribery 45/37
↥ ↧
🐣📊 RT @FoxNewsSunday FOX News Sunday debuted brand news exclusive polls on impeachment. 50% of registered voters support impeaching the President. #FNS #FoxNews #Polls #Impeachment https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/1206222350506692609?s=20/photo/1
// Impeach and Remove 50%; Impeach, Don’t Remove 4%; Not Impeach 41%

WaPo: Senate GOP accused of violating oath to be impartial jurors http://wapo.st/36BqXAJ
// inside title: Senate GOP defends Trump, despite oath to be impartial impeachment jurors

⭕ 14 Dec 2019

🐣 RT @brianklaas [To @RudyGiuliani] I study coups. The impeachment process is the opposite of a coup in just about every way imaginable. And if you think this is a coup, then you are—I can’t stress this enough—an idiot. If you’d like to educate yourself and stop being an idiot, read this:
⋙ WaPo, Brian Klaas (10/30): I study coups. This is not a coup, Mr. President. http://wapo.st/2PKJCn0
// 10/30/2019

🐣 RT @lawrencehurley Justice Scalia’s writing partner:
⋙ 🐣 RT @BryanAGarner I’ve always called myself Republican. I keep my Twitter feed generally apolitical & will continue to do so. Generally. But as of today, I’m switching parties. Over impeachment. The Republican positions aren’t consonant with intellectual honesty. As of today, I’m an Independent.

🐣 RT @kurteichenwald 1. Based on rules of impeachment trials, Chief Justice Roberts, who will preside over any impeachment trial of Trump, must exclude both @senatemajldr McConnell and @LindseyGrahamSC from playing any role in the proceedings. Or demolish the credibility of @Scotus forever… 📌 https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/1206026186243092480?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @kurteichenwald 2…this is not even a close call. The only way any other decision can be made is to, once again, indulge the @GOP’s consistent abandonment of constitutional principles, permit perjurious oaths, accept lies, and once again treat the Constitution as an array of loopholes….
⋙ 🐣 RT @kurteichenwald 3…Roberts must administer an oath to every Senator. The oath’s words are,”I solemnly swear (or affirm) that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: so help me God.”…

🐣 RT @JeffMerkley I am. Mitch McConnell made very clear that his allegiance is to Donald Trump and not to country, rule of law, or the Constitution. The Senate owes the American people a serious trial that shows that nobody, not even a president, is above the law.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ThePlumLineGS Why isn’t every Senate Democrat out there *right now* denouncing this in the most forceful terms possible?
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @ThePlumLineGS McConnell just confirmed to Sean Hannity that the trial will be shaped 100% in accord with Trump’s political needs. ¤ This Hannity interview is a horror. It belongs in a time capsule for future generations studying the Trump-era destruction of our system:
⋙⋙⋙ WaPo, Greg Sargent: McConnell’s awful Hannity interview shows power of Fox News’s disinformation http://wapo.st/36F2bzY

🐣 RT @kurteichenwald What I do not get: The Senate could acquit Trump. They have the power, they have the Constitutional authority. But instead, they throw away the Constitution, admit they will lie in taking their oaths, just to say “We will not listen, we will not convict, we are not objective.”
⋙ 🐣 Their message: Our Constitution is a joke. An Oath to be impartial is a joke. Our form of Government is a joke.

DailyBeast, Margaret Carlson: This Is the Week Trump’s Crimes Finally Started to Catch Up With Him http://bit.ly/2PmofJx
// The impeachment hearings have confirmed that the executive and legislative branches are dead to us. All that’s left is the judiciary, and it could be Trump’s undoing.

DailyBeast, Will Sommer: Lindsey Graham Invites Rudy Giuliani to Push Biden-Ukraine Conspiracy Theories in Senate Committee http://bit.ly/2PJL3lH
// “Rudy, if you want to come and tell us what you found, I’ll be glad to talk to you,” Graham says, adding, “I don’t know what he was up to when he was in the Ukraine.”

🐣 RT @joncoopertweets GOPers in purple districts who will vote NO to impeach:
Don Bacon
Mike Bost
Steve Chabot
Rodney Davis
Mario Diaz-Balart
Brian Fitzpatrick
Jim Hagedorn ✅ ~ Ours
Jaime Herrera Beutler
David Joyce
John Katko
Brian Mast
Pete Stauber
Elise Stefanik
Bryan Steil
Mike Turner
Fred Upton
Lee Zeldin

🐣 RT @HeidiNBC THREAD: (Pls read and RT) ¤ Facts behind Trump’s main defense he was withholding aid to Ukraine to address “corruption:”
1.Trump approved same aid in ’17 and ‘18
2.In spring of 2019, Zelensky won on “ANTI-CORRUPTION” platform.
📌 https://twitter.com/HeidiNBC/status/1205853592432922624?s=20

NYT Editorial: Impeach. http://nyti.ms/2PmgkMr

IN THE END, the story told by the two articles of impeachment approved on Friday morning by the House Judiciary Committee is short, simple and damning: President Donald Trump abused the power of his office by strong-arming Ukraine, a vulnerable ally, holding up hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid until it agreed to help him influence the 2020 election by digging up dirt on a political rival.

… He made it impossible for Congress to carry out fully its constitutionally mandated oversight role, and, in doing so, he violated the separation of powers, a safeguard of the American republic.

To resist the pull of partisanship, Republicans and Democrats alike ought to ask themselves the same question: Would they put up with a Democratic president using the power of the White House this way? Then they should consider the facts, the architecture and aspirations of the Constitution and the call of history. In that light, there can be only one responsible judgment: to cast a vote to impeach, to send a message not only to this president but to future ones.

… Mr. Trump has been committing arguably impeachable offenses since the moment he entered the Oval Office, including his acceptance of foreign money at his many businesses; his violations of campaign-finance law in paying hush money to a woman who claimed to have had a sexual affair with him; and, of course, his obstructions of justice in the Russia investigation, which were documented extensively by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.

… [What] changed in September [was] when a whistle-blower’s complaint, initially suppressed by the Justice Department, revealed the outline of Mr. Trump’s Ukraine scheme. That made it impossible to ignore the president’s lawlessness because it sounded an alarm that he was seeking to subvert the next election, depriving the voters of their right to check his behavior.

⭕ 13 Dec 2019

🐣 Being a “Lieutenant Colonel” sure beats being an “Impeached President”

WaPo, Hannah Knowles: ‘We’ve seen enough’: Editorial boards weigh in on impeachment http://wapo.st/35q0kyK

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance They let you do it when you’re above the law. You can do anything.
⋙ 🐣 RT @nytimes Rudy Giuliani has provided free personal legal advice to President Trump for the past 20 months. But his work was not included on the president’s annual financial disclosure filed in May that requires such gifts to be publicly listed. https://nyti.ms/2PJUeSV

WaPo, Dana Milbank: Impeachment is rare. Republicans’ histrionics are historic. http://wapo.st/2EjCdpw

WaPo, Isaac Stanley-Becker: Fact-based impeachment can’t penetrate the pro-Trump Web http://wapo.st/2tiduQ6

WaPo, Paul Waldman: The entire Republican Party is becoming a Russian asset http://wapo.st/36u0Tr6 //➔ very depressing that a country with a GDP the size of NY State could, with a small investment in Active Measures, capture the leading parties of the US and UK

🐣 RT @NicolleDWallace The gop performance yesterday should put to rest any doubts among Democrats that Joe Biden is a lethal threat to Trumps re-election prospects. Here’s why: conspiracy theories are gop version of bringing out the China for special guests – we don’t do it for just anyone.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Pam Bondi, the Florida AG who Trump’s now defunct charitable trust made a highly questionable political donation to, will play a lead role in his impeachment defense. She’s also a registered agent for Qatar.
⋙ MSNBC, Steve Benen: Despite earlier controversy, Pam Bondi joining Team Trump http://on.msnbc.com/2PkHgMy

🐣 RT @Mimirocah1 This is going to be Russian propoganda from Pro-Russian, anti-Ukraine sources who are only interested in tearing our democracy apart. As with any reporting, I am sure good reporters will consider the source.
🐣 RT @rebeccaballhaus New: When Giuliani returned from Kyiv on Sat, Trump called him as his plane was still taxiing & asked: “What did you get?” Giuliani replied: “More than you can imagine.” W/@bykowicz@tggrove on Giuliani doubling down, even as friends urged him to lay low:
⋙ WSJ: ‘Just Having Fun’: Giuliani Doubles Down on Ukraine Probes http://on.wsj.com/35hNUZG
// Trump’s personal attorney escalates his push for investigations—the effort that helped spark impeachment inquiry

🐣 RT @mikememoli .@RepValDemings calls for @senatemajldr to recuse himself. ¤ “The moment Senator McConnell takes the oath of impartiality required by the Constitution, he will be in violation of that oath. He has effectively promised to let President Trump manage his own impeachment trial.”

🐣 RT @MitchellReports .@JohnBrennan: “We’re sending a signal to the world that all those things the United States said for so many years about the importance of following the rule of law, the importance of not having corrupt government officials, that has been laid to waste.” #AMRstaff

◕ MSNBC, MorningJoe (Sep): Numbers contradict President Trump’s reason for withholding aid from Ukraine http://on.msnbc.com/2sqBjEI
● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1205539711198076928?s=20/photo/1
// 9/25/2019; aid to Ukraine; Willie Geist breaks down how President Trump has shifted his explanation on withholding Ukraine aid. European institutions have funded $425.2 million in gross overseas development assistance for Ukraine, while the U.S. has contributed $204.4 million, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

FiveThirtyEight: Trump Popularity ~ just now http://53eig.ht/2MJpIt2 ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1205537204711436288?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: House Judiciary panel passes two articles of impeachment against Trump http://wapo.st/2Ph65sI

NYT, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman: For Trump, Impeachment May Be a Political Plus but Also a Personal Humiliation http://nyti.ms/34jiKQe
// As the House moves toward what even he says is an inevitable vote to impeach him for high crimes and misdemeanors, President Trump toggles between self-pity and combativeness.

WaPo, Aaron Blake: McConnell indicates he’ll let Trump’s lawyers dictate Trump’s impeachment trial http://wapo.st/2so0IyW
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @nedmiller In “How Democracies Die,” Professors describe how, in failing democracies, “the referees of the democratic game were brought over to the government’s side, providing the incumbent with both a shield against constitutional challenges and a powerful & ‘legal’ weapon…”

NYT, Michelle Goldberg: Democracy Grief Is Real http://nyti.ms/2PlIyqR
// Seeing what Trump is doing to America, many find it hard to fight off despair.

WaPo, Greg Sargent: McConnell’s awful Hannity interview shows power of Fox News’s disinformation http://wapo.st/35mGWSY

⭕ 12 Dec 2019

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Nothing could be more conclusive proof of Trump’s guilt http://wapo.st/2YJ1Jh0

🐣 RT @Susan_Hennessey And a reminder that when the head of the National Security Division saw the transcript he independently made a referral to the Criminal Division.
⋙ 🐣 RT @K8brannen A reminder: The CIA General Counsel made a CRIMINAL REFERRAL to the Justice Department based on the whistleblower complaint and the details of the July 25 phone call.
⋙⋙ NBCNews (Oct): CIA’s top lawyer made ‘criminal referral’ on complaint about Trump Ukraine call http://nbcnews.to/2sobtRI
// 10/4/2019; Experts are raising questions about why the Justice Department did not open an investigation.

🐣 RT @donwinslow And the list is growing:
The Washington Post: Impeach
Los Angeles Times: Impeach
Boston Globe: Impeach
Orlando Sentinel: Impeach
Philadelphia Inquirer: Impeach
USA Today: Impeach

🐣 RT @justinamash You don’t impeach a president for ordinary crimes and misdemeanors. You impeach a president for high crimes and misdemeanors. ¤ You don’t look to statutes. You look to whether his behavior involves abusing power, violating the public trust, or using his office for personal gain.

🐣 RT @ EvanMcMullin I’m quite tired of listening to House Republicans complain disingenuously about process. If our processes were so important to them, they’d demand that the president comply with congressional subpoenas, and that our elections be protected.

MSNBC, RachelMaddow: Impeachment report moves newspapers, triggers wave of editorials http://on.msnbc.com/2Pgipt8
// Rachel Maddow shares highlights from editorials in major American newspapers calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump, including from some papers that were discouraging of impeachment until the House published its impeachment report.

🐣 RT @Acyn “What we’ve now seen is the foreman of the jury fixing the outcome of the trial with the defendant’s lawyer” 💽 https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1205358301795385345?s=20/photo/1 [Joyce Vance ]

WaPo: Impeachment exposes the widening gap between Republicans and the truth http://wapo.st/38BcQ0g

🐣 RT @carolecadwalla This is not the worst. Worst is yet to come. But a story: 2 months ago, I hit deep low. Realised: journalism had failed. Authorities had failed. Politics had failed. But..now I think: fuck that shit. The EUref was illegally conducted. That’s just fact. And one day, it will matter
🐣 [To @CaroleCadwalla] But, for what little it’s worth, you have shined 🕯
// as Boris Johnson wins in UK; tag: Brexit

🐣 RT @Acyn Swalwell goes after Collins 💽 https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1205301369483087872?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn Collins goes after Swalwell 💽 https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1205302822532612096?s=20/photo/1

🐣💙💙 RT @BarbMcQuade Here are the GOP defenses I have heard so far to articles of impeachment, along with the knee-jerk responses I have been shouting at my television. 📌 https://twitter.com/BarbMcQuade/status/1205353357180833792?s=20

🐣 RT @chrislhayes The expectation going into the day that markup was going to end at 6pm. Pretty clear GOP wanted to have the vote be “in the dead of night” so they could use that as a talking point.

🐣 RT @bret_mcgurk Quick thread / update on the still unfolding consequences of Trump’s appeasing Erdogan while asking for absolutely nothing in return. Two weeks ago, recall, Trump feted Erdogan at the WH for no apparent reason. Since then, what’s happened? 📌 https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1205192707288625152?s=20/photo/1

🐣 💙◕ RT @CmCristy53 [chart cartoon timeline of Ukraine Affair ] https://twitter.com/CmCristy53/status/1205348403514761218?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @tribelaw Is it a “trial” if the defendant runs the proceedings? What about the ancient principle that nobody can be the judge of his own case?
⋙ 🐣 Can Roberts declare a mistrial?

🐣 RT @ronreiner Moscow Mitch has just announced he will conduct the Senate trial in coordination with the WH. So much for Fairness & Impartiality. So much for Checks & Balances. So much for our 243 year Democratic Experiment.

🐣 RT @tribelaw I’m at a loss for words
🐣 RT @rgoodlaw The fix is in. And it’s in your face explicit.
🐣 RT @moscow_project Trump’s chief accomplice Mitch McConnell says the quiet part out loud: The jury is already rigged.
🐣 RT @benjaminwittes It’s very hard to reconcile this statement by McConnell with the special oath senators are required to take in impeachment trials under the rules.
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson Many jobs for Kentuckystan oblast!
⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew “What Senate? There is no Senate. There is only the erosion of constitutional powers that I have happily overseen because now my corruption can be out in the open. Come visit me in Kentucky’s new Russian aluminum mill!”
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Mitch McConnell rejects the founding fathers’ creation of a system of checks & balances to keep any one branch of gov’t from becoming too powerful & engaging in corruption/abuse of power.
⋙ ⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn Mitch McConnell: Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with White House Counsel. There will be no difference between the President’s position and our position as to how to handle this 💽 [Fox] https://twitter.com/MollyMcKew/status/1205345168448196608?s=20/photo/1

CNN: McConnell and White House counsel agree to coordinate impeachment trial plans http://cnn.it/34dQazx

🐣 RT @GrantStern To recap: The House Judiciary Committee just spent 14 hours on an #ImpeachmentDebate, but Doug Collins is furious that the Chairman thinks every member of the committee should make their fateful vote in the morning after a night of rest. […]

🐣◕ RT @pbump Trump tweets at times of conflict. This conflict, impeachment, is the biggest he’s seen yet. https://wapo.st/38xuIsY https://twitter.com/pbump/status/1205214598913232896?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @MSNBC .@jmeacham says today’s impeachment hearing shows “a debate about historic issues in an unhistoric fashion.”
💙 ⋙ 💽 MSNBC, MitchellReports: Meacham: We’re having a historic debate in unhistoric fashion http://on.msnbc.com/2M4GFwH
// Historian Jon Meacham reacts to the House Judiciary Committee hearing to vote on articles of impeachment. Meacham says the committee is having a historic debate in an unhistoric fashion.

🐣 RT @CREWcrew SOLICITING FOREIGN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION (52 U.S.C. §§ 30109, 30121)—The FECA prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or donations. It is a felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment if the amount exceeds $25,000.
🐣 RT @CREWcrew BRIBERY (18 U.S.C. § 201)—It is a felony offense for a public official to corruptly seek anything of value in return for taking an official action. Offenders can be fined, imprisoned for up to 15 years, and disqualified from holding future public office.
🐣 RT @CREWcrew MISAPPROPRIATION OF FEDERAL FUNDS (18 U.S.C. § 641)—It is a felony to knowingly take for one’s own use property that belongs to the federal government (like money allocated for foreign aid). Offenders can be fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years in prison, or both.

‼️ 🐣 RT @GovMikeHuckabee I’ll be on @seanhannity 2nite @FoxNews at 9pm ET and will explain how @realDonaldTrump will be eligible for a 3rd term due to the illegal attempts by Comey, Dems, and media , et al attempting to oust him as @POTUS so that’s why I was named to head up the 2024 re-election.
⋙ 🐣 A joke, right?

🐣 RT @JimTaePark
Democrats:
Facts. Facts. Facts. Abuse of power.
Facts. Facts. Facts. Obstruction of Congress.
Facts. Facts. Facts. Save Democracy.

GOP:
Lies. Lies. Lies. Are you distracted yet?
Lies. Lies. Lies. Are you confused yet?
Lies. Lies. Lies. Dems don’t like Trump?
#impeachmentDebate

NYT, Paul Krugman: The Party That Ruined the Planet http://nyti.ms/2tefCs3
// Republican climate denial is even scarier than Trumpism.

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin .@jonathanchait: “Rudy has worked as Trump’s lawyer for “free,” but Parnas paid him half a million dollars for his work. If Parnas himself was being paid by Russian sources, this means the Russians were essentially subsidizing Trump…”
⋙ 💙 NYMag, Jonathan Chait: Report: Trump’s Ukraine Extortion Scheme Was Financed by Russians http://bit.ly/2EcqMjh

What did Russia get in return? Quite a bit. Trump attempted to hold up military aid that had been passed by Congress by margins Trump couldn’t block. He has continued to withhold a desperately sought meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, which the Ukrainian president believed would serve as a signal of American support, and give Ukraine leverage against Russia. Instead, Trump met this week in the White House with Russian foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov, sending the opposite of the signal Ukraine wanted. Andrew Weiss, a Russia expert at the Carnegie Institute for International Peace, tells the New York Times, “The Russians surely arranged the Lavrov visit to capitalize on all of this and to send a message to the Ukrainians that they’re basically on their own now and need to cut the best deal they can since the U.S. backstop is largely inoperative.”

That’s not all. A large part of Russia’s agenda in Ukraine is to influence that country’s internal politics. Ukraine is ground zero of Russia’s overseas political operations. Moscow has financed a series of corrupt officials who pursue pro-Russian policies. (Russia then turns around and uses Ukraine’s corruption as a reason for other countries to shun it.) Before he managed Trump’s 2016 campaign, Paul Manafort was paid by Russian oligarchs to represent the pro-Russian Party of Regions.

The revolution that deposed Manafort’s candidate and the recent election of reformist president Zelensky have threatened Russia’s internal influence in Ukraine. Giuliani’s work there has essentially picked up where Manafort left off. He has tried to vindicate Manafort by digging up evidence that Ukrainians framed him as a criminal through the “black ledger” listing his illegal payments. On his trip to Ukraine, Giuliani huddled with a number of notoriously corrupt pro-Russian officials, including veterans of the Party of Regions. (Philip Bump has a good rundown of the rogues’ gallery of Giuliani partners.) He is openly working to promote the cast of characters Russia wants to run Ukraine.

Update: I want to emphasize that the fact that Parnas was paid by Russia suggests, but does not prove, government intent. The structure of Russia’s economy and political system links its oligarchs to the political agenda of the government. (Craig Unger’s reporting has a lot of detail as to how this dynamic works.) In particular, Russia’s organized crime kingpins, to which Parnas has links, operate in conjunction with the state. It would be out of character for them to finance an operation that has such important implications in a theater in which Moscow is so deeply invested. However, prosecutors have not identified the motivation of Parnas’s financiers. As noted before, they were also engaged in a money-making scheme, so it’s possible (albeit unlikely) that the clearly pro-Russian outcomes of the work by Giuliani, Parnas and Fruman was incidental from the point of view of their financiers.

NYT, Caroline Fredrickson: In Bill Barr, Trump Has a Roy Cohn Upgrade http://nyti.ms/2Pjqe1v
The attorney general has acted more like a henchman than the leader of an agency charged with exercising independent judgment.

🐣 RT @mayawiley On @mitchellreports John Meachum just said it! “The Republicans have basically become” a party of Monarchy and “Trump is their king”! #impeachmentDebate

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Speaker Pelosi: “The articles [of impeachment] are what they are. They’re very powerful, they’re very strong, and they are a continuation of a pattern of misbehavior on the part of the president.” Via CBS 💽 https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1205164297543995392?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @RepValDemings Getting caught in the act doesn’t make you innocent. #DefendOurDemocracy
⋙ 🐣 RT @jonallendc Jim Jordan’s argument is like saying a murder for hire agreement isn’t a crime if the cops apprehend the hitman before the killing — No one got paid, No one got killed, No crime.

🐣 Can a man without a conscience ever have “corrupt intent”?

🐣 RT @RepSwalwell There is no higher crime than for the president to use the power of his office to corrupt our elections. Period. ¤ #DefendOurDemocracy
💽 https://twitter.com/RepSwalwell/status/1205149658831560704?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @awprokop At the impeachment hearing, Rep. Eric Swalwell just tried to introduce this article by me on all the indictments and guilty pleas Mueller got. ¤ (Doug Collins objected)
⋙ Vox, Andrew Prokop: All of Robert Mueller’s indictments and plea deals in the Russia investigation http://bit.ly/2Dzgydg
// The investigation is now complete.

WSJ (2018): Comey Tells House Panel He Suspected Giuliani Was Leaking FBI Information to Media http://on.wsj.com/2PCApx0
// 12/8/2018; Giuliani has previously denied getting information from the bureau’s New York field office

🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind Trump is spending the historic morning of the House Judiciary Committee voting on articles of impeachment against him alone in his residence watching cable TV and sending nearly 100 tweets and retweets, including airing grievances that he is not TIME’s person of the year.

CNN: FBI agents warn of ‘chilling effect’ from Trump and Barr attacks http://cnn.it/2tdBSCr “ … leaving them wondering whether federal agents could be less aggressive the next time they have to pursue a sensitive investigation”

💙 TheAtlantic, Anne Applebaum: The False Romance of Russia http://bit.ly/2PcqNKe
// American conservatives who find themselves identifying with Putin’s regime refuse to see the country for what it actually is.

🐣 RT @ HardballChris Trump became president because of the politics of grievance. It’s the heart of Trumpism. Today we’re seeing Republicans demonstrate that. All they want to do is distract.

NBCNews, Kurt Bardella: House Republicans’ Trump impeachment strategy was simple: Distract, deceive and yell http://nbcnews.to/2qLjhwF
// GOP lawmakers have treated the hearings like Fox New segments, delivering loud, rambling monologues in a deliberate attempt to wear down participants and viewers.

⭕ 11 Dec 2019

DailyBeast, Michael Tomasky: Michael Horowitz Will Not Save Us. Only We Can Save Us. http://bit.ly/34hbt3p
// The moral truth of our situation is obvious. The President of the United States is a gangster, a liar, a pimpernel, a gonef, a shyster, a sociopath.

McClatchy: Pompeo is being sued for records of Trump’s meetings with Putin. A judge will hear the case. http://bit.ly/2rtpe1L

🐣 RT @MSNBC Amid concerns that Pres. Trump could suddenly pull out of NATO, there’s a bipartisan bill that would require Congressional approval to exit the alliance.
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, Rachel Maddow: Senators move to protect NATO from Trump’s destructive whims http://on.msnbc.com/2RMegiy
// Senator Tim Kaine talks with Rachel Maddow about a new bipartisan bill from the Senator Foreign Relations Committee that would require a president to seek the advice and consent of the Senate before being allowed to pull the United States out of the NATO alliance, preempting a potential rash move by Donald Trump.

USAToday: USA TODAY’s Editorial Board: Impeach President Trump http://bit.ly/35hsLP0
// The president’s Ukraine shakedown and stonewalling are too serious for the House to ignore: Our view

NYT, Charles Blow: Impeachment in the House Is the Victory http://nyti.ms/2YDVyuS
// Donald Trump and his supporters need to know that you can be punished for your actions.

WaPo, EJ Dionne: Our country is accepting the unacceptable http://wapo.st/38z7xy7 “We thought we had a consensus about basic norms that protect freedom and self-government. That consensus has been swept away by Republican partisans”

🐣 RT @brianklaas Confidence in US leadership, change from Obama to Trump:
↓76% Germany
↓75% France
↓58% Canada
↓52% Australia
↓51% UK
↓48% Japan
↓44% South Korea
↓43% Mexico
↑8% Russia
(Pew 2018).
⋙ 🐣 RT @TheHill President @realDonaldTrump: “This country is so respected and we were not respected four years ago. We were laughed at.” #TrumpRallyHershey 💽 https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1204561748436631552?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @ChrisLutolf “My people came to me. Dan Coats came to me, and some others. They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.”#TraitorTrump, Helsinki, 7/16/2018 @jennycohn1 sets forth the facts. ⬇️
⋙ 🐣 RT @JennyCohn Before the 2016 election, Russia:
* Breached VR Systems, which had remote access to voter lists in NC (a swing state)
* Accessed voter registrations in FL (a swing state)
* Accessed voter registrations in IL
* Breached 2 more election vendors that were never identified 1/
📌 https://twitter.com/jennycohn1/status/1204923207087575040?s=20

NYT Editorial: Ukraine’s President Stands Alone Against Russia http://nyti.ms/2RKMMKe
// The lack of American interest was clear as the two nations’ presidents met in Paris.

WaPo Editorial: The real problems the inspector general found http://wapo.st/2LKfgzC

… The review of the department’s investigation of President Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian election meddling found that the probe was properly launched and that there was no indication of political bias. It also found that the FBI breached protocol in the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process. That deserves further discussion — but not, as Attorney General William P. Barr has done, to dignify the president’s “deep state” conspiracy theories.

Almost simultaneously with the report’s release Monday, Mr. Barr dismissed and minimized Mr. Horowitz’s findings — or, at least, the ones that failed to paint the FBI as a rogue agency nursing an anti-Trump agenda. “The FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken,” he said. The next day he raised “the possibility that there was bad faith.”

U.S. Attorney John Durham, whom Mr. Barr handpicked to conduct yet another investigation of the Russia probe, piled on, saying that “we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened” and implied that he had uncovered new evidence that might shift the picture. This was the statement that surprised Mr. Horowitz. Its innuendo left unanswered whether Mr. Durham has turned up something new.

The responses suggest a warped view of what is significant. The FBI opened its investigation into the Trump campaign after receiving a credible report that a Trump aide had said the Russians had obtained Hillary Clinton’s emails, just as federal officials were seeing Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. Mr. Barr on Tuesday called these alarming facts a “flimsy” basis on which to launch an investigation. In reality, the FBI had an obligation to determine, on the fly and in unprecedented circumstances, whether there was collusion.

The inspector general explained Wednesday that Mr. Durham told him a preliminary, rather than full, investigation was warranted, even though, in either case, the FBI could have taken investigative steps similar to those it pursued. If this is the issue, it is a flimsy one on which to hang a public rebuke of Mr. Horowitz, particularly when doing so plays into Mr. Trump’s raging about the “scum” at the FBI who dared investigate him. …

WaPo, Greg Sargent: William Barr’s deceptions are more dangerous than you think. Here’s the latest. http://wapo.st/2PAASjm

🔊 ApplePodcasts, Lawfare: Michael Horowitz vs. the Committee with No Bull from The Lawfare Podcast on Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/2seSfOx

🐣 RT @MSNBC “The attorney general, once again, is trying to take the findings, this time of the inspector general, and mislead the American public about what happens at the FBI, and he’s attacking his own department as he does it.” – Fmr. DOJ spokesman Matthew Miller
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, DeadlineWH: Former DOJ official: The attorney general is trying to mislead the American people http://on.msnbc.com/35fgACz
// Breaking down how DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed in his testimony that the pushback his report received from U.S. attorney John Durham, who is running another investigation into the Russia probe, was not exactly what it seemed at first

🐣📊 RT @Poliitidope NEW via @Reuters: Trump is at 32 approve, 62% disapprove among Independents. ¤ Strong disapproval among Independents nearly TRIPLES strong approval: 38% strong disapprove, 14% strong approve. http://bit.ly/2slgI4E

NEW via @Reuters: Trump is at 32 approve, 62% disapprove among Independents.

Strong disapproval among Independents nearly TRIPLES strong approval: 38% strong disapprove, 14% strong approve. https://t.co/bBSYaKNX8e pic.twitter.com/rPV6Lq16lX

— Matt Rogers (@Politidope) December 12, 2019

⋙ 🐣 Plus STRONG Disapproval is 20% higher than STRONG Approval among Registered Voters

Politico, Josh Gerstein: Feds seek to revoke bail of Giuliani associate Lev Parnas http://politi.co/2sixBx7
// Prosecutors said in a court filing that Parnas lied about his finances and should be jailed because he’s a flight risk.

🐣 RT @BarbMcQuade Former AG Eric Holder explains how AG William Barr’s blind loyalty to Trump breaches his duty to serve the people and the Constitution:
🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 “The American people deserve an attorney general who … can be entrusted to pursue the facts and the law, even — and especially — when they are … inconsistent with the personal interests of the president who appointed him. William Barr has proved he is incapable.”
⋙ WaPo, Eric Holder: William Barr is unfit to be attorney general http://wapo.st/36sHneS

🐣 RT @jonlemire At a Senate GOP luncheon this week, McConnell warned his colleagues against calling witnesses. ¤ “Mutually assured destruction,” he said
⋙ WaPo: Senate Republicans look to hold short impeachment trial despite Trump’s desire for an aggressive defense http://wapo.st/

🐣 RT @KyleGriffin1 Rep. Karen Bass calls out Republicans: “This is not a coup.” ¤ “It is irresponsible to label a constitutional process a coup.”

🐣 RT @RCdeWinter Let us not forget the words of @senatemajldr, @RepKenBuck, who after@BarackObama was elected. said, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” #Hypocrites

🐣 RT @duty2warn He’s a malignant narcissist. Being impeached makes him fearful, being self-obsessed makes him traitorous. His core pathology makes him the sworn enemy of truth. But his need to peddle debunked conspiracy theories to avoid admitting wrongdoing could be where pathology traps him.

Politico, Renatto Mariotti: Impeachment Articles’ Simplicity Is Their Strength http://politi.co/2LNusfo
// Congressional Democrats have the Constitution on their side as they argue for Trump’s removal.

🐣 RT @JohnWDean You have to be a glutton for pain to listen to the Republicans SHOUT how their president is being unfairly impeached for nothing, just insisting Ukraine help him fix the 2020 election, just destroying our democracy. The GOP is pathetic. For shame, Republicans. Go home!

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Prosecutors have asked a judge to return Giuliani associate Lev Parnas to jail for lying about his income and concealing a $1 million payment he got from Russia in September, a month before he was charged. ¤ “Parnas poses an extreme risk of flight.”
⋙ Bloomberg: Giuliani Associate Parnas Got $1 Million From Russia, U.S. Says http://bloom.bg/2sgNYdq
● Prosecutors ask judge to revoke Parnas’ bail, send him to jail
● Russia payment raises questions about nature of Parnas’ work

🐣 RT @gtconway3d Indeed. He always wants to present himself as the best at everything, and so it’s only right that he should be impeached for his very best high crimes and misdemeanors.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Delavegalaw If the president would like to itemize additional abuses of power that he thinks are more deserving of impeachment, he should get that list out there asap. We would love to see it.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @gtconway3d Makes you wonder if he’s done something even worse that we don’t know about.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @gtconway3d “[A] Trump adviser said … the President has appeared somewhat taken aback that his actions toward Ukraine are ultimately what led to his likely impeachment[:] ‘Frankly, I think he’s a little surprised it’s the Ukraine thing that’s done it.’”

McClatchy: Pompeo is being sued for records of Trump’s meetings with Putin. A judge will hear the case. http://bit.ly2rtpe1L

🐣 RT @ HouseJudiciary The two articles charge President Trump with [1] placing his private, political interests above our national security, above our free and fair elections, and [2] above our ability to hold public officials accountable.
💽 https://twitter.com/HouseJudiciary/status/1204920249767858176?s=20/photo/1

6:00pmCT Markup of Articles of Impeachment ⇈ ⇈

🐣 RT @Politico A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to toss out a lawsuit over missing notes documenting President Trump’s face-to-face meetings with President Vladimir Putin of Russia
⋙ Politico: Judge rejects government’s motion to toss suit over missing Trump-Putin meeting notes http://politi.co/2Pzqkkt
// Two watchdog groups charge that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo violated the Federal Records Act.

WaPo, Josh Rogin: The United States is about to sanction Assad, Russia and Iran for Syrian war crimes http://wapo.st/2PCXWxD

WSJ: Republicans Condemn FBI’s Use of Surveillance Powers They Long Supported http://on.wsj.com/2t4MKSR Democrat’s are the national security party now
// Self-described security hawks now say they see major problems in surveillance law

🐣 RT @ChrisMurphyCT Joe Biden’s video hitting Trump for becoming a global laughingstock has been viewed online 12 million times. ¤ It’s proof of concept – there’s a market to take it to Trump on national security. The issue is a traditional strength for the GOP, but it doesn’t have to be in 2020.

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “The Russian Foreign Minister is more credible about what happened in that meeting than the President of the United States and the press secretary… I have to take Lavrov’s word… You can’t believe a word that the president says” – @Eugene_Robinson w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1204902729853874176?s=20/photo/1

🐣 This impeachment is not about “cleansing the office.” It’s about saving the Republic. @LindseyGrahamSC

TheHill: Horowitz did not find evidence Obama asked for probe of Trump http://bit.ly/2LJyLsa

🐣 The shorter trial the better for Dems. A trial railroaded through will be an obvious miscarriage of justice. Plus it would be done without the Rudy bs, which will be ineffective outside of a trial. Fact is, the GOP is terrified of the kind of trial Trump wants.

TheBulwark, Charlie Sykes: Two Cheers for the Articles of Impeachment http://bit.ly/2RJLDCC

🐣 No aspect of Mueller Report depended on the Steele dossier or on surveilling Carter Page, per @benjaminwittes on @MTPDaily

🐣 It was good to get Horowitz saying, under oath, that his disagreement with Durham over predication didn’t have to do with whether a counterintelligence investigation should be opened, but what kind: full or preliminary. 1/2
⋙ 🐣 And, in the end, they didn’t use any methods that required a full investigation, per @FrankFigliuzzi1 on @DeadlineWH 2/2

🐣 What I learned in school today (but GOP, I guess, didn’t): ¤ The Trump campaign investigation was not started because of Carter Page ((or the dossier). It was started because of Papadopoulos.

EmptyWheel, Marcy Wheeler: American Democracy Needs Better Reporters than Pete Williams http://bit.ly/2RHMZ0w

🐣 RT @moscow_project Trump’s pressure campaign has sent its signal: Ukrainian officials have been monitoring Trump’s Twitter in hopes he’ll voice support for them in their talks with Russia. ¤ Instead, he posted an all-smiles picture with Russia’s foreign minister.
⋙ DailyBeast: Ukrainians: Trump Just Sent Us ‘a Terrible Signal’ http://bit.ly/36ty1zc
// Kyiv officials were hoping for a statement of support from Trump in advance of Ukraine’s big summit with Russia. Instead, the president hosted Putin’s main man.

🐣 What I learned in school today (but GOP, I guess, didn’t): ¤ The Trump campaign investigation was not started because of Carter Page ((or the dossier). It was started because of Papadopoulos.

WaPo: Inspector general says Barr’s handpicked prosecutor failed to convince him FBI was wrong to open Trump campaign investigation http://wapo.st/35dJjHJ “we stand by our findings”

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: DOJ inspector general sheds further doubt on the Trump team’s tactics http://wapo.st/35et39B

🐣 RT @MollyMcKew And let’s remember again: ¤ People who spent their careers pursuing Russian organized crime and conducting counterintelligence operations against Russia in the US have been systematically targeted, discredited, smeared, and fired by POTUS.

WaPo, Aaron Blake: 6 takeaways from the Michael Horowitz hearing http://wapo.st/2RLKOsP

1. Durham’s objection ‘surprised’ Horowitz
2. Horowitz won’t bite on ‘spying’
3. No vindication for Comey
4. The Rudy Giuliani/leaks probe continues
5. A moment of reckoning for FISA process
6. Graham’s sympathy for Carter Page and ‘this poor guy’ George Papadopoulos

TheIndependent [UK]: Trump appears to threaten FBI director for not repeating debunked conspiracy theory http://bit.ly/2Pbzt3H
// He ‘will never be able to fix the FBI’, Mr Trump says

🐣 If @msnbc hadn’t cut in on Lindsey, I would have turned it off. (My brain can’t keep up with all the distortions.) Good call. @AriMelber

🐣 RT @EricHolder To the men and women of DOJ/FBI: stay strong, keep the faith, be true to the oath you have sworn, be secure in the knowledge that you have the support of the American people. The era of Trump and Barr will pass-their slander, insults and lies will end. We respect & believe in you

CNN, Stephen Collinson: Trump assaults facts to survive impeachment http://cnn.it/2E9kZuI

🐣 “This was not a politically-motivated investigation. There is no ‘deep state’” – @SenFeinstein

🐣 Lo! A sane person speaks. Thank you, @SenFeinstein

🐣 RT @Leah McElrath There appears to have been a glitch in Graham’s revised programming today and he’s back to being a hawk on Russia, briefly at least:
⋙ 🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Lindsey Graham: “It was the Russians, ladies and gentleman, who stole the Democratic National Committee emails, Podesta’s emails, and screwed around with Hillary Clinton. It wasn’t the Ukrainians. it was the Russians. And they’re coming after us again.”

🐣 @costareports says Lindsey Graham met with Barr to go over IG report

🐣 RT @MollyMcKew Lindsey Graham himself is a lie, and everyone in Washington knows it, and frankly I’m surprised it hasn’t becoming more of an issue as he has become a clown puppet.
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar Lindsey Graham begins the Horowitz hearing by claiming the FBI was “able to stop” the Russian interference campaign against the Clinton campaign. That’s a lie. ¤
📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1204781054533537798?s=20

🐣 RT @ECMcLaughlin Gonna be really candid that if Trump isn’t removed, resigns or if he wins re-election, I’m gonna have a hard time raising my kids in America. ¤ The EO from yesterday, and his pre-genocidal comments from last night on migrants, are a signal of what’s to come. ¤ It’s deadly serious.

🐣 RT @vermontgmg This week has made clear that Fox News’ lies have morphed into a legitimate national security threat to the United States and the functioning of a democracy. My latest:
⋙ WIRED, Garrett Graf: Fox News Is Now a Threat to National Security http://bit.ly/2seuy94
// The network’s furthering of lies from foreign adversaries and flagrant disregard for the truth have gotten downright dangerous.

🐣 RT @carlbildt It should now be clear that bilateral Moscow-Kyiv talks will not break the Donbas logjam. With the US out of the picture the EU should do some serious work and put a detailed Minsk implementation plan on the table. It’s perfectly doable. Nothing else is likely to bring process.

🐣 RT @carlbildt Today is a black day for our global multilateral trading system as the US effectively shuts down the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO. It wants the language of power, rather than the language of rules, to govern

⭕ 10 Dec 2019

🐣 RT @waltshaub As Attorney General, Barr is a threat to democracy. He has distorted facts and misled the public. He appointed Durham to run a concurrent investigation because he knew the Inspector General would debunk his conspiracy theories, and he needed someone he could control. /1 📌 https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1204601743415369732?s=20

NYT, Frank Bruni: The Perverse Servility of Bill Barr http://nyti.ms/2Pavlkd
// How does Trump’s attorney general keep a straight face?

🐣 RT @CNN “The attorney general of the United States is a Fox News bot,” says Jeffrey Toobin, adding, “[He] keeps demanding investigation after investigation until he gets the results that he wants? That’s something that happens in the Soviet Union, not in the [US]” http://cnn.it/36ml36p 💽 https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1204591965364531200?s=20/photo/1

Newsweek: Conservative Attorney Group Slams Trump’s AG: ‘Bill Barr Has Grossly Mischaracterized and Subverted’ IG Findings http://bit.ly/2t22VjS

NYT: Trump ‘Ignored and Injured’ the National Interest, Democrats Charge in Impeachment Articles http://nyti.ms/2rAbUZk
// Democratic leaders unveiled articles of impeachment charging President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

NYT: Trump and Barr Escalate Attacks on F.B.I. Over Report on Russia Inquiry http://nyti.ms/38rfxBt
The president suggested he lacked confidence in his own F.B.I. director, who did not share his negative view of a long-awaited inspector general report.

Crooks&Liars: Rep. Steve Cohen Smacks MSNBC For Airing GOP Russia Propaganda http://bit.ly/2YEKcqd //➔ The 11:00amET hour on @msnbc is its weakest and with Geoff Bennett standing in it was worse than usual; I turned it off

TheAtlantic, Adam Serwer: The ‘Russia Hoax’ Is a Hoax http://bit.ly/2Pe4rbv
// A report by the Department of Justice inspector general debunks the claims that the investigation into political interference by the Kremlin was a left-wing conspiracy to depose the president.

MSNBC, Hardball: Michael McFaul: ‘No reason’ for Trump’s meeting with Russia FM Lavrov http://on.msnbc.com/2LJmnbJ
// On the same day House Democrats announced articles of impeachment against President Trump for his actions withholding anti-Russian military aid to our ally Ukraine, Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office.

🐣 RT @harrylitman The out-of-line comments by Durham and Barr enable Trump to go steps further and call the FBI “thugs,” and the vilification will get worse. And Trump now has the talking point that Durham will be dropping another shoe, which is just as valuable for him as an actual finding.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Hardball At a rally, Trump called the FBI ‘scum’ amid the release of an IG report on the FBI’s investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign. The IG report debunked his claim that the investigation was launched by biased individuals within the intel community.
⋙⋙ MSNBC, Hardball: Trump calls FBI ‘scum’ at rally http://on.msnbc.com/36sA1bf
At a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump called the FBI ‘scum’ amid the release of an IG report on the FBI’s investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign. The IG report debunked the president’s claim that the investigation into his campaign was launched by biased individuals within the intelligence community looking to undermine his presidency.

WaPo, Dan Balz and Philip Rucker: A day of history accentuates America’s divide and the distortions of truth in the Trump era http://wapo.st/38tnMwI

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok OMFG Barr’s on a propaganda blitz to discredit the #IGReport! He just said “there was no evidence of collusion,” presidential campaigns “often” have foreign contacts AND money ¤ , FBI spied, Russia investigation launched on “very flimsy” evidence & in “bad faith” @msnbc 📌 https://twitter.com/PaulaChertok/status/1204456364161916928?s=20
⋙ … 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Putin’s sweetest success was propping a guy so bad, Republicans must sink lower & lower to defend him. Barr’s remarks are so Orwellian, given *Putin’s outcome—Trump—succeeded. The entire GOP has turned reality on its head, burning down America day by day to deny that awful truth.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @alex_mallin Wow. AG Barr says “greatest danger to our free system” is the Obama admin used “the law enforcement agencies and the intelligence agencies, both to spy on political opponents, but also to use them in a way that could affect the outcome of the election.”

💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT, Thomas Friedman: Impeach Trump. Save America. http://nyti.ms/2RDRyJi
// It is the only thing to do if our country’s democracy is to survive.

If we say, as Republicans do, that what Trump did is not an impeachable offense, we are telling ourselves and every future president that — in direct contradiction of what the founders wrote in the Constitution — it is O.K. to enlist a foreign power to tilt the election your way. Can you imagine how much money candidates could raise from Saudi Arabia or China to tilt a future election their way, or how many cyberwarriors they could enlist from Russia or Iran to create fake news, suppress voting or spur outrage?

The integrity of our elections would be shattered, and we would never again have a legitimate president — a president, who, whether or not you liked him or her, was at least seen as legitimately elected. That would be a prescription for permanent political chaos, as no future presidents’ authority would be respected if they were elected on the basis of foreign interference.

But that is what Republicans are courting by blindly defending Trump’s indefensible enlistment of Ukraine’s help to take down Biden and by echoing Trump’s conspiracy theory — originated by Russian agents — that it was Ukraine that hacked the Democratic National Committee’s emails in 2016, not Russia. They also argue that the D.N.C.’s server was shipped off to Ukraine before the F.B.I. could look at it. ¤ This is right out of “The Twilight Zone.”

Folks, can you imagine what Russia’s President Putin is saying to himself today? “I can’t believe my luck! I not only got Trump to parrot my conspiracy theories, I got his whole party to do it! And for free! Who ever thought Americans would so easily sell out their own Constitution for one man? My God, I have Russian lawmakers in my own Parliament who’d quit before doing that. But it proves my point: America is no different from Russia, so spare me the lectures.”

If Congress were to do what Republicans demand — forgo impeaching this president for enlisting a foreign power to get him elected, after he refused to hand over any of the documents that Congress had requested and blocked all of his key aides who knew what happened from testifying — we would be saying that a president is henceforth above the law.

We would be saying that we no longer have three coequal branches of government. We would be saying that we no longer have a separation of powers. ¤ We would be saying that our president is now a king.

🐣 RT @HillaryClinton We must defend our democracy, and the painful truth is that the occupant of the Oval Office is waging war against it.
⋙ 🐣 RT @CAPAction “The president’s misconduct goes to the heart of whether we can conduct a free and fair election in 2020…Despite everything we have uncovered, the president’s misconduct continues to this day, unapologetically and right now.” —@RepAdamSchiff #ArticlesOfImpeachment 📌 https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1204432457740759040?s=20

🐣 RT @LauraLitvan Bloomberg headline at 5:02 pm:
*TRUMP WARNED LAVROV AGAINST ELECTION MEDDLING, WHITE HOUSE SAYS
Headline at 5:35 pm:
*LAVROV SAYS HE DIDN’T DISCUSS U.S. ELECTIONS WITH TRUMP
⋙ 🐣 RT @ Latest at 5:47 p.m.
*LAVROV SAYS HE HASN’T SEEN WHITE HOUSE READOUT OF TRUMP MEETING
(Lavrov is speaking outside the Russian embassy after his meeting with President Trump.)

USAToday: Trump, Russia and Ukraine: Five presidential conspiracy theories debunked http://bit.ly/2LJwGfP

🐣 RT @Mimirocah1 Please read this whole thread by @waltshaub about what exactly Barr is doing & why he’s such a threat. But if nothing else please pay attention to this last part:
⋙💙💙 🐣 RT @waltshaub As Attorney General, Barr is a threat to democracy. He has distorted facts and misled the public. He appointed Durham to run a concurrent investigation because he knew the Inspector General would debunk his conspiracy theories, and he needed someone he could control. /1 📌 https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1204601743415369732?s=20

WaPo: Attorney general sharpens attacks on FBI’s Russia probe, dismaying some in his own department http://wapo.st/2qJZgGM

🐣 RT @NormOrnstein The Barr interview today is even more frightening than many Americans imagine. It seems clear that he will do or enable anything to keep Trump in office. And Trump will do anything to stay there. Suspension of the election, negation of the results, declaration of martial law
⋙ 🐣 RT @NormOrnstein are not simply fanciful, alarmist or crazy things to throw out there or to contemplate. Members of Congress, governors and state legislators,leaders in civil society, lawyers, law enforcement figures and the military need to be thinking now about how they might respond.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NormOrnstein And we need to find ways to double down on preventing Russia and others from fixing the elections to benefit Trump and their own national interests. The Lavrov meetings today underscore the danger.

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin Lavrov’s visit, photo with Trump, and appearance with enfeebled Pompeo send a clear signal: the Trump Administration is doing away with any remaining pretenses about its alignment with Moscow. They’re going to normalize this treacherous relationship for shared corrupt purposes. https://twitter.com/EvanMcMullin/status/1204596127452020736?s=20

MotherJones: William Barr’s War on Reality, Truth, and the Law http://bit.ly/2P8r6pA
// Trump’s AG is brazenly assailing the IG report with lies.

💙 🐣 RT @MarshallCohen 1) Trump claimed the Russia probe was an “illegal witch hunt” and that it was “an investigation that should have never happened.” TRUMP WAS WRONG. The IG said the FBI had “sufficient” evidence, and an “articulable factual basis,” to launch the Russia investigation In July 2016. 📌 https://twitter.com/MarshallCohen/status/1204593794676613120?s=20
// debunking of Trump falsehoods

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “There’s never been anything like this… Up through before President Trump was elected, presidents stayed out of IG reports and Attorneys General, generally reacted in the same way that Director Wray reacted” – @mrbromwich w/ @NicolleDWallace
💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1204541480389562370?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: The Arctic may have crossed key threshold, emitting billions of tons of carbon into the air, in a long-dreaded climate feedback http://wapo.st/2P9kNBZ

WaPo: Federal judge blocks Trump plan to spend $3.6 billion in military funds on border wall http://wapo.st/2skBMIv

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Asawin Suebsaeng: Pro-Trump Network OAN Tried to Get This Ukrainian Millionaire a Visa Before His Arrest http://bit.ly/35b4CtA
The Trumpiest of TV channels tried to bring a peddler of Biden dirt to America. The Ukrainian went to jail instead.

🐣 RT @selectedwisdom Why would we have any diplomatic contact at all with Russia after election 2016? Why are we allowing a Russian foreign minister to stand in the US and publicly spout these lies and call us liars on our own soil? https://twitter.com/selectedwisdom/status/1204515316203769856?s=20

🐣 RT @JoshTPM Reading through that interview transcript, Bill Barr is one dark, malicious downright evil lying dude. Hard to imagine a more dangerous figure to have running the Justice Department.

✅ USNews: AP FACT CHECK: How Trump’s Russia Claims Line up With Report http://bit.ly/2LIUErI
// President Donald Trump has railed for years against the FBI’s investigation into his campaign with often incendiary allegations.

CNN (Sep): Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017 http://cnn.it/2lGEdSu
// 9/9/2019

🐣 RT @KateStarbird Disinformation isn’t simply false information. Instead it builds false narratives by layering true & false, selecting/omitting info, *misleading* for strategic intent. And it often works specifically by creating doubt—in this case, doubt in our investigative/legal institutions.
⋙ 🐣 RT @KenDilanianNBC In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Pete Williams, Barr dismissed the findings of the Justice Department’s inspector general that there was no evidence of political bias in the launching of the Russia probe, saying that his hand-picked prosecutor will have the last word.

📊 PoliticusUSA: Quinnipiac Poll: Majority Of Americans Say They’ll Support Any Of The Top Dems Over Trump In 2020 http://bit.ly/349W9FR Biden 51/42, Sanders 51/43, Warren 50/43, Bloomberg 48/42, Buttigieg 48/43, Klobuchar 47/43
⋙ Crosstabs: http://bit.ly/2Pa9zgE

🐣 RT @AdamSerwer If Barr were consistent, he would argue Obama using the FBI to interfere with the election (didn’t happen) is fine just like Trump extorting Ukraine is fine, because the president can do what he wants. That’s not his position. His position is *Trump* can do whatever he wants.

WaPo: Giuliani says Trump asked him to brief Justice Dept. and GOP senators on his Ukraine findings http://wapo.st/2PxINhd

🐣 RT @SenSchumer It is not lost on us that the White House has made a choice to block witnesses from testifying and has refused to provide documents ¤ It has left many in America and those in the Senate—who could soon be judges and jurors in a trial—to believe President Trump has something to hide 💽 https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1204516935448350720?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @Poliitidope Trump publicly threatening to fire another FBI Director for not selling Russian talking points in the middle of his impeachment for helping Russia in their war w/ Ukraine on the day he meets with the Russian Foreign Minister at the WH is exactly why he needs to be impeached.

🐣 RT @neal_katyal I agree w Joyce on this. Very nicely done.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance I read this portion of Article II as a reference that permits House managers to introduce evidence of the obstruction of justice set forth in the Mueller Report during the impeachment trial. https://twitter.com/neal_katyal/status/1204549860059422721?s=20/photo/1
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Since this Article concludes the President remains a threat to the Constitution, pattern of obstructing investigations into his own conduct matters. The rules for impeachment aren’t clear yet, but prior sworn statements are typically admissible where witnesses are “unavailable”

💙💙 🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “It’s okay to be contradicted if you’re speaking the truth. What Director Wray did, was speak the truth… If you’re uncomfortable because someone’s attacking you for telling the truth. Guess what? You told the truth.” – Chuck Rosenberg w/ @NicolleDWallace

🐣 RT @PaulChertok Barr also said foreign money in campaigns is normal. And conveniently left out the key context—Trump campaign’s foreign contacts occurred DURING Russia’s attack—which Barr continues to downplay by FALSELY calling it “attempted” interference. That’s what this theater is all about.
⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulChertok OMFG Barr’s on a propaganda blitz to discredit the #IGReport! He just said “there was no evidence of collusion,” presidential campaigns “often” have foreign contacts AND money, FBI spied, Russia investigation launched on “very flimsy” evidence & in “bad faith” @msnbc 📌 https://twitter.com/PaulaChertok/status/1204456364161916928?s=20

💙 WaPo Editorial: The case for impeachment http://wapo.st/345OKqL
// There is abundant evidence of the president’s abuse of power on Ukraine.

🐣 RT @AriMelber Remember, the IG audit *is* the legally authorized review of DOJ actions. Under law. And it’s done. ¤ Barr is adding his own process, saying he appointed a prosecutor to separately investigate the investigation, but a US Atty probe would typically be for crimes, not a DOJ audit.

🐣 RT @atrupar Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: “We have highlighted once again that all speculation about our alleged interference in domestic processes in the US are baseless. There are no facts that would support that …no one has given us this proof because it simply does not exist”
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar Pompeo kinda-sorta pushes back on Lavrov: “We think we’ve shared plenty of facts to show what happened in the 2016 election with our Russian counterparts. We don’t think there’s any mistake about what really transpired there.”

🐣 RT @StacyJannis This is a shadow military op directed by the Kremlin against the US. Their tools are political and corporate bribery, donations, blackmail, extortion, disinformation, and strategic investments in candidates, groups, PACs, etc. Playing out in plain view and people don’t get it.

🐣 RT @AlexMalin Wow. AG Barr says “greatest danger to our free system” is the Obama admin used “the law enforcement agencies and the intelligence agencies, both to spy on political opponents, but also to use them in a way that could affect the outcome of the election.”

🐣 RT @WajahatAli Bill Barr will abuse his role as AG and attack any Democratic candidate leading up to 2020. Expect investigations and shame conspiracies. He is not just a disgrace but one of the most dangerous partisan hacks in America. They will burn it all for Trump.

🐣 RT @KenDilanian In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Pete Williams, Barr dismissed the findings of the Justice Department’s inspector general that there was no evidence of political bias in the launching of the Russia probe, saying that his hand-picked prosecutor will have the last word.

WaPo: As Democrats unveil impeachment articles, Trump signals corruption will continue http://wapo.st/36eYDEe 🕺🕺🕺 he just keeps on criming

Let’s be clear: The sin that Wray committed is that he refused to use his office to validate Trump’s years-long disinformation campaign to make a foreign attack on our democracy, and his own efforts to benefit from it, disappear.

Trump’s primary argument for years has been that the investigation was illegitimate and was driven by a “deep state” plot to rig the election against him.

And the inspector general report completely debunked this notion, finding that the investigation was lawfully predicated and was not motivated by any political effort to stop Trump. Any both-sidesing that confuses what Trump’s core argument has long been, and how thoroughly it has been debunked, is just misleading people.

It is a telling fact that even as this both-sidesing is in process, Trump continues to state that the investigation was illegitimate and that the inspector general confirmed this. Trump claimed the inspector general demonstrated an “attempted overthrow” of the government, when it concluded precisely the opposite.

The problem is that any media coverage that implies Trump secured some sort of vindication creates a favorable climate for Trump to engage in this even more absurd set of lies.

After all, the fact that Trump’s FBI director was absolutely clear on this — that there was no vindication — is precisely why Trump is now threatening him. Trump probably won’t go through with any firing, but what’s beyond doubt is that Trump still feels absolutely unconstrained, and will keep pressuring law enforcement to validate his ongoing effort to make Russian sabotage of our 2016 election vanish.

This is precisely what Trump is counting on Attorney General William Barr to do: Use his office to cast doubt on the inspector general’s conclusions, and further the narrative that the original investigation was illegitimate. …

After all, Trump is continuing to do that right at this moment: In pressuring Wray, he is continuing that very same coverup effort. And he is openly declaring that he expects Barr to carry that forward as well: He said that “I look forward” to Barr’s own review of the Russia probe, which will contain “its own information.”

That is, it will reach the conclusion Trump wants it to.

An article for attempting to obstruct the investigation into Russian interference and his own campaign’s efforts to reap the benefits would establish a pattern. Not just with regard to Trump’s effort to extort Ukraine for the same purpose, but also with regard to Trump’s ongoing manipulation of government to cover up his willingness to conspire with and benefit from the corruption of our election last time.

After all, Trump just told us that those efforts will continue as clearly as we could possibly expect him to.

💙 WaPo, Sergio Peçanha: The Trump impeachment inquiry, told with maps and dancing Rudys http://wapo.st/2ryavT4

WaPo: Pelosi warns against the arrival of a ‘president-king’ http://wapo.st/345EheX

If House Democrats do not pursue the impeachment of Trump, they risk saying “goodbye to the republic” and “hello to the president-king,” Pelosi said during a public appearance early Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s a very sad day actually, a solemn day,” Pelosi said during a moderated conversation at Politico’s Women Rule Summit in Washington.

Pelosi argued that lawmakers are honoring their oaths of office and would be “delinquent” if they did not seek to impeach Trump.

“I wish it were not necessary. I wish the president’s actions did not make it necessary,” she said.

🐣 RT @shimonPro Barr: “I think our nation was turned on its head for three years based on a completely bogus narrative that was largely fanned and hyped by a completely irresponsible press,” Barr said. “I think there were gross abuses…and inexplicable behavior that is intolerable in the FBI.” — [ and more ]

WaPo, Aaron Blake: Christopher Wray, basically: Don’t listen to Trump’s Ukraine conspiracy theories http://wapo.st/2YCleYU

🐣 RT @GarrettHaake Pelosi and Democrats argue the USMCA deal they’re announcing today is so different from the one they got a year ago, they see it as a win & template for future trade agreements Dems can support

🐣 RT @RFERL No perceptible progress on the thorniest issues stoking the war in eastern Ukraine, but a Paris summit produced an agreement on a prisoner swap and a renewed commitment to adhere to a frequently violated cease-fire.
⋙ RFE/RL, Todd Prince and Steve Gutterman: ‘Low Hanging Fruit’ And The Politics Of Perception: Five Takeaways From The Paris Summit On The War In Ukraine http://bit.ly/2PAnn3b

🐣 RT @tribelaw .@benjaminwittes says Congress’s failure to impeach for obstructing justice shows Congress won’t go nuclear over interference with criminal justice, only over defiance of its own process. Not so. It shows the House wants to limit its charges to the clearest constitutional crimes.

🐣 RT @jameshohmann The president’s broadside against Chris Wray this morning highlights just how deeply in the tank Bill Barr is for Trump at this point.
⋙ WaPo, James Hohmann: FBI director shows independence from Trump and Barr in responding to IG report on Russia probe http://wapo.st/

🐣 RT @SenatorBurr Inspector Horowitz’s report is long and detailed, and I’m reviewing it carefully. I look forward to releasing the Senate Intelligence Committee’s counterintelligence report, which will have more to say on these topics.
// “I”

🐣 RT @JakeTapper “Current” FBI Director Wray’s adherence to facts is getting him in trouble with the boss. ¤ Wray told ABC news it was “important that the inspector general found that, in this particular instance, the investigation was opened with appropriate predication and authorization.” 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1204389559016054784?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @real I don’t know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn’t the one given to me. With that kind of attitude, he will never be able to fix the FBI, which is badly broken despite having some of the greatest men & women working there!

WaPo: Impeachment live updates: House Democrats unveil two articles of impeachment against Trump; White House predicts ‘full exoneration’ in GOP-led Senate http://wapo.st/2P7mhfY

🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi The President used the power of his office against a foreign country to corrupt our upcoming elections. He is a continuing threat to our democracy and national security. At 9 am ET, the House will announce our intent to #DefendOurDemocracy. https://facebook.com/NancyPelosi/

🐣 RT @harrylitman Articles to be unveiled this morning. You really have to hand it to the Dems over these last several weeks: fast, focused, thorough, strategic, cohesive. That’s not at all the norm in Congress and Amer politics, and it was by no means to be counted on when they embarked.

⭕ 9 Dec 2019

TheAtlantic, Franklin Foer: Rudy Giuliani Is Living the Dream http://bit.ly/2PqDL7t “Behavior that terrified the Founders seems to be the very core of Giuliani’s business model.”
// Don’t let his butt-dials distract from his cunning.

NewYorker, David Remnick: This Is William Cohen’s Third Impeachment http://bit.ly/36NXlAv

WaPo: Putin, Zelensky, Merkel join Macron in Paris for talks to end Ukraine war http://wapo.st/2LDaGmX

🐣 RT @tribelaw “There is no need to grant Barr even the slightest presumption of good faith this time around.” On the contrary, Barr has shown that he is now a partisan hack and a lackey for Trump and thus for Putin.

🐣 RT @JimSciutto FBI’s Wray vs. AG Barr on IG report is night and day. ¤ Wray: “I think it’s important that the Inspector General found that in this particular instance the investigation was opened with appropriate predication and authorization.”

🐣 RT @ABCNews NEW: Asked about Pres. Trump’s desire for Ukraine to investigate debunked conspiracy theory pushed by Rudy Giuliani and others, FBI Dir. Chris Wray tells @PierreTABC, “we have no information” supporting the theory. http://abcn.ws/2YuIyYr
💽 https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1204163289145589760?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @GrantStern BREAKING: FBI Dir. Chris Wray “The inspector general did not find political bias or improper motivations impacting the opening” of Russia probe, “or the decision to use certain investigative tools.” ¤ @PierreTABC: “Included FISA?” ¤ Wray: “Including FISA.” https://abcn.ws/33YwGPu 💽 https://twitter.com/grantstern/status/1204163136565207041?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @BrianStelter FBI director Christopher Wray: “It’s important for the American people to be thoughtful consumers of information, to think about the sources of it and to think about the support and predication for what they hear.”
⋙ ABCNews: FBI director pushes back on debunked conspiracy theory about 2016 election interference http://abcn.ws/357SJEL
// “We have no information that indicates that Ukraine interfered,” Wray said

WaPo: Democrats make a powerful, concise case for impeachment http://wapo.st/2RybHAu

WaPo, John Sipher: Trump’s phone habits and private diplomacy are helping Russia http://wapo.st/2E1c9z0
// The president and his amateur advisers are giving the Kremlin ammunition to use against the U.S.

🐣 RT @leonidragozin Perhaps the most dramatic moment at the Normandy 4 presser was when Putin said Ukraine should talk directly to Donetsk and Luhansk, to which Zelensky retorted that millions of people who fled occupied areas to Ukraine proper represent them as much as the separatists.

🐣 RT @brianklaas A key insight @peterpomeranzev has about how the Kremlin works is that in Russia, there’s not “news” so much as there are soap opera “information events.” House Republicans’ behavior makes sense when you realize they are trying to get into Hannity’s nightly “information events.”

WSJ, John Solomon: Schiff Threatens Press Freedom http://on.wsj.com/36lvfwa //➔ Solomon takes exception to how the House Intel Committee got access to his phone metadata and made it public
// When the surveillance state exposes a journalist and his sources, there’s an instant chilling effect.

🔊 Apple Podcasts, Lawfare: The House Intelligence Committee vs. the House Judiciary Committee with No Bull http://apple.co/2E4gfqk

DailyBeast: Bill Barr Remains a Menace to Society Even if the Horowitz Report Falls Flat http://bit.ly/2LFK4S9
// The question is what Democrats intend to do about the attorney general.

BBC: Ukraine and Russia agree to implement ceasefire http://bbc.in/34c7IMM

🐣 RT @TheLastWord .@JamesStewartNYT tells @Lawrence that the Justice Department Inspector General report has “debunked every sensational claim that President Trump has made about a deep state out to get him.” https://on.msnbc.com/2t2Hors

🐣 RT @eliehonig Ordinarily if an AG publicly announced during a pending investigation that his own FBI had improperly spied for political purposes, and then that turned out to be false, the AG would resign because he would have zero remaining credibility or moral leadership ability.

🐣 RT @gregolear “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it….The heresy of heresies was common sense.” ~Orwell, 1984

CNN: Russia banned from 2020 Olympics and 2022 World Cup over doping scandal http://cnn.it/2PsmQAd

🐣 RT @AshaRangappa_ .@JeffreyToobin makes point on @CNN that is THE point and obliterates any GOP defense: The goal wasn’t an investigation, it was an *announcement*. Trump wanted propaganda to weaponize against his political opponent, as I explained here
⋙ Medium, Asha Rangappa (Oct): Running Covert Propaganda Against Americans Is Illegal. Trump Tried It Anyway. http://bit.ly/2YzIuXl
// 10/7/2019; The whistleblower stopped a covert psychological operation against the American public dead in its tracks

🐣 MT @HeidiNBC [Thread ] The impeachment of @realDonaldTrump is unique in the 243-year history of the U.S. experiment & Barry Berke explains why: ¤ He abused his power “in the ways the founders feared the most.”

1. Abuse of power: the biggest violation? Serving his interests over the nation’s. (Direct quote from Trump: “I have an Article II and I can do whatever I want.”)
2. Betrayal of the nation: of the nation in a way that hurts our national security interests.
3. Corruption. The worst case scenario? Foreign powers corrupting our elections.

These are the ABC’s of impeachment that @NBCNews reported on previously. ¤ Trump, according to House Judiciary Democrats and legal experts, has violated ALL 3. ¤ THAT, is unique in U.S. history.

MSNBC, DeadlineWH: Comey: Trump warps people around him, wraps them in a ‘cocoon of falsehoods’ http://on.msnbc.com/341daSo
// Fmr. FBI Director James Comey joins Nicolle Wallace for his first interview since the IG report on the origins of the FBI investigation of Russian interference during the 2016 campaign was released by the Department of Justice.

🐣 RT @nowthisnews The Trump impeachment case can be boiled down to 4 key takeaways:
– Trump pressured Ukraine to help him in 2020
– He used his office and power to do it
– Everyone was in the loop
– He’s still doing it

MSNBC, Hardball: DOJ IG report says Russia probe was not politically motivated http://on.msnbc.com/2rz5HN4
// After years of President Trump accusing the intelligence community of “spying” on him, the Dept. of Justice’s Inspector General, Michael Horowitz, found no evidence of “political bias or improper motivation” in an investigation of President Trump’s campaign. President Trump responded today, saying he was looking forward to seeing the findings of a partisan investigation by U.S. Attorney John Durham, under the direction of AG Barr.

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Chris Wallace on Fox News on the DOJ IG report: “The headline is that they didn’t find the things that Bill Barr and Donald Trump alleged.” 💽 https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1204114821685358592?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Here’s what Trump may be up to meeting Lavrov in a “closed press” Oval meeting tomorrow, the day after Putin met Zelensky at #NormandySummit to resolve Russia-Ukraine war. It’s always been about sanctions, which entails absolving Russia of election attack, rehab’ing pariah Putin.
⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok [12/7] Giuliani’s not going rogue. He’s doing exactly what Trump & Putin want. Next week Putin meets Zelensky AND Lavrov comes to America. They’re still working on the sanctions-lifting “grand bargain” Manafort hustled: a pro-Russia peace deal to screw Ukraine. And keep puppet in power.
⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok [12/7] Republicans aren’t complaining about Giuliani meeting pro-Russia stooges. They openly push Putin’s propaganda! Pence, Pompeo, Barr—ALL OF THEM—want a “grand bargain” to lift sanctions. They’ll screw Ukraine AND America, hail Trump & Putin as peacemakers in 2020. ☭Mark my words☭

WaPo: Those who resist congressional subpoenas should be careful. They could be risking jail time. http://wapo.st/2qAFRrC

NYT: Democrats Signal Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress Charges Against Trump http://nyti.ms/36nSbKX
// Democrats have narrowed their focus to two articles of impeachment against President Trump, expected to be unveiled on Tuesday, after lawyers labeled his conduct a “clear and present danger” to fair elections and national security.

NYT, David Marchese: Robert De Niro Thinks Donald Trump Is Worse Than Any Gangster He’s Played http://nyti.ms/342oBct

WIRED, Garrett Graff: So Much for the Deep State Plot Against Donald Trump http://bit.ly/38jTQ69
// Inspector general Michael Horowitz’s report shows that the FBI’s investigation of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign was both justified and without political bias.

NYT, Jesse Wegman: With Trump, All Roads Lead to Moscow http://nyti.ms/2P4uGkk
// Monday’s congressional hearing and the inspector general’s report tell a similar story.

On Monday morning, lawyers for the Democrats on the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees presented the clearest and most comprehensive narrative yet of President Trump’s monthslong shakedown of the new Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, for Mr. Trump’s personal political benefit. They explained in methodical detail how the president withheld a White House meeting and hundreds of millions of dollars in crucial, congressionally authorized military aid to Ukraine, all in an effort to get Mr. Zelensky to announce two investigations — one into Mr. Trump’s political rival, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter, and another into Ukraine’s supposed interference in the 2016 election.

🐣 RT @FBI Director Christopher Wray’s Response to Inspector General Report
⋙ FBI.gov: FBI Director Christopher Wray’s Response to Inspector General Report http://bit.ly/2LHsTQm “The Report concludes that the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation and related investigations of certain individuals were opened in 2016 for an authorized purpose and with adequate factual predication.”

🐣 RT @Mimirocah1 This is so wildly inappropriate for Barr to say. This is his political spin – which is not his job- not findings of fact or conclusions of a trustworthy investigation.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ShimonPro This AG Barr statement: ¤ “The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken.”
// He lies

📔 Department of Justice Inspector General (DOJ OIG): Report: Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation http://bit.ly/2RB0WNS 476p [Title page: ] ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1204180723097374722?s=20

🐣 RT @sfpelosi [Nancy’s daughter] All are terrified of being primaried by Trumpers and some are terrified that the Russians who hacked them will reveal their dirty laundry. ¤ As it goes with Donald Trump so it goes with his party: ¤ #AllRoadsLeadToPutin
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance What is it that Republicans are willing to burn this country down for? Destroy the rule of law over? Is it for Trump? Is that the kind of future they want for our country?

🐣 RT @JohnBrennen The damage being inflicted by @realDonaldTrump on our national conscience & our government is tragic. ¤ Members of Congress & staffers who defend & misrepresent his indefensible actions are telling Americans it’s ok to be dishonest, unethical, & corrupt. ¤ How far we have fallen.

NYT: Trump’s Abuse of Power Was ‘Brazen’ and ‘Clear,’ Democrats Argue in Impeachment Case http://nyti.ms/36nSbKX
Democratic and Republican lawyers presented competing arguments to the House Judiciary Committee about President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, as Democrats prepare articles of impeachment against him.

🐣 RT @tribelaw Durham and Barr are sliming IG Horowitz now that Horowitz trashed Trump’s 2-year long effort to slime the origins of the Mueller probe. If Durham doesn’t end up agreeing with Trump, just watch Trump and Barr turn on Durham. Comey is right to predict as much. What a horror show!

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood Justice Dept inspector general: “Steele’s report played NO ROLE” in opening investigation of Russian election meddling in 2016

🐣 RT @ChristopherJM Black ledger was made public before Manafort’s name surfaced in it. Point was to expose Yanukovych regime corruption. Ledger wasn’t made public b/c of Manafort. And no, an op-ed calling out a candidate whose stance on Crimea goes against longstanding US policy isn’t interference.
⋙ 🐣 RT @EliLake Sure. Making public the black ledger, forced Manafort to resign (with good reason, should have never been hired). Castor also acknowledges explicitly that saying some Ukrainian officials interfered does not mean Russia did not. That was my point about the reality based position.

WaPo: The inspector general report just blew up Trump’s lies. So Barr is rushing to the rescue. http://wapo.st/2Ryl6b4

NYT: Barr and Durham Publicly Disagree With Horowitz Report on Russia Inquiry http://nyti.ms/2DZ5Mwg
// The attorney general reprised his role as a vocal defender of President Trump.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Barr started an investigation that essentially duplicated the IG’s mission months ago, almost as though he knew the facts & knew the IG’s report wouldn’t support the Trump narrative & needed to have something he could pull out to try and save Trump.
⋙ WaPo: James Comey: The truth is finally out. The FBI fulfilled its mission. http://wapo.st/346Wbhq

WaPo, Aaron Blake: Trump’s favorite conspiracy theory deteriorates — courtesy of two men he hailed http://wapo.st/348Y3Gp

🐣 RT @rickklein Asked whether he thought the FBI unfairly targeted the Trump campaign, Wray offered a terse reply: “I do not.”
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews FBI Director Christopher Wray: “We have no information that indicates that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 presidential election… as far as the [2020] election itself goes, we think Russia represents the most significant threat.”
🐣 RT @rebeccaballhouse Chris Wray, the FBI director nominated by Trump, tells @ABC: “We have no information that indicates that Ukraine interfered with the 2016 election.”
⋙ ABCNews: FBI Director Chris Wray reacts to DOJ watchdog report on Russia investigation: Exclusive http://abcn.ws/2E0zpx9

FBI Director Christopher Wray offered mixed reactions to a Justice Department watchdog report that uncovered “serious performance failures” on the part of agents involved in the Russia investigation but ultimately determined the bureau was justified in launching its probe.

In an exclusive broadcast interview with ABC News, Wray lamented “actions described in this report that [he] considered unacceptable and unrepresentative of who we are as an institution.” But, he said it was “important that the inspector general found that, in this particular instance, the investigation was opened with appropriate predication and authorization.”

🐣 RT @DeanObeidallah Bill Barr literally just attacked the #InspectorGeneral report and doesn’t believe its conclusions. This is the same Bill Barr who lied about the Mueller report exonerating Trump. Barr is the perfect Attorney General for Trump since both are liars who don’t care about US Const.

🐣 RT @markknoller From Atty Gen Barr on I.G. report on FBI probe of Trump Campaign and Russia: He says it “now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken.”
// Again, Barr misrepresents report findings

🐣 RT @rgoodlaw Dear #MAGA, ¤ President Trump is lying to YOU. ¤ Truth: Chris Wallace: “The headline is that they didn’t find the things that Bill Barr and Donald Trump alleged. … The headline here is that he basically found the FBI conducted the investigation … on a proper legal basis.”
🐣 RT @MollyJongFast So he didn’t read the report
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar Trump on the IG report: “It is incredible. Far worse than I ever would’ve thought possible. It’s an embarrassment to our country, it’s dishonest. It’s everything that a lot of people thought it would be, except far worse.”

NYT: Inspector General Report on F.B.I. Russia Inquiry Finds Serious Errors But Debunks Anti-Trump Plot http://nyti.ms/2RxGLAl
// A long-awaited report by the Justice Department’s inspector general delivers a scathing critique of the F.B.I.’s handling of a wiretap application but also punctures many conspiracy theories.

WaPo, Brian Klaas: America’s allies despise Trump — and that’s a threat to NATO http://wapo.st/38lit2v

WaPo: Lawyer for Democrats calls Trump ‘a clear and present danger’ as he argues case for removal http://wapo.st/2E2BNDA

WaPo: Impeachment hearings live updates: Judiciary Committee begins hearing cases for and against Trump’s removal http://wapo.st/2E2BNDA

🐣 RT @ThisWeekABC Majority counsel Barry Berke: “This scheme by Pres. Trump was so brazen, so clear…that it’s hard to imagine that anybody could dispute those acts, let alone argue that that conduct does not constitute an impeachable offense or offenses.” http://abcn.ws/2RwYEPA https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1204054168408858635?s=20/photo/1

🐣 Today: 1. Impeachment Report to Judiciary
⋘ but also ⋙
2. IG Horowitz report on Mueller investigation origins
3. Zelensky and Putin meet to initiate peace talks

⭕ 8 Dec 2019

NYT, David Leonhardt: The Eight Counts of Impeachment That Trump Deserves http://nyti.ms/2Yw1gPj
// The lessons from Nixon and Clinton.

JustSecurity, Susan Simpson: Seven Outright Falsehoods in GOP Staff Report on Impeachment http://bit.ly/2LCX0bo

Politico: How Giuliani and Barr set out to defend Trump http://politi.co/2LCX0bo
// One lawyer took the outside lane and embroiled his client in scandal. The other played a different game entirely.

NYT: The Indispensable Man: How Giuliani Led Trump to the Brink of Impeachment http://nyti.ms/2Ru9TbL

🐣 RT @Russian_Starr You’ve inspired me to write my own thread on Rudy Giuliani and how he has conspired with discredited (ex) Ukrainian officials to convince Trump supporters that the Dems’ impeachment process is a shame and confuse the public. 📌 https://twitter.com/Russian_Starr/status/1203855341139775490?s=20

WaPo: Inside Giuliani’s dual roles: Power-broker-for-hire and shadow foreign policy adviser http://wapo.st/2Pslk0P

🐣📊RT @Politidope 60% of Americans between the ages of 18-29 believe Trump should be removed from office. ¤ Only 22% believe he should not be removed.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Politidope NEW via @TheEconomist: Women believe Trump should be removed from office by 14 points : 50% to 36% https://twitter.com/Politidope/status/1203764824573972485?s=20

NYT, Anu Partanen and Trevor Corson: Finland Is a Capitalist Paradise http://nyti.ms/2E001yk
// Can high taxes be good for business? You bet.

🐣 RT @RepJerryNadler Watch my @MeetThePress interview. The evidence the American people have seen is overwhelming: President Trump put himself before his country. 💽 https://twitter.com/RepJerryNadler/status/1203730173767626752?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff This is precisely the conduct the Founders were most concerned about when they provided the remedy of impeachment: ¤ A President abusing his power to seek foreign interference in our elections, ¤ And doing so in a way that poses a clear and present danger to our national security. 💽 [FaceTheNation] https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1203711309017206786?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @CREWcrew Trump cares exactly this much about corruption: [stats] https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1203834181631000576?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @AshaRangappa_ Remember that Mueller and Ukraine aren’t separate; they are mutually reinforcing. Trump fired Comey and tried to stop Mueller to prevent Americans from finding out what Russia did. Having failed in that attempt, he tried to undermine what Mueller uncovered by blaming Ukraine 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1203834026605318145?s=20

NBCNews: Democrats split on whether to include Mueller obstruction in articles of impeachment http://nbcnews.to/36h3bd6
// House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., on Sunday would not commit to including evidence of obstruction contained in that report in the articles of impeachment.

🐣 RT @robreiner We have to stop being surprised when Trump sides with Putin or MBS. He’s allied with them. Whether it’s personal financial interests or Kompromat or both, he’s rejecting our Democratic allies and shredding our Constitution to make US part of an Axis of Autocracy.

🐣 RT @davidaxelrod The most disturbing thing about this whole Ukraine discussion is the alacrity with which the president’s supporters have adjusted their values to suit the moment, justifying a brazen, stealthy act of extortion of a critical ally.

🐣 RT @qjurecic Adam Schiff had a problem: how do you counter Republican disinformation on Ukraine without amplifying it further? His committee’s report adopts strategies recommended by disinformation researchers and social scientists.
⋙ Lawfare, Quinta Jurecic: How the Schiff Report Deals with Disinformation http://bit.ly/36pWoOD

2017 GDP Russia $1.58Tr
2017 GDP NY State $1.5Tr (8% of US total)

DailyBeast, Allison Quinn: The Worst Thing About Rudy Giuliani’s Trip to Ukraine http://bit.ly/36iLB8S
// Just by visiting Kyiv on the eve of talks, Giuliani has planted the seed of doubt in a public that already fears Zelensky will be compelled to make concessions to Putin.

🐣 RT @nytimesworld The International Monetary Fund has agreed to lend $5.5 billion to Ukraine, a move viewed as a stamp of approval for President Volodymyr Zelensky’s anticorruption and economic policies
⋙ NYT: I.M.F., Endorsing Zelensky, Approves Loan for Ukraine http://nyti.ms/358kzko
The International Monetary Fund, in conditionally agreeing to lend the country $5.5 billion over three years, cited “impressive progress” under President Volodymyr Zelensky.

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 “Where the President uses his foreign affairs power in ways that betray the national interest for his own benefit, or harm national security for equally corrupt reasons, he is subject to impeachment by the House,” Democrats wrote.
⋙ NBCNews/AP: House impeachment report looks at abuse, bribery, corruption http://nbcnews.to/2P117QD
// It argues the Constitution created the process as a “safety valve” so Americans would not have to wait for the next election to remove a president.

DailyBeast, Jonathan Brunson: Ukraine’s Fate Hangs in the Balance at Paris Peace Talks: What You Have to Know http://bit.ly/38ho7m1
// As talks to end the war in eastern Ukraine begin in Paris on Monday, President Zelensky will be fighting the impression that he’s surrendering to Putin. Does he have a choice?

⭕ 7 Dec 2019

NewsCorpse: Do Not Believe THEM! That is Trump’s Order His Faithful Cult Followers About the Media http://bit.ly/353KB8i

🐣 RT @Hardball “He’s a joke now … he sort of earned that role. Let’s face it, he doesn’t want to be a member of NATO, he doesn’t want to be an ally of anybody, the only friends he has are world monsters.” ¤ @HardballChris on Trump.
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, Hardball (11/4): Chris Matthews on world leaders laughing at Trump: He’s a joke now http://on.msnbc.com/
// At a Buckingham Palace reception on Tuesday night, the leaders of Canada, France and Britain could be heard talking informally among themselves about the president. Chris says …

🐣 RT @brianklaas Remember: when Biden pushed to fire Ukraine’s corrupt prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, he was backed at the time not just by the IMF, EU, and key allies, but also by *Republicans.* Senate Republicans signed a letter supporting it. They supported what they’re now attacking him for doing

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 “Republicans in Congress,” Ex-Republican Rep. David Jolly said, are now “tearing at the fabric of the Constitution every bit as much as Donald Trump” and “undermining the institution of Congress every bit as much as Trump.”
⋙ Vox: A former Republican Congress member explains what happened to his party http://bit.ly/2s4nyvu
// And why it belongs to Trump now.

🐣 RT @davidfrum The RT-Fox News convergence is paying big dividends for Putin
⋙ 🐣 RT @elizabethbraw The new nexus: infowar and the armed forces. 46% of US service personnel now see Russia as an ally, a trend “predominantly driven by Republicans who have responded to positive cues from President Trump about Russia,” @RonaldReagan Institute reports. Average US pop: 28%.

NYT: Judiciary Committee Report Offers Legal Rationale for Impeaching Trump http://nyti.ms/2sVYpn6
// The report, which echoes one released in 1974 as the House debated impeaching President Richard M. Nixon, comes two days before the committee will formally receive the evidence against President Trump.
⋙ 📔 Report http://bit.ly/2YtPbu8

🐣 RT @DanRather Russia attacked our democracy, and their insidious reach is being abetted by those who parrot their propaganda. A sobering read on an angle that requires more attention by the press and Congress.
⋙ VOA: Pentagon Concerned Russia Cultivating Sympathy Among US Troops http://bit.ly/3422brI

🐣 RT @Mimirocah1 And if Bill Barr opens an investigation based on this junk, when he declined to investigate the Trump-Zelensky call, the Trump-DOJ takeover will be complete.
⋙ 🐣 RT @peterbakernyt Trump on Giuliani’s latest visit to Ukraine: “He’s going to make a report, I think to the attorney general and to Congress. He says he has a lot of good information.”

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin The Trump/Giuliani disinformation campaign that they’re calling an “investigation into Biden” works almost however media covers it as long as it does. Trump and Giuliani are happy to commit outrageous, potentially illegal acts to bait the media into boosting their disinformation.

🐣 RT @steven_pifer Predict @StateDept’s new policy on no #Trump critics as speakers will have 2 impacts:1) Greatly reduced pool of speakers.2) Big drop in interest on part of foreign audiences when speakers seen simply as shills for Administration policy.What a way to destroy speakers program https://twitter.com/steven_pifer/status/1203467482599550976?s=20

DailyBeast, Anna Nemtsova: Rudy Giuliani’s Ukraine ‘Investigation’ Stars Some of Kyiv’s Most Dubious Characters http://bit.ly/38gwXRc
The president’s lawyer went to Ukraine to discredit impeachment with a parallel narrative, but corruption fighters know his “witnesses” have little or no credibility.

💙 WaPo: Giuliani returns to Ukraine, signals apparent disregard for inquiry http://wapo.st/2YnQLxi
// Inside title: As impeachment tide swirls around Trump, Giuliani drops anchor in Ukraine
Subtitle: from front: Current and former officials in Washington expressed astonishment at how President Trump’s private attorney seemed to be mocking investigators.

Even as the House of Representatives began drafting charges against President Trump this week, his private attorney, who many believe is partly responsible for leading Trump on the path to his likely impeachment, made an audacious trip to the country at the center of the scandal.

Rudolph W. Giuliani departed Kyiv after meeting with a range of Ukrainians who have been feeding him unproven allegations against former vice president Joe Biden and helping construct a counternarrative that is taking hold in the Republican Party. The latter story line asserts that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, including with the baseless theory that Ukraine, rather than Russia, was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.

Giuliani’s travel also appeared designed to send a broader and more brazen signal of the disregard that he and Trump have for the unfolding impeachment process.

… Giuliani used his Twitter account while on the trip to describe the impeachment hearings as a “witch hunt,” attack the former U.S. ambassador whom he helped oust earlier this year, and assert that Trump’s demands for politically beneficial investigations by Ukraine’s government were appropriate.

Current and former officials in Washington expressed astonishment at how Giuliani — apparently on behalf of the president — seemed to be mocking impeachment investigators, if not the very idea that either he or his client should answer any articles of impeachment.

“It’s unbelievable to me the open way in which the administration and Giuliani are still pursuing this,” said Jeffrey Edmonds, who served as Russia director at the White House National Security Council under both Barack Obama and Trump. “It is a way of . . . asserting that everything that we’re doing is perfectly normal, perfectly fine and we’re going to keep doing it.”

Giuliani’s trip also represented an affront to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose government was welcoming a high-level State Department diplomat at the same time and hoping to return relations with the United States to normal after more than two months at the center of an American political maelstrom.

Zelensky, who didn’t meet with Giuliani, is preparing for a high-stakes summit on Monday in Paris, where he is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin alongside the leaders of Germany and France in a renewed attempt to bring an end to the war between Russia-backed proxies and Ukrainian forces in the nation’s east. More than 13,000 people have died in the conflict.

The disruption in U.S.-Ukraine relations caused by Giuliani’s activities and the resulting impeachment inquiry have led some Ukrainians to fear that Zelensky, who promised an end to the conflict during his campaign, will cut a bad deal with Putin, owing partly to a growing sentiment in Kyiv that Ukraine can no longer count on support from the United States.

Such concerns appeared to be far from Giuliani’s mind.
During his trip, he sat down with a mustachioed Ukrainian lawmaker who has promoted Russian interests in Ukraine and once studied at a KGB academy in Moscow.
He was accompanied by a former Ukrainian diplomat who has won renown in U.S. right-wing circles by alleging Ukraine colluded with the DNC to undermine Trump in 2016.

He received a bon voyage message from a former Ukrainian parliamentarian, who once sent a peace proposal to the White House that would have lifted sanctions on Russia and recognized the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea.

The trip also served a practical purpose ahead of a likely Senate trial of his client. Giuliani brought a correspondent from the right-wing One America News to interview many of the Ukrainians he has interacted with in the past year — people who are willing to make allegations against Biden and the Democrats.

The footage will help inject the theories Giuliani has gathered over the past year even further into the American public discourse, as the Senate prepares to embark on a trial that some Republican lawmakers want to make as much about Biden as it is about the president.

Giuliani has alleged that Biden pushed for the 2016 firing of Ukraine’s top prosecutor to help his son, Hunter Biden, who at the time was a board member of a Ukrainian gas company whose owner was under investigation in Ukraine. Apart from a claim by the top prosecutor in question that Biden had him fired for that reason, no evidence has surfaced to show that is why Biden sought his removal. European Union leaders also wanted the prosecutor removed.

During the trip, Giuliani said on Twitter that until the matter is resolved, the issue “will be a major obstacle to the U.S. assisting Ukraine with its anti-corruption efforts.”

In Kyiv, Giuliani met with two members of Ukraine’s parliament, Andriy Derkach and Oleksandr Dubinsky, who have called for a joint U.S.-Ukrainian parliamentary investigation into the gas company. The One America News correspondent traveling with Giuliani posted photos of them interviewing former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko in Budapest, where they stopped before traveling on to Ukraine.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats were shocked by Giuliani’s nerve.

“It’s a brazen move,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which led the impeachment inquiry. “This is emblematic of this White House: When they are in the wrong, they double down. And in this case, they are tripling down.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the trip an indication of “the arrogance of it all” in comments at a CNN Town Hall on Thursday night.
Some Republicans were left scratching their heads. …

Privately, however, two officials involved in the White House’s impeachment response said Trump aides were not told Giuliani was traveling to Ukraine and do not view it as helpful.

Some House Republicans have sought to create distance between Trump and Giuliani, but the president has not yet signaled a willingness to support such a move, the two officials said. On Friday, Gidley said that as a far as he was aware, Giuliani remained Trump’s personal attorney.

⭕ 6 Dec 2019

TheBulwark, Richard Patterson: Trump’s Personal Pathology Is America’s Foreign Policy http://bit.ly/35ZQ1ld
// The world is hostage to an unwell president.

NewYorker, Joshua Yaffa: How Donald Trump Is Making It Harder to End the War in Ukraine http://bit.ly/2DZtYi8

🐣 RT @DrGJackBrown Pat Cipollone’s 6 Dec. 2019 letter translated:
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Trump is the great and powerful Oz!”
(signed in thick sharpie to impress the boss)
#PatCipollone #ImpeachAndRemoveTrump #Impeachment

Pat Cipollone's 6 Dec. 2019 letter translated:
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Trump is the great and powerful Oz!"

(signed in thick sharpie to impress the boss) #PatCipollone #ImpeachAndRemoveTrump #Impeachment pic.twitter.com/6mVzAT25fo

— DrJackBrown 🌊 (@DrGJackBrown) December 7, 2019

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote WE WANT A FLOOR VOTE!
ok we had a floor vote
WE WANT PUBLIC HEARINGS!
ok here’s public hearings
BUT WE WEREN’T INVITED!
ok you’re invited
WE DON’T WANNA COME!
ok well we’re gonna draft articles
BUT IT’S CHRISTMAS!
happy holidays
#BadFaithNegotiations

💽 MSNBC, All In: Chris Hayes on what’s ‘phenomenally dangerous’ about this political moment http://on.msnbc.com/2RuWEHE
// Hayes: “There is an entire ecosystem built around this alternate reality that is untethered from fact.”

TheAtlantic, Soren Schmidt: The Most Dangerous Form of Bribery http://bit.ly/2relh0K
// Election corruption can’t be solved by corrupt elections, so the Founders devised a special solution: impeachment.

DailyBeast, Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng: Giuliani Cronies Planned ‘Fraud Guarantee’ Infomercials Starring Rudy http://bit.ly/2YnIvNQ
// The former New York City mayor was nearly even more of a cable news fixture.

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews The disruption in US-Ukraine relations caused by Giuliani’s activities and the resulting impeachment inquiry have led to fears that Zelensky will cut a bad deal with Putin, due to a growing sentiment that Ukraine can no longer count on support from the US. 📌 https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1203104219575836672?s=20

🐣 RT @crampell signs you may not be hiring the best attorneys
1) they send formal legal letters in Comic Sans
2) they sign formal legal letters with a Sharpie
3) you aren’t paying them, but a company called “Fraud Guarantee” is
4) they’re in prison

🐣 RT @MaddowBlog ‘The committee, still investigating the impeachment scandal, in this letter, is warning Vice President Pence explicitly tonight: By the way, remember you can’t declare something to be classified just to keep it from being exposed as a crime. 💽 https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1203141940503621632?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @AmySiskind Of course he is. In the midst of impeachment. ¤ “All roads lead to Putin.”
⋙ WaPo: Top Russian diplomat to visit Washington in first visit since 2017 Oval Office controversy, officials say http://wapo.st/

🐣 RT @mhmck The fear that Zelenskyy will capitulate to Putin at the “Normandy Four” talks is well-grounded. The Ukrainian president has already humbled himself to the Muscovite vozhd by signing the Lavrov Formula (a.k.a. the Steinmeier Formula) and surrendering Ukrainian territory in Donbas.

WaPo: As impeachment tide swirls around Trump, Giuliani drops anchor in Ukraine http://wapo.st/2YnQLxi

WaPo, Dana Milbank: How we know exactly what Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison think of Trump http://wapo.st/34YShbU

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff The White House said they wanted open hearings, not closed, and then they didn’t want those either. ¤ Then they said they wanted to participate in the proceedings, and now they say they don’t. ¤ All they really want is to hide the President’s serious misconduct. ¤ It’s not working.
⋙ NYT: White House Signals Trump Won’t Mount House Impeachment Defense http://nyti.ms/34UgsrQ
// In a sharply worded letter, the White House counsel denounced the impeachment inquiry and called on Democrats to end it, or get it over with quickly so it could proceed to a Senate trial.

Politico: Schiff: Pence aide provided new impeachment evidence — but VP’s office classified it http://politi.co/368tPVB

💙 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews “The fact that Giuliani is back in Ukraine is like a murder suspect returning to the crime scene to live-stream themselves moon dancing… It’s brazen on a galactic level.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Giuliani received a bon voyage message from a former Ukrainian parliamentarian, who once sent a peace proposal to the White House that would have lifted sanctions on Russia and recognized the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea.
⋙ Giuliani sat down with a Ukrainian lawmaker who has promoted Russian interests in Ukraine & once studied at a KGB academy in Moscow. He was accompanied by a former Ukrainian diplomat who alleged that Ukraine colluded with the DNC to undermine Trump in 2016
⋙ The disruption in US-Ukraine relations caused by Giuliani’s activities and the resulting impeachment inquiry have led to fears that Zelensky will cut a bad deal with Putin, due to a growing sentiment that Ukraine can no longer count on support from the US.
⋙ The latter story line asserts that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, including with the baseless, debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, rather than Russia, was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.
⋙ Giuliani departed Kyiv after meeting with a range of Ukrainians who have been feeding him unproven allegations against former vice president Joe Biden and helping construct a counternarrative that is taking hold in the Republican Party.
⋙ As impeachment tide swirls around Trump, Giuliani drops anchor in Ukraine.
⋙⋙ WaPo: As impeachment tide swirls around Trump, Giuliani drops anchor in Ukraine http://wapo.st/2YnQLxi

💙 🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “This is the most grave offense you could imagine from the standpoint of our Constitution imaginable, trying to cheat… on your next election. And not just with anyone, but with a foreign government” – @neal_katyal w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1203083649765330947?s=20/photo/1

🐣 🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “The reporting now is not so much about that the president is blowing off secure communications devices but rather, why he’s doing it. He’s doing it because he doesn’t like the fact that it creates a permanent record” – @FrankFigliuzzi1 w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1203082481844527105?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “The House impeachment inquiry has rattled this White House and revealed an irrefutable trail of evidence that Trump conditioned military aid for a nation at war on a commitment to investigate the Bidens and a debunked conspiracy theory” – @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1203060108680450049?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @TheLeadCNN .@PreetBharara: Giuliani’s actions in Ukraine put himself in jeopardy https://cnn.it/38dbHLX

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “What is going to happen at the end of January when… [Trump] is acquitted in the Senate… Donald Trump is gonna go and look for foreign interference again, I guarantee it. He’s going to try and solicit foreign interference in the 2020 elections” – @jheil w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1203084206206803969?s=20/photo/1

WaPo, Max Boot: To GOP hypocrites: I never want to hear about Hillary Clinton’s emails again http://wapo.st/36f3KEb

🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom I’ve been making the argument that dragging out impeachment for “more evidence” is politically pointless, but Schiff made the best argument: You don’t want until an election is imminent to deal with a president trying to cheat in an election.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ The thing that has always separated this impeachment from previous ones is that it is geared more toward prevention than punishment. ¤ The crime is ongoing, and by not engaging impeachment seriously, Republicans in Congress are complicit. https://twitter.com/pastpunditry/status/1203067872102236163?s=20

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Defendants in criminal cases would like to say this to prosecutors. But they can’t, because in our system of government, they’re not above the law. Neither is Trump.
⋙ WaPo: White House tells House Democrats to end impeachment inquiry, less than an hour before deadline for Trump to agree to participate http://wapo.st/34ZOoTZ

WashingtonMonthly, Nancy LeTourneau: How John Solomon Undermined Journalism http://bit.ly//33Zdq4a

WaPo: More than 500 law professors say Trump committed ‘impeachable conduct’ http://wapo.st/2s1uSrK

🐣 RT @JustinAmash This should be unanimous, not partisan. Impeachment in the House is not a conviction. The trial happens in the Senate. All the House does is charge impeachable conduct. All we need is probable cause. That threshold is easily met with the existing evidence.
⋙ 🐣 RT @CNN Rep. Justin Amash, a Michigan independent who left the Republican Party this summer after he backed formal impeachment proceedings, said he would back three articles of impeachment: obstruction of Congress, obstruction of justice and abuse of power
⋙⋙ CNN: Independent lawmaker says he’s ready to vote to impeach Trump http://cnn.it/33VIAtr

🐣 RT @anders_aslund Giuliani in Kyiv sees crooks no honest person would go near:
Oleksandr Dubinsky – oligarch Kolomoisky’s top person in parliament;
Andrei Derkach, graduate from KGB’s Higher School in Moscow, allegedly now paid by eloped oligarch Firtash. ¤ Cultivating Kolomoisky & Firtash?

NewYorker, Susan Glasser: Adam Schiff on Donald Trump, Impeachment, and What’s Next http://bit.ly/2DSMWXz

DailyBeast, Asawin Suebsaeng and Erin Banco: Rudy’s New Ukraine Jaunt Is Freaking Out Trump’s Lieutenants—and He Doesn’t Care http://bit.ly/2qrrBRX
// Top administration officials have been tracking Giuliani’s venture through Europe, wondering if he’s going to cause yet another major headache for the president.

🐣 RT @mimirocah1 I’m surprised he didn’t get a burner phone.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews John Kelly and intelligence officials attempted to get Trump to use secure White House line, but when he realized that this enabled them to compile daily logs of his calls & the identities of those he was speaking to, Trump reverted to using his cellphone.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Phone logs in impeachment report renew concern about security of Trump communications: “It’s absolutely a security issue” that foreign intelligence agencies could be listening in on the president’s unsecured calls with Giuliani. “It’s a bonanza for them.”
⋙⋙⋙ WaPo: Phone logs in impeachment report renew concern about security of Trump communications http://wapo.st/2OV5m02

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Willie Geist: “Have you spoken to a single GOP colleague in the Senate who’s even considering voting for impeachment?”
Sen. Chris Murphy: “Yes.”
Geist: “You have?”
Murphy: “Yes.”

DailyBeast, Betsy Ssan and Adam Rawnsley: Ukrainian Fugitive Who Claimed to Have Dirt on Biden Firm Is Arrested http://bit.ly/38aiupP
// Oleksandr Onyshchenko publicly claimed to have inside information about Hunter Biden just as the impeachment proceedings got underway.

⭕ 5 Dec 2019

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 @JuliaDavisNews Senate GOP leaders have blocked action on the two bipartisan bills targeting Russia, the DETER Act and the broader Defending American Security From Kremlin Aggression Act.
⋙ TheAtlantic, Ronald Brownstein: The Russification of the Republican Party http://bit.ly/2s72GDA
// GOP lawmakers used to oppose the president’s embrace of Putin and the Kremlin. Not anymore.

WaPo: Phone logs in impeachment report renew concern about security of Trump communications http://wapo.st/2OV5m02

🐣 RT @PaulSonne NEW: Trump regularly talked to Giuliani and others on un-secure lines and gave foreign leaders including Johnson, Erdogan and Macron his cell number, creating an op-sec nightmare aides tried & failed to curb. W/ @jdawsey1@nakashimaem@gregpmiller:
⋙ 🐣 RT @JaveedAJamali “#impeachment is not about Trump’s policies, nor does it seek to nullify the election. Rather, it is about whether a president who abuses his position for personal gain should be removed from office.”
⋙⋙ Newsweek: Pelosi Is Right. Impeaching Trump Has Nothing to Do With ‘Hate’ http://bit.ly/2DRxZoz

🐣 RT @AndrewDesiderio MORE FRIDAY NEWS: House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff just sent this letter to VP Pence asking the admin to declassify Jennifer Williams’ supplemental testimony to impeachment investigators. https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1203092162759532544?s=20/photo/1-4
⋙ 🐣 RT @AndrewDesiderio A House Intel officials says “declassification of this supplemental testimony will allow the Congress to see further corroborative evidence as it considers articles of impeachment, and provide the public further understanding of the events in question.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @ In his letter to Pence, Schiff says Williams’ supplemental testimony is about the VP’s Sept. 18 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. ¤ Schiff says there’s “no legitimate basis” for this info to be classified.

Politico, Josh Lederman: How a conspiracy theory about George Soros is fueling allegations of Ukraine collusion http://politi.co/388xepj
// The billionaire philanthropist has long been the target of conspiracy theorists about Jews controlling the world.

MSNBC, Hardball: Laurence Tribe: Trump dismantling checks and balances http://on.msnbc.com/2YqAXKm
// In a somber six minute address to the nation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives would begin drafting impeachment articles against the President of the United States because he violated his oath of office, and compromised US national security.

DailyBeast, Adam Rawnsley and Betsy Swan: Trumpworld Lawyers’ Contracts to Dig Dirt on Biden http://bit.ly/2YlZK2d
// The agreements add context to the activities in Ukraine—in particular the ties between Giuliani, Toensing, and diGenova, and the powerful Ukrainians with whom they were in contact.

KyivPost, Matthew Kupfer and Oksana Grytsenko: The strange and meteoric rise of Giuliani’s favorite Ukrainian ‘whistleblower’ http://bit.ly/388oE9Y

NYT Mag, Josh Owens: I Worked for Alex Jones. I Regret It. http://nyti.ms/2Rl6T1g
// I dropped out of film school to edit video for the conspiracy theorist because I believed in his worldview. Then I saw what it did to people.

🐣 RT @IlvesToomas Since names like Babakov mean nothing in the US, read this thread. You will find out for example that he was the one whose bank loaned 9M € to the far right Marine Le Pen. In other words, Putin’s conduit to influence the French presidential election.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JackLaurenson [KyivPost] Kyiv, #Ukraine. At midnight, they are in lounge bar of the Premier Palace Hotel, owned by close Putin ally, Russian oligarch Alexander Babakov. Hotel known as den for Kremlin agents & Babakov is alleged Russian intel himself. 📌 https://twitter.com/JackLaurenson/status/1202727340889067521?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @AndriyUkraineTe With America’s Mayor @RudyGiuliani prepping for tomorrow another hard working day in meetings with Mr. Shokin and Mr. Lutcenko. To all conspiracy theorist there is no secret on what we are doing.The TRUTH will come out. God Bless Ukraine and God Bless the United States of America

WaPo, Neal Katyal and Sam Koppelman: The transcript Trump released is still the only evidence needed to impeach him http://wapo.st/2rjcVVt
// Don’t get distracted by procedural details or new revelations.

WaPo, Dana Milbank: This moment was made for Nancy Pelosi http://wapo.st/367x2of

WaPo: Pelosi announces intent to impeach Trump as constitutional clash intensifies http://wapo.st/2sRm2NB

🐣💙💙 RT @DefendDemocracy “Our democracy is at stake. The president leaves us no choice but to act. Because he is trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit.. ¤ Today, I am asking our Chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment.” ¤ #DefendOurDemocracy 💽 https://twitter.com/DefendDemocracy/status/1202666848493490177?s=20/photo/1
// Speaker Nancy Pelosi ♡

Vice, Cameron Joseph: Senate Republicans Have Already Debunked Trump’s Ukraine Conspiracy Theory – but They’re Pushing It Anyway http://bit.ly/2sSNDOB
// The GOP investigated the Ukraine election-meddling conspiracy theory and found … nothing.

🐣 Bringing in Turley as a witness was an odd choice. He didn’t vote for Trump. He LOST his last impeachment defense decisively. He didn’t even say Trump shouldn’t be impeached, just that the process should be slower.

🚫🐣 RT @mhmck Russian agent and American traitor Rudy Giuliani is in Kyiv meeting with Russian agents and Ukrainian traitors. Notable is Andriy Artemenko, a co-conspirator in the “surrender Crimea” plot (along with Felix Sater, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, and Trump). #RussiaInvadedUkraine
// I don’t think Rudy is a Russian “agent” or a traitor, just a dupe, but his meeting w Artemenko is noteworthy

🐣 RT @Teri_Kanefield (Thread) Who Has The Power? ¤ Mostly an analysis of Turley’s testimony (yesterday’s Republican witness) ¤ Bonus: This thread will help prepare you for the Constitutional Law portion of the Twitter Bar Exam. 📌 https://twitter.com/Teri_Kanefield/status/1202633889564377088?s=20

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Three conclusions from Pelosi’s impeachment address http://wapo.st/2RqfqQu

The framers of the Constitution, she correctly stated, were worried about a president who would abuse his powers, specifically the risk of corruption by foreign powers and misuse of his office to get himself reelected. The remedy is impeachment.

● First, Trump will join a select group of only three other presidents who faced articles of impeachment. In Trump’s case, the facts, as Pelosi noted, are largely undisputed, and the gravity of the offenses is undeniable.

● Second, Trump on Thursday yet again demanded a quick vote on impeachment. Without merely being oppositional, the House should consider adopting a deliberate pace, both to give Americans time to absorb the facts and to allow a short amount of time to see whether additional witnesses can be pried loose.

● Third, one cannot help but notice the difference in tone between the two sides. Pelosi was somber, “prayerful” as she put it. The witnesses called by the Democrats are, as she noted, serious and impressive public servants, diplomats and scholars. The Intelligence Committee report is a tightly drafted and fact-filled document. By contrast, Republican lawmakers and the president engage in nonstop histrionics. They peddle in lies and debunked conspiracy theories.

WaPo, Greg Sargent: New revelations about Barr and Giuliani strengthen case against Trump http://wapo.st/388ScnZ

Two new investigative reports demonstrate that Barr and Giuliani are, in effect, continuing to carry out elements of the very same corrupt scheme for which Trump is currently getting impeached. Their activities have been described as “brazen,” but the truth is worse: They demonstrate with great clarity that Trump’s efforts to corrupt our political system will continue — a reminder of why he’s being impeached in the first place.

Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, privately asked Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, who’s executing Barr’s review of the origins of that investigation, to validate a key element of Trumpworld’s “theory” of those origins — and he did not. … [T]he bottom line is Horowitz is expected to conclude that the investigation’s basis was legitimate, and while we don’t know what Durham will conclude, it seems clear he’s finding little to validate Trumpworld’s wild theories.

This is terribly inconvenient for Barr — and Trump and his propagandists. They hope such a review will allow them to cast the whole Russia investigation — and its findings of Russian sabotage and extensive efforts by Trump to coordinate with and benefit from it — as illegitimate.

The key point here is that Barr, who is gearing up to cast doubt on Horowitz’s conclusions, is continuing to use the levers of government to carry out Trump’s overall corrupt project — which Trump is actively cheering on. Barr is trying to undercut the legitimacy of the Russia investigation’s conclusions — which would help make Russia’s criminal attack on our political system and Trump’s nefarious reaping of its gains disappear.

That’s exactly what Trump tried to extort Ukraine into helping him do, by announcing an “investigation” into the lie that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered, thus validating that lie — part of the corrupt plot for which he’s being impeached.

Giuliani is doing the same as we speak. The New York Times reports that Giuliani has traveled to Budapest and Kyiv, where he’s meeting with shadowy Ukrainian figures to keep building the case that Joe Biden and his son Hunter acted corruptly in Ukraine.

This line of nonsense has been thoroughly debunked, but Giuliani met with one of its key proponents, and is participating in the filming of a fake “documentary” that’s designed to make that narrative seem true.

In other words, Giuliani — who was the ringleader of the scheme to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations that would also make that narrative seem true — has continued to try to achieve the same goals that drove the corrupt plot for which Trump is being impeached.

WaPo: A look inside Trump’s anti-impeachment spin factory http://wapo.st/369MMaf

CNN: Garry Kasparov: I lived in the post-truth Soviet world and I hear its echoes in Trump’s America http://cnn.it/33N2PJz

⭕ 4 Dec 2019

✅ PolitiFact: Fact-checking House Republicans’ impeachment report defending Trump on Ukraine http://bit.ly/351fme0

RollingStone, Rick Wilson: The Traitors Among Us http://bit.ly/2RuB5a8
// Donald Trump likes to call his opponents traitors — but if he’s looking for treasonous behavior, he should look within his own party

… America is in the midst of a treason boom right now, and more than a few people in Trump’s immediate orbit — and Trump himself — richly and actually deserve the title of traitor, and the treason inherent in their acts and words is apparent.

As the impeachment hearings have worn on and as evidence of the complete moral collapse of the Republican Party has become more and more evident, it has become quite obvious there really are traitors among us. There are elected officials who have made the decision to protect a corrupt president by embracing conspiracy theories, refusing to acknowledge sworn testimony of career foreign-service officials, and piling on to Trump’s attack of democratic institutions.

The traitors are the ones who, when this is all done and dusted, will sit in the dock at some new Nuremberg trial and claim their innocence of the worst charges and penalties not by claiming their actions were “just following orders” but that they were “just following Trump.”

🐣 RT @Leshchenkos To dig the dirt on opponents and support narrative of @DevinNunes, @RudyGiuliani united efforts with bunch of Ukrainian oligarchs and their crooked former prosecutors. My op-ed. Please retweet!
⋙ KyivPost, Sergii Leshchenko: How Kolomoisky’s prosecutor fueled Giuliani’s conspiracies http://bit.ly/369JF25

PolitiFact (2017): Trump and Russia, Clinton and Ukraine: How do they compare? http://bit.ly/2rYlxRv Three types of Ukrainian efforts: 1) OpEds/social media objections to Trump, 2) Chalupa research on Manafort, 3) “Crowdstrike” is a Russia-based conspiracy theory)
● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1202691461541744651?s=20/photo/1
// 12/7/2017

Ukrainian “Meddling” is Pretty Thin Gruel:

1. OpEds/social media objections to Trump, mostly for Trump’s pro-Russia views on Crimea

2. Alexandra Chalupa – Her research into Manafort was not directed by the DNC, though she shared findings; the Ukrainian embassy officials were helpful but professional. The release of the “black ledger” record of payments to Manafort came from a Ukrainian investigation, not from her research

3. “Crowdstrike” – A Russia promoted conspiracy theory which is technologically silly

“Russia’s effort was personally directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin (and) involved the country’s military and foreign intelligence services,” the article said. “There’s little evidence of such a top-down effort by Ukraine.”

So, according to American intelligence agencies, the Kremlin shaped and directed the email hacking of Democrats and subsequent distribution. In contrast, a variety of actors on the Ukrainian side responded to American queries and provided public documents.

Which leads to the other big distinction: The Russians got their materials through cyber-attacks, while the only telling document revealed by a Ukrainian lawmaker was the product of an official investigation.

“There’s a difference between dealing with the embassy and dealing with a covert intelligence operation,” Wittes said. “Are you dealing with government records, or are you dealing in stolen dirt?”

To be clear, we do not know if the hacked emails had any ties to contacts the Trump campaign did or didn’t have with Russians. But hacked emails are different from the results of a public investigation.

Taking that difference one step further, there was nothing inherently illegal in the quest for information on Manafort and how that might link Donald Trump to Russia. Wittes noted that from a research perspective, since Manafort’s work took place in Ukraine, “you pretty much have to go to the Ukrainians to get that.”

Other details also separate the two narratives.

Ukraine is seen as an ally to the United States, while Russia is at best a competitor and often called an enemy.

🐣 RT @ An official in Zelensky’s office tells BuzzFeed News that the president was caught off guard by Rudy Giuliani’s arrival in Kyiv this week, learning about it from the media. Equally shocked by his arrival was the U.S. Embassy, according to a US diplomat.
⋙ BuzzfeedNews, Christopher Miller: Rudy Giuliani Made A Surprise Visit To Kyiv And Nobody There Is Happy About It http://bit.ly/2OTWzf9
// Ukrainian and American officials in Kyiv told BuzzFeed News they had no advanced warning of Giuliani’s arrival and only learned about it from media reports.

🐣 RT @sfpelosi [Christine Pelosi] DON’T MESS WITH MAMA! ¤ “I don’t hate anybody…As a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I don’t hate anyone…So, don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.” @SpeakerPelosi

NYT, Peter Baker: Mocked Abroad and Assailed at Home, Trump Returns to Face Impeachment http://nyti.ms/363Qfau
// Two days in London on the world stage provided him no respite.

WSJ: Ukraine President Holds Back on Probe Linked to Impeachment Inquiry http://on.wsj.com/2YjetuA
// Politicians, officials say Volodymyr Zelensky wants to avoid getting country more caught up in U.S. politics

RawStory: Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano says he would vote to impeach Trump: ‘Reasonable minds cannot disagree’ http://bit.ly/2OO4bQa

💽 CSPAN: Hearing on Constitutional Framework for Impeachment http://cs.pn/2PfS0KN
// The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing with legal experts to discuss the constitutional framework for potentially drawing up articles of impeachment against President Trump.

DailyBeast, Will Sommer: Rudy Giuliani Teams Up With a Seth Rich Conspiracy Theorist to Save Trump http://bit.ly/2PcgwN7
// The president’s attorney has traveled to some odd places and sought the help of some colorful characters to defend his client. But Chanel Rion might be the strangest of all.

WaPo, Greg Sargent: Stop calling Trump a ‘Russian dupe.’ The truth is much worse. http://wapo.st/2LpkjFx

As Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg suggested to me, party leaders must argue that the GOP’s “embrace of the Ukraine fiction” is not merely a matter of domestic political expediency. Rather, it’s time to ask whether we’re seeing the beginnings of a “realignment” with this global right wing movement against the values and even the interests of “the United States and the West.”

WaPo, Dana Milbank: No wonder Jonathan Turley’s dog is mad http://wapo.st/2DYC4aV

WaPo, EJ Dionne: The moral imperative of impeachment http://wapo.st/2DN7LUh

🐣 RT @tribelaw So what? @AlanDersh is defending a red herring. Nobody proposes impeaching Trump or any president for seeking judicial review of Congressional subpoenas. @JonathanTurley was making a stupid straw man argument. Ordering defiance of all subpoenas is altogether different.
⋙ 🐣 RT @AlanDersh Professor Turley is correct that impeaching a president for demanding judicial review of Congressional subpoenas would undercut our system of checks and balances.

🐣 People shouldn’t act like it’s Dems’ fault if impeachment is a party-line vote. It’s the GOP’s fault. Or, as I like to think of it, it’s the goats separating from the sheep.

NYT: Trump Blocked Key Impeachment Witnesses. Should Congress Wait? http://nyti.ms/2DOzfJo
// At the first House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing, Republicans’ witness said lawmakers were rushing the process and should instead let court fights over access to witnesses play out.

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Republican squawking can’t distract from Democrats’ key points in hearing http://wapo.st/2Lq6Kpr

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Which part of, “we will provide you your military aid if you do us a favor and announce an investigation into the Bidens” did you miss?
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar 7hTURLEY: “If you prove a quid pro quo, you might have an impeachable offense.” ¤ Who wants to tell him?

WaPo: Impeachment goes to college http://wapo.st/2OPitzQ

🐣 RT @EvanRosenfeld Pres. Trump “hit the trifecta of impeachable offenses because he sought foreign interference, he abused the office for personal power, and then he covered it all up by refusing to acknowledge the power of Congress to investigate it,” @glennkirschner2 says. 💽 [Msnbc] https://twitter.com/Evan_Rosenfeld/status/1202390858621845504?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @CBSNews Feldman on why the Framers supported impeaching a corrupt president instead of waiting for an election: “They knew a president would have a great motive to corrupt the electoral process to get reelected”
⋙ CBSNews: 3 experts testify Trump committed impeachable offenses http://cbsn.ws/2OPCQNz

🐣 #NeverTrumper Republicans (all 1000 of you) should just give up and join the Dems. Start a new Neoliberal caucus or something. The GOP has gone full Putinist/Trumpist.
@BillKristol @gtconway3d @RadioFreeTom

HuffPo: Trump’s Actions ‘Worse Than Misconduct Of Any Prior President,’ Law Prof Testifies http://bit.ly/36e6YYX
// “If Congress fails to impeach here, then the impeachment process has lost all meaning,” UNC law professor Michael Gerhardt told Congress.

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Breaking via WaPo: The prosecutor handpicked by Barr to scrutinize how U.S. agencies investigated Trump’s 2016 campaign said he could not offer evidence to the DOJ inspector general to support the right-wing theory that the case was a setup by U.S. intel.
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Barr’s handpicked prosecutor tells inspector general he can’t back right-wing theory that Russia case was U.S. intelligence setup http://wapo.st/3680Dhh //➔ turns out Horowitz contacted Durham, who concurred with him

🐣 RT @McFaul As we rightly dig into legal definitions today, please keep in mind the serious national security implications of Trump misconduct. He pressured a foreign government to intervene in our elections. He withheld military assistance to a country at war to do so.

WaPo, Max Boot: The Republicans have become the party of Russia. This makes me sick. http://wapo.st/2DNiLkw

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews “It’s time to ask whether we’re seeing the beginnings of a “realignment” with this global right wing movement against the values and even the interests of the United States and the West.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews “Trump, his administration and the GOP have made a conscious choice to align themselves with Putinism. It is not unwitting.”
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews The lie about Ukrainian interference has been a mainstay of self-absolving Russian propaganda for years. But Trump hasn’t been “duped” into spreading it. He explicitly recognizes an alliance of his own interests with those of Russia in doing so.

🐣 RT @ColinKahl Many of the debunked Republican claims on Ukraine rely on “reporting” by John Solomon. He’s been a hack for a while. And now it is official: Solomon is doing press for the GOP.
⋙ WaPo, Eric Wemple: John Solomon is now doing press for congressional Republicans http://wapo.st/2RlxlIc

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 I agree that the House should slow down and await the testimony of McGahn, Bolton, Mulvaney, Pompeo and others. As Prof. Turley has said, we don’t want to move too quickly or investigate too narrowly. ALL of Trump’s crimes and abuses should be investigated and exposed.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JohnWDean Let’s impeach him now and NOT send it to the Senate rather keep investigating in the House, and add such supplemental articles as needed! Just let it hang over his head. If the worst happens and he is re-elected, send it to the Senate. But keep investigating!!
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @gtconway In the spirit of compromise, which I think is missing from this age, may I suggest this: Let’s impeach him now but keep investigating, and if we find more evidence, impeach him again.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @PhillipeReines Republicans: Professor Turley, you’re our witness. We called you. Should trump should be impeached?
Turley: We haven’t investigated trump long enough. We need to investigate trump longer.
Republicans: 👀

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Giuliani is in Kyiv seeking to meet with former Ukrainian prosecutors, whose claims and conspiracy theories have been embraced by Republicans, including Viktor Shokin and Kostiantyn H. Kulyk, who have faced allegations of corruption.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Giuliani, Facing Scrutiny, Travels to Europe to Interview Ukrainians: ¤ President Trump’s personal lawyer has been in Budapest and is now in Kyiv to talk with former Ukrainian prosecutors.
🐣 RT @tribelaw Rudy’s back at it in Ukraine TODAY! If anybody wants proof that this gang is so brazen it’ll keep its crime spree going and keep corrupting our elections until we kick them out, here you have it.
⋙ NYT: Giuliani, Facing Scrutiny, Travels to Europe to Interview Ukrainians http://nyti.ms/2OMUqSj
// President Trump’s personal lawyer has been in Budapest and Kyiv this week to talk with former Ukrainian prosecutors for a documentary series intended to debunk the impeachment case.

🐣 RT @Susan_Hennessey Here is Turley’s 1998 opening statement from the Clinton impeachment hearings. It’s a bit different than the opening statement he is giving today:
⋙ JonathanTurley: Clinton Impeachment Testimony: House Judiciary Committee http://bit.ly/2LnEWSv
// 11/9/1998

🔊 GaslitNation: “Trump is the Frankenstein’s monster of the GOP; he was their endgame. But the GOP is now in service to Trump, and Trump is in service to Putin. The GOP now exists as a propaganda weapon to further Kremlin interests.” — @AndreaChalupa on @gaslitnation
📌 https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1202211726122455041?s=20

TaxFoundation: Tracking the Economic Impact of U.S. Tariffs and Retaliatory Actions http://bit.ly/34VjM6g
// 10/18/2019

≣ Lawfare: Livestream and Witness Statements: Dec. 4 House Judiciary Impeachment Hearing http://bit.ly/2DMUHy9 Dems will call Noah Feldman, Harvard Law; Pamela Karlan, Stanford; and Michael Gerhardt, University of North Carolina; GOP will call Jonathan Turley of GWU
// House Judiciary

🐣 Jonathan Turley supported Clinton’s impeachment, per @AriMelber

🐣 RT @CNNpolitics Four law professors will testify at today’s impeachment hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. ¤ Here’s a look at some of the key lines from their opening statements
⋙ CNN: Next phase in Trump impeachment inquiry begins https://cnn.it/2OMT0r0

⭕ 3 Dec 2019

🐣 RT @ Garry Wills: “The founders did not fear government in general. They feared the presidency.”
🐣 RT @michikokikuchani Garry Wills on the Founders and the Constitution: “McConnell backs up the president’s weird claim that Article II gives him the power to do anything he wants; this can be so only if the Senate abrogates its own, vastly superior powers under Article I.”
NYRB, Gary Wills: The Framers’ Answers to Three Myths About Impeachment http://bit.ly/2Lt4rC7

🐣 RT @mattklewis The key here isn’t just that this is a good ad. But the fact that Biden came out with this ad makes you believe he could actually wage a good campaign against Trump. That’s the key.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoeBiden The world is laughing at President Trump. They see him for what he really is: dangerously incompetent and incapable of world leadership. ¤ We cannot give him four more years as commander in chief. 💽 https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1202401954644865024?s=20/photo/1

💙💙 ✅ PolitiFact: What we know about the Politico story at the heart of a Ukraine conspiracy theory http://bit.ly/2LojVr3
// Vogel, Shapiro

NYT: A Mysterious ‘-1’ and Other Call Records Show How Giuliani Pressured Ukraine http://nyti.ms/2YhGFy6
// House Democrats’ impeachment report showed the president’s personal lawyer executing an irregular foreign policy.

🔊 ApplePodcasts, Rachel Maddow Show: Numerous potential articles of impeachment sketched out in report http://apple.co/2Ydy3Zm

WaPo Editorial: Democrats should not give up the fight to hear from more witnesses http://wapo.st/2RkoIgH

NYT Editorial: Of All the Efforts to Defend Trump, This Conspiracy Theory Is the Worst http://nyti.ms/2Ll4YWO
// Crowdstrike and opeds; The president grasps at a debunked claim of election interference as impeachment looms.

WSJ: Report Reveals Call Records Between Giuliani, White House and Nunes http://on.wsj.com/35UwIcq
// Draft impeachment report shows president’s lawyer and top Republican lawmaker in frequent contact

DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: Trump’s GOP Sheds Its Dignity, and Chugs His Kool-Aid http://bit.ly/2YdV6Dj
// The impeachment decision in the Senate is foregone because the Republicans there have joined Trump’s suicide cult.

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin I’m glad @LindseyGrahamSC is speaking truth on Russia at the moment, but no one in Congress has done more to create a culture of Trumpian lies in the GOP than him. He helped set the conditions for his fellow Republican members to shamelessly push Trump’s lies about Ukraine
⋙ 🐣 RT @CNN Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he is “1,000% confident” that Russia, not Ukraine, meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, breaking from President Trump and others in his party who hav

GQ, Julia Ioffe: Trump Is Waging War on America’s Diplomats http://bit.ly/34Il2tb
// And the impeachment inquiry is only making things worse. With new figures and fresh horror stories, Julia Ioffe reports on how the president is politicizing our embassies, alienating our allies, and decimating the ranks of the foreign service.

TheAtlantic, Franklin Foer: The Betrayal of Volodymyr Zelensky http://bit.ly/2OMOyIU
// The surreal story of how a comedian who played the Ukrainian president on TV became the president in real life—then found himself at the center of an American political scandal

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin I desperately want to be optimistic for the GOP because the nation needs it to be healthy and thriving, but looking at it now, it’s hard to see it as anything other than unsalvageable. Worse, it’s truly become a menace to liberty in America.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ @CheriJacobus I agree. And even if you won’t admit it, you know that many of our NeverTrump brethren are way too willing to embrace and “forgive” Trump enablers, to the point of denying they ever were enabling Trump. The “new” post-Trump GOP will be the same as the old — but re-branded.

CNN, Zachary B. Wolf and Sean O’Key: The Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry report, annotated http://cnn.it/361RVkR
// House Intelligence Committee Democrats released a 300-page report outlining their months-long impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Donald Trump. Based on weeks of dramatic public hearings and additional documents requested from the White House, it’s an indictment of Trump’s pressure on Ukraine and, they say, his threat to the US system of government. We’ve annotated their executive summary and linked to the full report.

🐣 RT @LovenTreasure The Cliff’s Notes by #Maddow (but the important thing is he deserves to be impeached): https://twitter.com/LovenTreasure/status/1202048074907914240?s=20/photo/1

NYT: Key Takeaways From House Intelligence Committee’s Impeachment Report http://nyti.ms/2Yekhp8
// The 300-page report lays out Democrats’ case that President Trump abused the power of his office to solicit political help from a foreign power and obstructed the inquiry into his actions.

🐣 RT @W7VOA Front pages of Wednesday @nytimes and @NYDailyNews. https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1202075704495616000?s=20/photo/1-2

🐣💽 RT @RepAdamSchiff Our report lays out overwhelming and uncontested evidence that Trump abused his power to coerce an ally into doing his political dirty work. ¤ For Congress, the question is not of fact, but of duty, responsibility and allegiance to our own oath of office. [CNN:] https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1202067900573597697?s=20/photo/1

CNN: Barr saying inspector general report won’t be the last word on FBI Russia probe http://cnn.it/2Rl0HpV

WaPo, Aaron Blake: 2 key Trump-Ukraine events we should be paying more attention to http://wapo.st/360TWO4 more arrangements with “strings attached”

🐣 RT @dcpoll “Roger Stone, who talked directly to Mr. Trump, received a call from a number listed only as ‘-1,’ the records from Roger Stone’s trial show.”

DailyBeast, Michael Tomasky: Think You’ve Seen Peak GOP Crazy? Watch This. http://bit.ly/381mWqQ
// Doug Collins is poised to make Devin Nunes look like Abraham Lincoln.

DailyBeast, Lachlan Markay: Impeachment Investigators Got Rudy Giuliani’s Phone Records—And They’re Quite Revealing http://bit.ly/2rNs6pP
// Trump’s lawyer was in talks with, among others, Devin Nunes and officials at OMB as the president pursued a political agenda in Ukraine.

🐣 💽 RT @ReigerReport HANNITY: Did you ever talk to this guy [Lev] Parnas or whoever his name is? ¤ NUNES: You know, it’s possible, but I haven’t gone through all my phone records. I don’t really recall that name. … But it seems very unlikely that I would be taking calls from random people. https://twitter.com/RiegerReport/status/1202057371557801986?s=20/photo/1

💙💙 NYT: Impeachment Report Says Trump Solicited Foreign Election Interference http://nyti.ms/2Rh1hVS involved: “Vice President Mike Pence; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Rick Perry, the energy secretary; and Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of staff”
// “ … Vice President Mike Pence; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Rick Perry, the energy secretary; and Mick Mulvaney, the acting chief of staff — either knew of the president’s efforts or were deeply involved in carrying them out.”

NYT: Impeachment Report Says Trump Solicited Foreign Election Interference http://nyti.ms/2Rh1hVS

WaPo: GOP embraces a debunked Ukraine conspiracy to defend Trump from impeachment http://wapo.st/2qiGSVf

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: The Intelligence Committee’s report is a triumph http://wapo.st/2LlAtzL

🔆 This❗️⋙ 📔 HPSCI: Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry report http://bit.ly/2LlnJsX
// 12/3/2019; House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

SECTION I. THE PRESIDENT’S MISCONDUCT …………………………………………………………37
1. The President Forced Out the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine …………………………………….38
2. The President Put Giuliani and the Three Amigos in Charge of Ukraine Issues …………..51
3. The President Froze Military Assistance to Ukraine…………………………………………………67
4. The President’s Meeting with the Ukrainian President Was Conditioned on An Announcement of Investigations ……………………………………………………………………………..83
5. The President Asked the Ukrainian President to Interfere in the 2020 U.S. Election by Investigating the Bidens and 2016 Election Interference……………………………………………..98
6. The President Wanted Ukraine to Announce the Investigations Publicly ………………….114
7. The President’s Conditioning of Military Assistance and a White House Meeting on Announcement of Investigations Raised Alarm…………………………………………………………126
8. The President’s Scheme Was Exposed………………………………………………………………..140

≣ HPSCI: Minority Report http://bit.ly/386qDeX

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Impeachment Report Alleges Trump Solicited Foreign Election Interference http://nyti.ms/2Rh1hVS
// The House Intelligence Committee concluded that President Trump tried to “use the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference on his behalf in the 2020 election.”

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: House panel’s report says Trump ‘compromised national security to advance his personal political interests’ http://wapo.st/33JMWDT

⭕ 2 Dec 2019

DailyBeast, Patricia Ravalgi (12/2): Once-Heroic Agents Have Helped Trump’s Effort to Divide and Conquer the FBI http://bit.ly/2MUCkwv
// 12/2/2019; I’ve watched as some of the FBI’s best agents drank the Trump Kool-Aid and turned against their former companions in the counterterror trenches. One reason: Clinton hatred.

💙💙 Politico, Natasha Bertrand: Senate panel look into Ukraine interference comes up short http://politi.co/2MfhIyD
// Some Republican senators recently questioned whether Kyiv tried to sabotage Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016. But the GOP-led Intelligence Committee looked into the theory, and found scant evidence to support it.
⋙ See under Entire Articles: Politico Bertrand Ukraine 12-2-2019

Salon, Igor Derysh: Prosecutor who aided Giuliani’s hunt for damaging details on Biden fired in anti-corruption purge http://bit.ly/2DV5lTM
// Kostiantyn Kulyk, one of Giuliani’s earliest contacts in Ukraine, was given a dismissal notice last week

📔 NYT: Read the House Republicans’ Report on the Impeachment Inquiry http://nyti.ms/35YJExV

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Chairman Schiff: The Judiciary Committee will be “looking at the Mueller report” and other reports from investigative committees to find additional evidence of impeachable conduct by Trump.
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, RachelMaddow: Public to see Trump impeachment report Tuesday; inquiry continues http://on.msnbc.com/33GjM8x
// Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, tells Rachel Maddow that the report on the Donald Trump impeachment inquiry will be released publicly on Tuesday, but the impeachment committees will continue to investigate, issue subpoenas, and hear new witnesses even after this initial report heads to the House Judiciary Committee.

CNN: House Republicans defend Trump’s actions in new report responding to impeachment inquiry http://cnn.it/34LMyWP

WaPo, Aaron Blake: The GOP’s impeachment report is a series of red herrings http://wapo.st/2r7ehT9

🐣 RT @EricColumbus Even if CrowdStrike were owned by a Ukrainian (it’s not)
Even if DNC server were in Ukraine (it isn’t)
Even if Trump could properly block aid until Ukraine investigated CrowdStrike (he couldn’t)
Trump’s theory amounts to “Ukraine hacked DNC to help Democrats.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

DailyBeast, Julia Arciga: Michael Cohen: Trump Attorney Told Me to Keep Quiet About Additional Russia Contacts in Moscow Tower Deal http://bit.ly/2qio9co
// Jay Sekulow; Cohen told federal investigators he knew about “more communications with Russia,” according to newly released documents from the Mueller probe.

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood as Fiona Hill testified, the Ukraine “investigation” Trump sought was a Russian-intelligence driven effort. its goal, as with attempts to obstruct Mueller, was to absolve 2016 conduct of Russia and Trump
⋙ 🐣 RT @gtconway3d My own view is that Trump’s criminal obstruction of the Mueller investigation is of a piece with his criminal shakedown of Ukraine.

🐣 RT @McFaul What? @TuckerCarlson thinks it is ok for Russia to annex Ukrainian territory and then we should side with Russia ? Wow. Just wow. Missing Reagan. Missing real conservative Republicans. Missing Churchill. Scared of appeasers.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn Tucker: I should say for the record that I’m totally opposed to these sanctions and I don’t think we should be at war with Russia and I think we should take the side of Russia if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine 💽 https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1201674758158352385?s=20/photo/1

NYT: White House Lifts Mysterious Hold on Military Aid to Lebanon http://nyti.ms/35OfWf8
// The Trump administration will allow the $105 million aid package to flow after freezing the funding without explanation.

WaPo: Democrats quietly debate expanding impeachment articles beyond Ukraine http://wapo.st/33EtWGJ //➔ if the world made sense, which it doesn’t, it would include all impeachable conduct

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance This argument is dumb. I’m sure the Japanese, the Belgians & the Chileans has a favorite too. But none of them, nor Ukraine, had troll farms & hacked the DNC. All 17 agencies in our intel community concluded Russia interfered in our election.
⋙ 🐣 RT @frankthorp Senate Intel Committee Chairman @SenatorBurr: “Every elected official in the Ukraine was for Hillary Clinton. Is that very different than the Russians being for Donald Trump?”

WaPo, Dana Milbank: Pat Cipollone is the dog that caught the car http://wapo.st/2P7gupK

🐣 RT @matthewamiller Unreal. It is not uncommon for an AG to disagree with an IG finding because it is too tough on DOJ. I have never heard of an IG confirming the department did things correctly and an AG disputing it. Just shocking partisan behavior.
🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Barr flat-out lied to the American people about the findings of the Mueller report. Now he apparently will dispute the findings of the DOJ Inspector General because those findings don’t help Trump. I hope Congress will soon turn its attention to Barr.
🐣 RT @selectedwisdom If true, This is absurd and does such damage to DoJ. Why would any citizen trust the DoJ when Barr behaves this way?”Barr disputes key inspector general finding about FBI’s Russia investigation”
🐣 RT @DwightEvansPA AG Barr is trying to muddy the waters around IG report all because it debunks his preferred finding. His opinion should not matter here and Barr must let the IG report stand on its own without further interference.
🐣 RT @eliehonig Barr is in no position to assess whether the FBI had enough evidence to open an investigation because he has never actually hands-on prosecuted or tried a criminal case. Oh and he’s a spineless political hack, as demonstrated once again here.
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Barr doesn’t accept key inspector general finding about FBI’s Russia investigation http://wapo.st/33GzgcS

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff The GOP report ignores voluminous evidence Trump used his office to press Ukraine into investigating Biden by withholding military aid and a White House meeting. ¤ They say this is just Trump’s “outside the beltway” thinking. It’s more accurately outside the law and Constitution.
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Schiff: “The Minority’s rebuttal document … ignores voluminous evidence that the president used the power of his office to pressure Ukraine … the Minority dismisses this as just part of the President’s ‘outside the beltway’ thinking. It is more accurately, outside the law.”

Politico: House Judiciary reveals witnesses for first impeachment hearing http://politi.co/35Vig3V Democrats will call Noah Feldman, Harvard Law; Pamela Karlan, Stanford; and Michael Gerhardt, University of North Carolina; Republicans with call Jonathan Turley of GWU
// A quartet of constitutional scholars will kick off the panel’s impeachment proceedings on Wednesday.

NYT, Bob Bauer: Trump Is the Founders’ Worst Nightmare http://nyti.ms/2RcHl6l Mr. Bauer served as a White House counsel under President Barack Obama.
// Once in the Oval Office, a demagogue can easily stay there.

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson just denied DOJ’s motion for a stay of her order that McGahn must testify before Congress, as “further delay . . . causes grave harm . . . to the interests of the public.”(see full quote, below). The state of our judiciary remains STRONG! https://twitter.com/glennkirschner2/status/1201647787848413186?s=20/photo/1

💙 WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Nadler calls Trump’s bluff http://wapo.st/2rb17of “There is no process that will meet Trump’s definition of “fairness,” because any limitation on his conduct and any criticism are by definition unfair in his narcissistic, self-deluded view.”

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok A federal court today ruled McGahn refusal to comply w/ congressional subpoena was unlawful, calling Trump’s arguments “disingenuous & unacceptable mischaracterization.” THAT’S how media must treat this admin of liars & propagandists who use illegitimate methods & in BAD FAITH.
‼️ 🐣 RT @joshgerstein BREAKING: Judge denies Trump admin request to stay order requiring McGahn to appear for testimony. Also flays DOJ, calling its arguments ‘disingenuous’ & ‘unacceptable mischaracterization’. Doc: https://twitter.com/joshgerstein/status/1201627676265435136?s=20/photo/1

WaPo, Philip Bump: This is what Ukraine’s ‘interference’ looked like, according to Republicans http://wapo.st/35Z5a5Y

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Republican Impeachment Defense Claims Trump’s Ukraine Pressure Was Apolitical http://nyti.ms/33IfE7S
// In a report intended to counter Democrats’ impeachment case against President Trump, Republicans will argue his efforts to get Ukraine to investigate his rivals had nothing to do with politics.

NBCNews: The impeachment fight boils down to these four simple questions http://nbcnews.to/37YFyrG

1. One, did the president of the United States ask another country to interfere in the upcoming 2020 election — against possible Democratic rival Joe Biden?
2. Two, did Trump and his administration withhold military aid and a White House visit to compel Ukraine to start this investigation into Joe Biden and his son?
3. Three, were those actions — first the ask of interference, then the temporary withholding of military aid — an abuse of the president’s powers?
4. And four — and most importantly — do those actions amount to impeachable offenses?

🐣 RT @TheRickWilson Sadly, I’m starting to think everything we worked so hard to build was a lie.
⋙ 🐣 RT @stuartpstevens the strong, realistic party on foreign policy leads to only one conclusion: they never believed what they said. It was all a lie.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @MeetThePress . @ChuckTodd says Kennedy’s accusations about Ukraine sound like “an active propaganda campaign by Russia to get people like you to say these things.”
“You apparently were briefed about this [in the Senate]. … You didn’t attend that briefing?”
@SenJohnKennedy: “No.” #MTP

WaPo, Max Boot: Trump is continuing the ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’ http://wapo.st/2Rep7RN

🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger What to do about a senator who neglects his obligations to attend briefings, who perpetuates propaganda from an adversary and who deliberately misleads the public by conflating meddling/interference by an adversary and public criticism of a candidate?
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: What to do about the Kremlin’s propagandists http://wapo.st/2YifB1T

… Kennedy responded, “I think both Russia and Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election. I think it’s been well documented in the Financial Times, in Politico, in the Economist, in the Washington Examiner, even on CBS, that the prime minister of Ukraine, the interior minister, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, the head of the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption League, all meddled in the election on social media and otherwise.” …

Kennedy is not alone in his obfuscation, but he is one of the most egregious examples. Frankly, it is for this reason — the need to set the public straight and to make a historical record — to proceed with impeachment.

WaPo: Valerie Plame, America’s most famous ex-spy, finds her new identity http://wapo.st/2YifB1T

TIME: ‘I Don’t Trust Anyone at All.’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Speaks Out on Trump, Putin and a Divided Europe http://bit.ly/2OH4Gvg

Zelensky “pushed back on Trump’s recent claims about corruption in Ukraine, and questioned the fairness of Trump’s decision to freeze American aid. “Look, I never talked to the President from the position of a quid pro quo. That’s not my thing. … I don’t want us to look like beggars. But you have to understand. We’re at war. If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us. I think that’s just about fairness. It’s not about a quid pro quo. It just goes without saying.”

🐣 .@GlennKesslerWP PLEASE check out all the claims Sen. John Kennedy made on @MeetThePress, including all the articles he cited. I think I’ve read most of them: Vogel, Isakoff etc, and the caveats regarding them, but it would be great to have them all addressed in one piece.

━━━━━━━▼ FACTCHECK Ukraine Meddling Hunter Biden Chalupa

💙💙 ✅🔄 PolitiFact’s Trump-Ukraine-Biden coverage in one place http://bit.ly/38gaZOb Dozens of articles, starting 5/7/2019; continuously updated

✅ PolitiFact: Fact-checking House Republicans’ impeachment report defending Trump on Ukraine http://bit.ly/351fme0
// 12/4/2019

✅ WaPo FactChecker, Glenn Kessler: GOP tries to connect dots on Biden and Ukraine, but comes up short http://wapo.st/361zKeX FOUR PINOCCHIOS 🍄🍄🍄🍄
// 12/4/2019

President Trump has falsely claimed that then-Vice President Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to fire Shokin, the top Ukrainian prosecutor, because he was investigating Ukraine’s largest private gas company, Burisma, at a time when Hunter Biden was on the Burisma board. In fact, the opposite is true — Joe Biden was carrying out administration policy, coordinated with European allies, to press for the removal of Shokin because he was not investigating corruption. …

Republicans are clearly trying to connect some dots to give an impression of malfeasance by Biden. But they are looking at the wrong dots. Nothing significant appears to have happened in February 2016 except primarily the reinstatement of a previous court order. Instead, Zlochevsky’s assets had been seized a year earlier and were only briefly not under a court order because of a prosecutorial error.

In other words, there would have been no reason for Biden to raise the supposed raid of Zlochevsky’s home in his phone calls. Moreover, as we’ve shown, Biden’s aides at the time say that neither Burisma nor Zlochevsky was raised in the calls.

💙💙 ✅ PolitiFact: What we know about the Politico story at the heart of a Ukraine conspiracy theory http://bit.ly/2LojVr3
// 12/3/2019; Ken Vogel, Alexandra Chalupa

WaPo, Philip Bump: This is what Ukraine’s ‘interference’ looked like, according to Republicans http://wapo.st/35Z5a5Y
// 12/2/2019

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Republican Impeachment Defense Claims Trump’s Ukraine Pressure Was Apolitical http://nyti.ms/33IfE7S
// // 12/2/2019; In a report intended to counter Democrats’ impeachment case against President Trump, Republicans will argue his efforts to get Ukraine to investigate his rivals had nothing to do with politics.

WaPo, Greg Sargent: The latest defense of Trump is a total scam. Republicans just confirmed it themselves. http://wapo.st/
// 12/2/2019; 1. Collins: Trump cares about corruption, 2. “Senator Kennedy’s laughable spin”

BusinessInsider: NBC’s Chuck Todd grills Sen. John Kennedy for echoing Putin’s talking points and doing Trump’s ‘dirty work’ http://bit.ly/33Ay5vm
// 12/1/2019

✅ PBS: AP Fact Check: Trump’s Ukraine defense collides with facts http://to.pbs.org/34IaXfF
// 11/30/2019

✅ Politifact: Fact-checking Trump’s falsehoods on Fox & Friends about Ukraine, impeachment and Mueller report http://bit.ly/2rHGaRR
// 11/22/2019

✅ Politifact: No, Ukraine didn’t indict Burisma on Wednesday http://bit.ly/33G8kKj
// 11/22/2019

✅ FactCheck.org: Trump Repeats False Ukraine Claims http://bit.ly/2sC2VXK
// 11/22/2019

WashingtonExaminer: Intelligence officials warned senators Russia tried to blame 2016 election interference on Ukraine http://washex.am/2Rar9m4
// 11/22/2019

💙 NYT: Charges of Ukrainian Meddling? A Russian Operation, U.S. Intelligence Says http://nyti.ms/2OFy4kl
// 11/22/2019; Moscow has run a yearslong operation to blame Ukraine for its own 2016 election interference. Republicans have used similar talking points to defend President Trump in impeachment proceedings.

Axios: Senators briefed that CrowdStrike theory is Russian-backed disinformation campaign http://bit.ly/33CJWcb
// 11/22/2019

CNN: Senators were briefed on Russian campaign to blame Ukraine for 2016 election meddling in the fall http://cnn.it/2Y6n18d
// 11/22/2019

✅ NBCNews: Does Ukraine have the DNC server like Trump says? We fact checked that. http://nbcnews.to/2P89VTG
// 11/22/2019; A day earlier, a key impeachment witness — Trump’s former Russia expert — called this conspiracy a “fictional narrative” that serves Moscow’s interests.

✅ Politifact: Fiona Hill and conspiracy theories about Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know http://bit.ly/35UYkOQ
// 11/22/2019

✅ AP FACT CHECK: Trump, GOP claims on Ukraine corruption http://bit.ly/2DzhSfm
// 11/21/2019

TheFederalist, Chrissy Clark: Media Acknowledged Ukrainian Meddling Until It Hurt Impeachment Efforts http://bit.ly/2Pad3ym
● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1201563217945911296?s=20/photo/1
// 11/21/2019; Apparently these sources were used by Sen John Kennedy (R-AL) as evidence Ukraine meddled in 2016 election. They were cited without links or even titles, but I found them based on media source, date and topic.

“As the endless impeachment hearings drag on, congressional Democrats and the mainstream media are pushing the narrative that Ukraine meddling in the 2016 election is a fictitious theory. But that’s not what they said just after President Trump won the election.

“‘It’s not just that [Trump] subverted U.S. policy for this fictitious theory about Ukrainian meddling in the election. Which, by the way, the absolute, unanimous conclusion is it was Russia, not Ukraine, is a conclusion based on fact.’ CNN’s Andy McCabe said.”

[ The article doesn’t provide links or article titles, just dates, but I looked them up: ]

● FinancialTimes, Roman Olearchyk: Ukraine’s leaders campaign against ‘pro-Putin’ Trump http://on.ft.com/2DDFM9B
// 8/26/2018; Fears over effect Republican’s victory would have on US policy towards Kiev

● Politico, Ken Vogel and David Stern: Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire http://politi.co/2XBjFcp
// 1/11/2017; Kiev officials are scrambling to make amends with the president-elect after quietly working to boost Clinton.

● FinancialTimes, Demetri Sevastopulo and Courtney Weaver: Moscow’s cyber warriors in Ukraine linked to US election http://on.ft.com/34D2FG1
// 12/21/2016; Security firm accuses Russian intelligence’s ‘Fancy Bear’ hackers

● Politico, Ken Vogel, David Stern and Josh Meyer: Manafort faced blackmail attempt, hacks suggest http://politi.co/2Y6Vq6G
// 2/23/2017; Stolen texts appear to show threats to expose relations among Russia-friendly forces, Trump and his former campaign chairman.

● NYT, Andrew E Kramer: Ukraine Court Rules Manafort Disclosure Caused ‘Meddling’ in U.S. Election http://nyti.ms/2PbKjFM
// 12/12/2018; [this ruling was overturned]

✅ BBC: Trump impeachment inquiry: Three Republican claims fact-checked http://bbc.in/37XAyDt
// 11/19/2019

💙 ✅ WaPo FactChecker, Glenn Kessler (10/8/2019): The GOP theory that Ukraine ‘set up’ Trump http://wapo.st/2CPohCV
// 11/18/2019

≣ GaslitNation: Alexandra Chalupa Interview [Transcript] http://bit.ly/2XpKT68
// undated; 19p

✅ CNN, Daniel Dale: Fact check: A list of 45 ways Trump has been dishonest about Ukraine and impeachment http://cnn.it/2XlvzaR
// 11/16/2019

✅ NBCConnecticutt: AP Fact Check: GOP Presses Empty Ukraine Meddling Theory http://bit.ly/2YbXQBg
// 11/13/2019; The first public hearing in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump was held Wednesday

✅ USAToday: Factcheck: Trump wrong on European aid to Ukraine http://bit.ly/33Gj5fi
// 11/13/2019

💙💙 BuzzFeedNews, Ryan Broderick (11/4): How A Viral Article On Facebook Convinced Trump’s Inner Circle They Had Found Their Very Own Ukrainian “Whistleblower” http://bit.ly/2YfgVCA
// 11/4/2019; Andriy Telizhenko has propelled himself from a minor functionary at the Ukrainian Embassy to a bespoke purveyor of conspiracy theories to Republican senators, Russian media, and Rudy Giuliani.

… Telizhenko possesses a key piece of currency that many of his peers don’t: a major Politico story that includes his name significantly. Since the piece’s publication, he’s been able to parlay the name-check into a political consultancy business and meetings with senators and the president’s personal lawyer.

Written by Ken Vogel and Ukraine-based reporter David Stern, the story is titled “Ukrainian Efforts to Sabotage Trump Backfire.” Vogel left Politico in June 2017 and joined the New York Times, where he has continued to cover Ukraine’s role in US politics, Stern has recently been doing the same for the Washington Post. Although it was largely forgotten in the mainstream discourse, the 2017 story caused a massive shockwave across the conservative fringe. It’s regularly posted to 4chan and Reddit as smoking gun proof of Democratic collusion. It was linked to by right-wing news site Daily Wire as recently as last month.

Telizhenko, then working for the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, told Vogel and Stern that in March of 2016, Oksana Shulyar, a top aide for Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Valeriy Chaly, asked him to help Ukrainian American DNC contractor Alexandra Chalupa research connections between Trump, his campaign chair Paul Manafort, and the Russian government. …

Telizhenko presents himself as stumbling across the purported conspiracy inadvertently, claiming that Chalupa solicited the Ukrainian Embassy’s assistance to build a case against Manafort, who was later indicted and found guilty on eight counts and pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy. …

… Telizhenko resurfaced in the summer of 2018 on the Ukrainian news site Strana.UA, whose editor fled Ukraine for Vienna amid threats to his life in 2018. Telizhenko repeated his story to the pro-Russian outlet — Chalupa tried to solicit help from the Ukrainian Embassy to do opposition research on Manafort. But in this story, he claimed that Poroshenko worked with Chalupa to discredit the Trump campaign. Telizhenko also mentions his appearance in the Politico story as a way of adding legitimacy to his story. …

The first original English interview with Telizhenko of the post-Spygate cycle was conducted by former Breitbart journalist Lee Stranahan, who left the hyperpartisan news site in April 2017 to join Russian state-run news site Sputnik News. Stranahan, following his move to Sputnik News in April 2017, told the Atlantic, “I’m on the Russian payroll now, when you work at Sputnik you’re being paid by the Russians. That’s what it is. I don’t have any qualms about it.”

Stranahan conducted the interview on Periscope, but it was soon embedded and written up by Sputnik News, which included a link to the 2017 Politico article as a way to validate the Stranahan conversation. “I spoke to Lee Stranahan because he was asking for an interview for a long time. And he promised it wouldn’t go on Sputnik, but it went on Sputnik. But he did it in a professional way. He said, ‘I am not pro-Russian,’” Telizhenko said. “That was the deal.”

Following Stranahan’s interview, Telizhenko started appearing more frequently in American far-right media. In November 2018, he appeared on the same Infowars radio show episode as Roger Stone. Gateway Pundit wrote multiple stories about him, the first in December 2018 and the second in March this year.

… On March 20, Telizhenko tweeted the Gateway Pundit article at far-right activist Jack Posobiec and Donald Trump Jr. The next day, he tweeted at John Solomon, a former opinion writer at the Hill, then at Fox News host Sean Hannity, and then at Solomon again.

“I wanted someone to look into my story,” Telizhenko said. “I effectively reached out to them because I figured they were also interested in something in Ukraine.”

On March 24, Telizhenko went on another Twitter self-promotion push, tweeting at Fox News contributor Sara Carter and host Sean Hannity, asking them to “look into DNC Ukraine collusion.” Then he tweeted at Dan Bongino, then at Hannity again, then at Bongino again, then Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton and President Trump, then finally at Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Telizhenko’s tweetstorm began to wind down on March 25 with a tweet at Giuliani; then on March 27, Telizhenko tweeted the Politico article at Giuliani and Trump one last time.

None of the big names Telizhenko tweeted at publicly engaged with him, either via a reply, like, or retweet. None of them follow him either. But a month later, the tweets to Solomon paid off, when the Hill ran an interview with him. (Telizhenko told BuzzFeed News that Solomon reached out to him.) …

Solomon’s work has shaped much of the conservative news coverage around the Ukrainian–DNC collusion conspiracy theory. Solomon began reporting on possible Ukrainian collusion in April this year, publishing allegations made by Kostiantyn Kulyk, the deputy head of Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s International Legal Cooperation Department, which claimed Ukrainian law enforcement had evidence that Democrats attempted to interfere in the 2016 election.

Solomon’s first interview with Telizhenko, published on April 25, was the most-shared story featuring the Ukrainian since the Politico story. According to BuzzSumo, it received 68,000 engagements on Facebook and 34,000 shares on Twitter. According to social metrics site Crowdtangle, the two largest Facebook groups or pages that linked to it were the Hill’s main page (1.3 million followers) and “The Committee to Defend the President” (over 880,000 followers). Of the four Hill articles Telizhenko’s name has appeared in since last spring, Solomon, who did not return requests for comment, has written three.

Telizhenko also worked in Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office, between June 2014 and November 2015, before Yuriy Lutsenko became prosecutor general, but overlapping with Ukraine’s special anti-corruption prosecutor, Nazar Kholodnytsky, whom Giuliani interviewed in 2019.

“We kept in touch. We talked for some time,” Telizhenko said of Kholodnytsky. “Last time I spoke with him was last year.”

It looks as if his efforts to curry favor with Trump’s inner circle by members of the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office were actually part of a larger plan to oust Marie Yovanovitch, the US ambassador to Ukraine and a vocal anti-corruption critic. The Trump administration recalled Yovanovitch in May.

In a deposition given to congressional committees last month, she said that she was told that Trump had lost confidence in her and that there had been a concerted campaign against her and pressure from the president to remove her since the summer of 2018.

But Telizhenko denied that Ukrainian prosecutors coming forward had anything to do with the ousting of Yovanovitch. “They just wanted to protect what was going on in the prosecutor’s office from the interference from the liberal-sided state department officials,” he said. …

Although Telizhenko’s conservative media blitz may not have landed him on Fox News, it was successful enough to get him a seat at the table with Giuliani — literally. According to the joint US House committees’ investigation and confirmed by Telizhenko, Republican operative Victoria Toensing organized a meeting between him and Giuliani at the former mayor’s office in New York in May. (Toensing also currently represents Solomon.) …

A month after the interview with Giuliani, Telizhenko met with Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson in Washington, DC. … Johnson has emerged as a central figure in the impeachment investigation, both as an investigator and a figure in the investigation. …

Throughout it all, the engine of Telizhenko’s rise from low-level embassy employee to alt-whistleblower is the Facebook traffic around the 2017 Politico story that names him. According to Crowdtangle, on Sept. 23 of this year, the story started to go viral on Facebook again — a day after President Trump acknowledged that he had discussed Hunter Biden and a missing DNC server in a phone call with Ukraine’s president. It began with a user from Flushing, New York, sharing it to a 3,000-person group called “YourVoice America Group.”

“While the Democrats and the lapdog media has been spending their time making up Trump Administration scandals, they’ve been ignoring the real political scandals coming out of Ukraine,” the user wrote.

Then that same user shared with the same copy-and-pasted the same text to three other groups, “Crowdsource the Truth,” “LIFT — Long Islanders for Trump,” and “ActivistsUnited for Transparent Democracy” in quick succession. The Politico link made its way through a network of fan groups for Fox News hosts like Jesse Watters, Laura Ingraham, and Tucker Carlson. It finally got its first surge of traffic on Oct. 1, when it was shared to “Bill O’Reilly fan group.” The next day, it was on Rush Limbaugh’s verified Facebook page where it was shared 700 times. Two weeks later, it was shared on the verified Facebook page for Mark Levin, a right-wing radio host, where it was shared 7,000 times.

And from the fan pages, Telizhenko finally made it to the mainstream of conservative media. His name appeared in Fox News article for the first time in September. He appeared on Glenn Beck’s YouTube show on Oct. 19. The episode was titled “Whistleblowing AGAINST the DNC.” Telizhenko also managed to snag a segment on One America News Network, being interviewed by Jack Posobiec.

Throughout everything, Telizhenko has vehemently denied working with Russian media. “I don’t like that [the Russian media] is using this. I’m against it. I’m getting calls from the Russians asking for an interview,” he said.

At the same time, though, when asked how he feels about the fact that what he’s doing could be used to disrupt the impeachment process or the 2020 US election, he’s wholly dismissive.

“I don’t think I have the weight to disrupt the elections for 2020 with a story that happened in 2016 — four years prior to today,” he said. “I saw that there’s a lot of other websites using my talks or interviews and they have their own narrative or story. I don’t have any action over that. I try not to get involved.”

✅ Bloomberg: On Bidens and Ukraine, Wild Claims With Little Basis http://bloom.bg/2Kf8m4W
// 10/9/2019

✅ PolitiFact: PolitiFact, Louis Jacobson: Donald Trump’s accusations about Hunter Biden and a payout from China: A closer look http://bit.ly/2OidDLW not illegal; HB was unpaid board member; company raised $4.2M (not $1.5B), Hunter invested $420K; no returns realized
// 10/2/2019

Vox, Matt Yglesias: Hunter Biden, the black sheep who might accidentally bring down Trump, explained http://bit.ly/2OrAIM3
// 10/1/2019; A troubled guy at the center of the fake scandal that became a real scandal.

✅ WaPo FactChecker, Glenn Kessler: A quick guide to Trump’s false claims about Ukraine and the Bidens http://wapo.st/2sKBVoS
// 9/27/2019

🐣 RT @NBCNews President Trump’s claims appear to be at the center of a scandal involving a phone call with Ukraine’s president, in which he reportedly pressed for a probe of his political rival.
⋙ NBCNews: There’s no evidence for Trump’s Biden-Ukraine accusations. What really happened? http://nbcnews.to/2mzVcGA
// Trump’s claims appear to be at the center of a scandal involving a phone call with Ukraine’s president, in which Trump reportedly pressed for a probe of his political rival.
// 9/25/2019

✅ NPR, Greg Myre: What Were The Bidens Doing In Ukraine? 5 Questions Answered http://n.pr/2kUuHuZ
// 9/24/2019

1. So what did Joe Biden do in Ukraine?
2. What role did Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden play in Ukraine?
3. Is there any sign of wrongdoing by either Joe Biden or his son Hunter Biden?
4. How do Trump and his supporters see Joe Biden’s work?
5. What’s next?

DailyBeast, Anna Nemtsova: Ukraine Likely to Reopen Probe of Hunter Biden Firm: Sources http://bit.ly/2mwUXfi
// 9/24/2019; President Zelensky came to office vowing to fight corruption, and it looks like he’ll open a lot of cases shut by shady prosecutors. But the focus is on Ukraine, not the U.S.

AP, Stephen Braun and Lynn Berry: The story behind Biden’s son, Ukraine and Trump’s claims http://bit.ly/2kUQBOR
// 9/23/2019

🐣 RT @jennycohn1 It is important to understand that the Trump regime is LYING when it says that prosecutor Shokin—who Biden & the EU called out—wanted to investigate Burisma’s corruption. It was the opposite. Shokin enabled Burisma’s corruption by refusing to turn over evidence to the UK. 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/jennycohn1/status/1176333122507440129?s=20
// 9/23/2019; Hunter Biden

MMFA, Courtney Hagle and Bobby Lewis: Debunking lies about Trump, Biden, Ukraine, and the whistleblower http://bit.ly/2l05I9O research contributed by Courtney Hagel and Eric Kleefeld
// 9/23/2019

✅ CNN, Daniel Dale: Fact check: What Trump has been getting wrong on Biden and Ukraine http://cnn.it/2mZxIef
// 9/23/2019; Hunter Biden

✅ PolitiFact, Louis Jacobson and John Kruzel: Trump’s Ukraine call, a whistleblower and the Bidens: What we know, what we don’t http://bit.ly/2mSDu14
// 9/23/2019; Hunter Biden

✅ WaPo FactChecker, Glenn Kessler and Salvador Rizzo: Fact-checking Trump’s latest claims on Biden and Ukraine http://wapo.st/2muacWl No there there.
// 9/23/2019; Hunter Biden

💙💙 🔆 WaPo, Philip Bump: Trump has been openly trying to leverage Ukraine to his political benefit for months http://wapo.st/2m6eRxr
// 9/20/2019

💙💙 🔆 DailyBeast, Anna Nemtsova: Ukrainian Official: Trump Wants Dirt ‘To Discredit Biden’ http://bit.ly/2mrtjR4
// 9/20/2019

✅ PolitiFact, Louis Jacobson: Fact-checking Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Ukraine http://bit.ly/2mqKylA
● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1176620172830023680?s=20/photo/1
// 9/24/2019; “Half-True”

The image gets individual pieces of this assertion right — Hunter Biden was a director of the company, and Joe Biden did leverage U.S. aid to fire a prosecutor. But it overreaches by assuming that Joe Biden acted to protect the company his son was affiliated with. In reality, there was widespread agreement in the West that the existing prosecutor had to go, and it’s not clear that the company would have benefited from his ouster anyway, given evidence that its cases had long been dormant.

✅ FactCheck.org, Eugene Kiely: Trump Twists Facts on Biden and Ukraine http://bit.ly/2liUTjn
// 9/24/2019; Hunter Biden

Politico: Biden wages war on Hunter-Ukraine reporting http://politi.co/2lx49jR
// 9/24/2019; ‘You saw what happened to Hillary in 2016 with all of the ridiculous coverage about her emails. That’s not going to happen with us. We learned.’

WashingtonExaminer, Joseph Simonson: Business efforts of Biden brother and son prompt new questions over influence peddling http://washex.am/
// 8/15/2019

Politico, Ben Schreckinger: Biden Inc. http://politi.co/2mGFxoQ
// Over his decades in office, ‘Middle-Class Joe’s’ family fortunes have closely tracked his political career.
// 8/2/2019

NewYorker, Adam Entous (7/1): Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize His Father’s Campaign? http://bit.ly/2kx7q28
// 7/1/2019, background

VanityFair, Rachel Dodes: Hunter Biden Is the Best Thing That Could Happen to Joe Biden http://bit.ly/2mHGsW0
// 6/27/2019; If Biden is in fact the Democratic nominee in 2020, his son’s messy personal life might actually be an advantage.

DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Asawin Suebsaeng: House Dems Ready to Investigate Giuliani’s Ukraine Shenanigans http://bit.ly/2WuuXCp
// 6/7/2019; The president’s lawyer says he welcomes the scrutiny and plans to turn it to his advantage.

DailyBeast, Lachlan Markay: Trumpworld Lobbyists Cut Check to Giuliani’s Ukraine ‘Investigator’ http://bit.ly/2QU9CN1
// 6/6/2019; A payment to Global Energy Producers’ Lev Parnas was revealed in federal court proceedings, in which a former partner is attempting to recoup money over a movie deal gone bad.

Bloomberg: Ukraine Prosecutor Says No Evidence of Wrongdoing by Bidens http://bloom.bg/2kJF6tz By Daryna Krasnolutska , Kateryna Choursina , and Stephanie Baker
// 5/16/2019
● Hunter Biden, Burisma not targets, despite Giuliani’s pleas
● Long-running investigation said to focus on another Ukrainian

Law&Crime, Jeremy Smith: Ukrainian Prosecutor Rains on Giuliani’s Parade, Says There’s No Evidence the Bidens Broke the Law http://bit.ly/2mFSpvK
// 5/16/2019

FreeBeacon, Brent Sched: Hunter Biden’s China Deal Partners Include Mobster Whitey Bulger’s Nephew, John Kerry’s Stepson http://bit.ly/2l6jJmn
// 5/13/2019

Vox, Gabriela Resto-Montero: Rudy Giuliani cancels Ukraine trip amid criticism he’s courting election interference http://bit.ly/31cQdeL
// 5/11/2019; The president’s lawyer wants Ukrainian officials to investigate a call Joe Biden made about corruption.

TheIntercept, Robert Mackey (May): A Republican Conspiracy Theory About a Biden-in-Ukraine Scandal Has Gone Mainstream. But It Is Not True. http://bit.ly/2muqizk
// 5/10/2019

Wonkette: Rudy Colludy Twisting Ukraine’s Arm To Investigate Joe Biden http://bit.ly/2XtXRiJ
// 5/10/2019

NYT, Kenneth Vogel: Rudy Giuliani Plans Ukraine Trip to Push for Inquiries That Could Help Trump http://nyti.ms/2VcNlKH
// 5/9/2019

TheAtlantic, Peter Nicholas: Trump’s Biden Plan? It Could Get Dirty. http://bit.ly/2l6doaz
// Should Biden remain atop the 2020 field, Donald Trump and his allies may attack the former vice president’s family.
// 5/2/2019

NYT, Kenneth Vogel and Iuliia: Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies http://nyti.ms/2lsdSrL
// 5/1/2019

Vox, Murray Waas (2018): Exclusive: Paul Manafort advised White House on how to attack and discredit investigation of President Trump http://bit.ly/2PCPrRe
// 12/14/2018; We now have details as to how the indicted former campaign manager worked with the president to undermine federal law enforcement.

DailyBeast, Asawin Suebsaeng and Lachlan Markay (2017): Team Trump’s Gotcha on Ukraine-DNC ‘Collusion’ Is Total B.S. and Trump Aides Know It http://bit.ly/
// 7/13/2017; It’s like ‘trying to make the Lewinsky scandal about Bob Dole getting a blowjob.’

Politico, Kenneth Vogel (2017): Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire http://politi.co/2XBjFcp
// 1/11/2017; Kiev officials are scrambling to make amends with the president-elect after quietly working to boost Clinton.

⭕ 1 Dec 2019

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Lisa Page: “It’s particularly devastating to be betrayed by an organization I still care about so deeply. And it’s crushing to see the noble Justice Department … the place I grew up in, feel like it’s abandoned its principles of truth and independence.”
💙⋙ DailyBeast, Molly Jong-Fast: Lisa Page Speaks: ‘There’s No Fathomable Way I Have Committed Any Crime at All’ http://bit.ly/2P62fkK
// The former FBI lawyer and ongoing Trump target breaks two years of silence in this exclusive interview. And she has quite a lot to say.

WaPo: Trump’s counsel says president won’t participate in House Judiciary’s first impeachment panel, calling it unfair http://wapo.st/384XLUu

🐣 RT @McFaul But I want to stress, I will quickly change my mind when confronted with new data. Send me links to paper that show the negative effects of refuting politicians on twitter pushing disinformation in the media, and I’ll change my behavior. Eager to learn.
⋙ 🐣 RT @McFaul I don’t buy this amplification argument. You really think my followers are buying into Kennedy’s argument because of my critical tweet? By that logic, should we never criticize Trump lest we amplify his message? But Im willing to rethink, especially if data support the argument
⋙⋙ 🐣 The amplification argument is alarming. For children, it can be argued, it avoids confusion or even fear. But adults should be able to able to deal with information that conflicts with one’s preconceptions. I think Kennedy’s position is off-the-wall, but more of it’s coming.

✅ Axios: Sen. John Kennedy doubles down on claims of Ukrainian interference http://bit.ly/37VN7PL
// Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued in a testy exchange on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he believes “both Russia and Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election,” claiming without evidence that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko “actively worked” for Hillary Clinton.

The exchange:

KENNEDY: You should read the articles, Chuck, because they are well-documented. And I believe that a Ukrainian district court in December 2018 slapped down several Ukrainian officials for meddling in our elections as a violation of the Ukrainian law. Now, I did not report those facts, and reputable journalists reported those facts. Does that mean that the Ukrainian leaders were more aggressive than Russia? No. Russia was very aggressive and they’re much more sophisticated, but the fact that Russia was so aggressive does not exclude the fact that President Poroshenko actively worked for Secretary Clinton.

TODD: My goodness. Wait a minute. Senator Kennedy, you now have the president of Ukraine saying that he actively worked for the Democratic nominee for president. I mean come on. You realize that the only other person selling this argument outside of the United States is Vladimir Putin. … You have just accused the former president of Ukraine — You have done exactly what the Russian operation is trying to get American politicians to do. Are you at all concerned that you have been duped?

KENNEDY: No. Just read the articles.

The big picture: Last Sunday, Kennedy told Fox News’ Chris Wallace he believed a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine tried to hack the Democratic National Committee’s computers during the 2016 election. The next day, he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo he misheard the question and was wrong, stating, “I’ve seen no indication that Ukraine tried to do it.”

● The White House’s former top Russia expert Fiona Hill testified that the theory that Ukraine interfered in the election is “a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves.”
● The New York Times has also reported that intelligence officials briefed senators in recent weeks about Russia’s years-long campaign to frame Ukraine, but Kennedy told Todd that he did not attend the briefing.

Reality check: Many of the claims of interference that Kennedy cites relate to Ukrainian officials making disparaging remarks about Trump during the campaign, most notably after the then-candidate made comments about the U.S. possibly recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.

● These scattershot criticisms differ greatly from the top-down, large-scale interference operation that the U.S. intelligence community has concluded was ordered directly by Vladimir Putin.
● Kennedy also claims that a Ukrainian court ruled that Ukrainian officials had meddled in the U.S. elections by releasing damaging information about former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. However, an appeals court later canceled that ruling, according to the Kyiv Post.

Go deeper:

Vindman calls Ukrainian interference conspiracy theory a “Russian narrative” http://bit.ly/2qe5UEY
Trump repeats Ukraine conspiracy theory on 53-minute “Fox & Friends” call http://bit.ly/33EyFbi
Trump denies sending Giuliani to Ukraine to dig up dirt on political opponents http://bit.ly/2q8VkPp

🐣 RT @MaxBoot This is unprecedented: a foreign leader has to worry about angering the American president—by fighting corruption.
⋙ WaPo: Ukraine’s Zelensky is making headway against corruption. But the fight risks angering Trump. http://wapo.st/2Y2zYzU

🐣 RT @donwinslow According to my Justice Department sources @realDonaldTrump is blackmailing @LindseyGrahamSC ¤ I was a private investigator for 15 years before becoming a writer. Happy to get into depositions and discovery, Lindsey. ¤ You sold out your country. ¤ You disgraced John McCain’s memory

WaPo: GOP mounts campaign to delegitimize impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/384XLUu
// alt: Republicans to mount aggressive campaign against impeachment as spotlight turns to Judiciary panel

🐣 RT @PaulHRosenberg Impeachment’s real stakes: Saving democracy from Trumpian pathocracy. What’s happening in US follows well-known pattern. Lessons are clear, @yourauntemma & @disorderedworld explain:
⋙ Salon, Paul Rosenberg: Impeachment as a struggle to save democracy — from the pathological cult of Donald Trump http://bit.ly/35R59Rh
// History shows how democracy can give way to “pathocracy” ruled by disordered individuals. Are we heading that way?

DailyBeast, Margaret Carlson: In Trumpland, Every Week Is a Horror Show—Yet Somehow, the Next Week Is Always Worse http://bit.ly/2rGQ8mm
// The courts have said he can’t even run his foundation–and yet, he still runs the country. And the servile Senate will do nothing about it.

DailyBeast, Patricia Ravalgi: Mueller, Barr, Giuliani, Comey and Kallstrom Once Fought Terror Together—Now Trump Has Them Fight Each Other http://bit.ly/2RctSeL
// This is the first in a three-part series, a first-hand look at men now known as Trump allies or

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood Sen John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, is actively participating in the propaganda campaign fabricated by Russia to weaken the United States
⋙ DailyBeast: Chuck Todd to GOP Senator: You’re Selling the Same Argument as Putin! http://bit.ly/2Y36d1V
// Chuck Todd was left gobsmacked by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) when the GOP lawmaker said the ex-Ukrainian president “actively worked” for Hillary Clinton.

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Answers to these five questions will determine the path forward on impeachment http://wapo.st/2R9FP56

1. Can Schiff avoid the pitfalls of the Mueller report?
2. Will the appeals court and the Supreme Court affirm that ruling in a timely fashion, compelling potentially devastating witnesses to come forward?
3. Will Nunes, the chief Republican conspiratorialist, himself be toppled, thereby revealing House Republicans’ bad faith in concocting blatantly ridiculous defenses for Trump?
4. Does Sondland have some liability for false testimony under oath, and does the evisceration of this witness remove one of the few remaining lines of defense for Trump?
5. Will the impeachment go narrow or broad, and if the latter, is this going to drag well into 2020?

WaPo: Sen. Kennedy says both Ukraine and Russia interfered in 2016 election, despite intelligence community’s assessment http://wapo.st/35W6WV5

🐣 RT @djrothkopf It is important for our allies to know (and for Trump & Co. to be aware) that among the very first things any Democrat will do when elected will be to restore the NATO alliance, undo Trump’s cuts and actively seek to reduce the damage he has done on Putin’s behalf.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RoKhanna This is politics devoid of facts. Our nation’s obligation to NATO were less than .1% of our Pentagon budget. Trump must not get away with claiming that $150 million represents big savings while he has increased the US defense budget more than $100 billion!
⋙⋙ USAToday, David Jackson and John Fritze: Trump administration to reduce NATO aid days before European summit with allies http://bit.ly/2r4kGyj
// 11/27/2019

🐣 RT @RoKhanna This is politics devoid of facts. Our nation’s obligation to NATO were less than .1% of our Pentagon budget. Trump must not get away with claiming that $150 million represents big savings while he has increased the US defense budget more than $100 billion!
⋙ USAToday, David Jackson and John Fritze: Trump administration to reduce NATO aid days before European summit with allies http://bit.ly/2r4kGyj
// 11/27/2019

🐣 RT @MSNBC .@MichaelSteele on Pres. Trump’s use of profanity to lash out against impeachment at a rally, saying that if President Obama spoke that way, “Women would be fainting. Children would be running and hiding under beds. Grown men would be in tears.”
⋙ MSNBC, Craig Melvin: Former RNC chair on Trump’s language at Rally: It is un-becoming of the man in the office. http://on.msnbc.com/35Si1qu
// 11/27/2019; President Trump lashed out at impeachment at his Florida rally last night. Former RNC Chair Michael Steele, and Yahoo News White House Correspondent Hunter Walker join Craig Melvin to discuss.

🐣 RT @ForeignAffairs At first, it may seem surprising that Ukraine is suddenly at the turbulent center of American politics and foreign policy. But as Serhii Plokhy & @e_sarotte explain, U.S. policymakers have been running into trouble in Ukraine since the end of the Cold War.
⋙ ForeignAffairs, Serhii Plokhy and M. E. Sarotte: The Shoals of Ukraine http://fam.ag/37TWu2r
// 11/22/2019; Where American Illusions and Great-Power Politics Collide

💙 MotherJones, Tom Philpott: The Rise and Fall of Ukraine’s Fertilizer King http://bit.ly/2rIk81j
// The story of Dmitry Firtash illustrates the power of crony capitalism in shaping the economies of post-Soviet Russia and Ukraine.

Unian: Putin, Lukashenka agree on single parliament, govt – envoy http://bit.ly/34DuTAv
// By December 8, 2019, just a day before the Normandy Summit in Paris, the authorities of Belarus and Russia are expected to sign a new agreement on deepening integration.

🐣 RT @GrassrootsSpeak Does anyone else think Trumps playing games with the military? ¤ It’s as if he’s working to gain allegiance from the troops themselves (many who are part of his base)while he pisses off & alienates the top brass ¤ If the top brass were to order Trumps removal would the troops obey?
🐣 RT @mayawiley A must read, particularly with the heartfelt warning from @FrankFigliuzzi1. For any of us who have seen how authoritarian regimes form and fall, the military plays a pivotal role. And a militarybthat submits to rule of law and human rights is absolutely essential.
⋙ 🐣 RT @FrankFigliuzzi We’ve reached the dangerous place where the military and their Commander in Chief don’t trust each other:
⋙⋙ NYT: Trump’s Intervention in SEALs Case Tests Pentagon’s Tolerance http://nyti.ms/2OCN57z

Politico, Darren Samuelson: Justice’s election-year conundrum: How to probe team Trump http://politi.co/35RYQge
// Legal experts say DOJ is taking steps that could lead to a potential criminal probe of the president’s Ukraine scheme.

HoustonChronicle, Leonard Pitts Jr: Why is Trump not a national emergency? http://bit.ly/2Y55Pjj
// “[W]hy do the Russians have such a clear preference for Republicans? Why haven’t Republicans been challenged to explain that? And why don’t more of us seem to care? Why is this not a hair-on-fire, shouting-in-the-streets national emergency?”

⭕ 30 Nov 2019

NYT: Trump’s Intervention in SEALs Case Tests Pentagon’s Tolerance http://nyti.ms/2OCN57z
// Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher’s case pits a Pentagon hierarchy committed to enforcing longstanding rules of combat against a commander in chief with no military experience but a finely honed sense of grievance against authority.

WaPo: Committee to meet Tuesday to approve release of Ukraine report http://wapo.st/2DxTCKq

🐣 RT @john_sipher Reminder that Trump’s actions are not just a domestic political game. They hurt our allies and help our enemies.
⋙ WaPo Editorial: The damage done to Ukraine http://wapo.st/35M9Vzm

DailyBeast, Anna Nemtsova: What’s So Special About Crimea? Almost Everything. http://bit.ly/2P5LMx0
// “If you want to know why so much blood spilled on this land,” said the tourist guide, “just look at the map: if you control Crimea, you control the Black Sea.”

⭕ 29 Nov 2019

TheAtlantic, Peter Nicholas: Trump Needs Conspiracy Theories http://bit.ly/35SjZXW
// The president uses them for political and personal ends. The damage he’s wrought along the way won’t be easily repaired.

💙 NBCNews: Six degrees of Rudy: Giuliani’s web tangles three Trump controversies http://nbcnews.to/2R4wFGL
// Ukraine only skims the surface of the former mayor’s influence in the administration.

NYT, Michelle Cottle: Trump Has Made Civil Servants Sexy http://nyti.ms/2XZJKCQ
// Rarely have bureaucrats inspired such passion.

CNN: House GOP members are ‘absolutely disgusted and exhausted’ by Trump’s behavior, former GOP congressman Charlie Dent says http://cnn.it/2rHeNHe

JustSecurity, Susan Simpson: Here’s the Proof that Trump’s “No Quid Pro Quo” Call Never Happened http://bit.ly/2q2tUdZ

🐣◕ RT @wydmindfeersart The GOP evolved into a neo-fascist party. ¤ In order for us to overcome growing neo-fascism of our gov there MUST be a reckoning about it in American MSM. The Republican Party has evolved into an American version of Europe’s far-right neo-fascists. https://twitter.com/wydmindfeersart/status/1200472542353354752?s=20/photo/1
⋙ Dkos (Jun): The Republican Party has evolved into an American version of Europe’s far-right neo-fascists http://bit.ly/2rEDjJ4
// 6/26/2019; story/graphic based on NYT article

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Trump is trying to run out the impeachment clock so he can run out the statute of limitations clock so he can stay out of prison. Vote out. Indict. Convict. Imprison. Like it or not, Mr. President #JusticeIsComing
⋙ 🐣 RT @gaelbill There’s one reason, & one reason only that trump initiated the Ukraine extortion scheme: it was to use a foreign power, once again, to cheat his way to reelection. What do you say? @glennkirschner2

NYT: How Kamala Harris’s Campaign Unraveled http://nyti.ms/33wUlWM
// Ms. Harris is the only 2020 Democrat who has fallen hard out of the top tier of candidates. She has proved to be an uneven campaigner who changes her message and tactics to little effect and has a staff torn into factions.

🐣 RT @ulrichspeck When we discuss Russia these days we should not forget that it has attacked a peaceful neighbor without any legitimate reason, has annexed a part of its territory and occupies another. More than 13.000 have been killed in this war of aggression. 📌 https://twitter.com/ulrichspeck/status/1200305785454116864?s=20
// critical of Macron wanting to focus on terrorism in partnership with Russia

💙 TheAtlantic, Yoni Applebaum: How America Ends http://bit.ly/2CGO3ZG
// Dec issue; A tectonic demographic shift is under way. Can the country hold together?

⭕ 🦃 28 Nov 2019 🦃

🐣 RT @tribelaw Andrew Johnson and Donald Trump are both “authoritarian demagogues who threatened the world’s longest lasting experiment in democratic republicanism.”
⋙ NYT, Manisha Sinha: Donald Trump, Meet Your Precursor http://nyti.ms/2L4QqKF
// Andrew Johnson pioneered the recalcitrant racism and impeachment-worthy subterfuge the president is fond of.

🐣 RT @ulrichspeck Macron turns against Nato’s core mission: “Nato is an organisation of collective defense, against whom? … Is, as I hear sometimes, our enemy today Russia? Is it China? Is it the task of the Atlantic Alliance to designate them enemies? I don’t think so.”

WaPo, Aaron Blake: Trump’s big, ‘exonerating’ piece of Ukraine evidence takes a hit http://wapo.st/2Rae3FF

WaPo, Philip Bump: The complicated web of Ukraine-focused relationships that has Giuliani at its center http://wapo.st/33rOhiC

🐣 RT @GlennKirschner2 Trump will capitulate to Putin all day, every day. The only remaining question is – will the Republicans go so far as to let Trump surrender our nation to every Russian want and whim?
CNN: Trump administration to cut its financial contribution to NATO http://cnn.it/2DrhIqd

⭕ 27 Nov 2019

Reason: Fox’s Judge Napolitano: “Evidence of [Trump’s] Impeachable Behavior…Is Overwhelming” http://bit.ly/33IiQQY
// The libertarian analyst predicts Dems will bring as many as five articles of impeachment against President Trump.

VanityFair, Kevin Kruse (11/27): Trump’s Toadies Should Take Note: Watergate Says Everyone Goes Down http://bit.ly/2L9Q1GT
// The lesson Nixon imparts to today’s POTUS loyalists is that courts of law and of public opinion will judge them harshly.

NYT: The True Story of ‘The Irishman’: I Heard You Paint Tangled Tales http://nyti.ms/2q68zAq
// The movie hits Netflix on Wednesday. Here’s a guide to who’s who, which events are real and whether to believe its claim about Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance.

🐣 RT @BarbMcQuade Trump’s claim to Bill O’Reilly, that he did not send Giuliani to Ukraine, directly contradicts his phone conversation with Ukrainian president on July 25. Consciousness of guilt much?

TPM, Josh Marshall: How Rudy Lost his Mind and (Probably) His Freedom http://bit.ly/33qKwKg “It’s simply hard to play in the domain he was operating in without committing lots of felonies.”

NewsCorpse: Fox News Ratings Continue to Sink During Month of Trump’s Impeachment Hearings http://bit.ly/35Jur3W

WaPo: Witness testimony and records raise questions about account of Trump’s ‘no quid pro quo’ call http://wapo.st/2XTAaRQ

💙💙 ForeignAffairs, Michael Carpenter: The Oligarchs Who Lost Ukraine and Won Washington http://fam.ag/37KTEfU
// How Kremlin-Backed Authoritarians Sought to Profit From Trump’s Presidency

🐣 RT @matthewamiller What a surprise. The nonsense conspiracy theory Rosenstein asked the IG to investigate in order to appease Trump is in fact nonsense. But he and Fox got to talk about this investigation for a year and a half and will now just ignore or misrepresent the results.
⋙ 🐣 RT @amyfiscus NEW: The DOJ inspector general is expected to undercut Trump’s accusations that the FBI spied on his campaign @adamgoldmanNYT
⋙⋙ NYT: Russia Inquiry Review Is Expected to Undercut Trump Claim of F.B.I. Spying http://nyti.ms/2XW1PSf

WaPo, Richard Spencer: I was fired as Navy secretary. Here’s what I’ve learned because of it. http://wapo.st/33ouaBS “We are effective overseas not because we have the best equipment but because we are professionals.”

NYT, Thomas Edsall: Liberals Do Not Want to Destroy the Family http://nyti.ms/37DKmCB
// Or society, for that matter. How did this preposterous idea leap to the forefront of conservative thinking?

RawStory: Will Trump’s America end in ‘firing squads’? Pulitzer winner David Cay Johnston issues a warning [ Interview ] http://bit.ly/2OsRYAj

NYT, Stacy Schiff: What a Witch Hunt Really Looks Like http://nyti.ms/2pTuwT8
// In 1692, in Salem, Mass., we also witnessed the courage required to stop one.

✅ Factcheck.org (9/26): Trump Wrong on European Aid to Ukraine http://bit.ly/2rrtNsR “European countries have contributed an estimated two-thirds of all of the aid to Ukraine since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014”
// 9/26/2019

NYT: Giuliani Pursued Business in Ukraine While Pushing for Inquiries for Trump http://nyti.ms/33qGq4T
// The president’s private lawyer explored agreements with Ukrainian officials for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

WaPo, Amber Phillips: 3 takeaways from Mark Sandy’s and Philip Reeker’s testimony on Ukraine http://wapo.st/2XQKc6l

WaPo, Greg Sargent: New revelations just wrecked Trump’s last remaining defenses http://wapo.st/2Dkb2Kr “the ‘I want nothing — no quid pro quo’ defense now lies in ruins”

🐣 RT @GlennKesslerWP “Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man,” Trump said. “I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy.” –>
⋙ WaPo, Philip Bump: The unmitigated ludicrousness of Trump trying to distance himself from Giuliani’s work on Ukraine http://wapo.st/2R2BaBA //➔ ya can’t blame a guy for trying

🐣 RT @MSNBC The co-founders of Fusion GPS explain how the Steele Dossier was put together, and the recent evidence they’ve collected that Russian election interference in 2016 “really did happen, and it was really bad, and it’s about to happen again.”
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, AllIn: Fusion GPS co-founder: What happened in 2016 is about to happen again http://on.msnbc.com/34qoGb0
// The co-founders of Fusion GPS give Chris Hayes an inside look at the Steele Dossier.

⭕ 26 Nov 2019

🐣 RT @johnmclaughlinSAIS It’s hard to think of a more successful covert operation. Putin gets Trump’s allies to blame Ukraine for meddling in the US election rather than blaming him for invading Ukraine. Brilliant actually.
⋙ CNN (11/22): House GOP disregards expert warnings that debunked Ukraine theory helps Russia http://cnn.it/2Y43nJS
// 11/22/2019

🐣 RT @SethAbramson Now we know why Trump is obsessed with the whistleblower—even though his/her complaint has now been corroborated by innumerable witnesses testifying under oath on TV. It was *specifically* the whistleblower who foiled Trump’s plot to get Zelensky to announce a Biden probe on CNN. 📌 https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1199531352703602688?s=20

🐣 RT @WIRED CrowdStrike is not a Ukrainian company.
It never took physical possession of any DNC server.
The FBI confirmed it was involved.
The DOJ indicted the Russians who hacked the DNC.
Donald Trump’s Ukraine server conspiracy theory is a chair with no legs
⋙ WIRED, Brian Barrett: Trump’s Ukraine Server Delusion Is Spreading http://bit.ly/37DFVrv
// Even secretary of state Mike Pompeo has given credence to Trump’s demonstrably wrong theory that Ukraine hacked the DNC.

MoscowTimes: Young Russians’ Desire to Leave Hits 10-Year High – Poll http://bit.ly/2Oojz5t

🐣 RT @kelly2277 💥 Trump and his cronies “spoke in their own code, rarely directly ordering a lieutenant to do something illegal, but instead offering oblique instructions or expressing general wishes that their lieutenants simply knew how to translate into action.” 💥
⋙ NYT, Garrett Graff (Mar): How Giuliani Might Take Down Trump http://nyti.ms/
// 3/4/2019, The parallels between the Mafia and the Trump Organization are striking, and Giuliani perfected the template for prosecuting organized crime.

🐣 RT @rgoodlaw Mark #Sandy deposition reveals attorney at OMB resigned due in part to concern that hold on Ukraine aid violated Impoundment Act. ¤ Makes complete sense. ¤ The attorney was correct. ¤ Read former OMB official @SamBerger_DC’s analysis from this afternoon:
⋙ JustSecurity, Sam Berger: Trump’s Hold on Ukrainian Military Aid was Illegal http://bit.ly/34AgZ1O

DailyBeast, Matt Lewis: Why Testimony From Don McGahn Would Doom Trump http://bit.ly/37zfoLI
// A judge has just ruled that the former White House counsel must testify. If the ruling stands, he’ll be on national TV, under oath. And so will others, maybe. Dum da dum dum.

DailyBeast, Julia Arciga: Trump Denies Giuliani Acted on His Behalf in Ukraine: ‘Rudy Has Other Clients’ http://bit.ly/2DmeBA1
// “He’s done a lot of work in Ukraine over the years,” the president told former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.

🐣 All the key people in the Trump Admin are implicated: Barr, Mulvaney, Pompeo, etc. They appear to think their only choice is to cling together and try to gaslight the country with Russian disinformation. Lord help us.

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood Trump to O’Reilly about Giuliani’s work: “No, I didn’t direct him, but he is a warrior” ¤ Asked what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine, Trump said “you have to ask Rudy.” ¤ “Rudy has other clients than me. He’s done a lot of work in Ukraine over the years”

🐣 RT @matthewamiller Really the final piece of the puzzle. We basically know the entire story now, and every fact is as damning as could be.
⋙ 🐣 RT @nytmike NEW: Two weeks before Trump released the Ukraine aid, White House lawyers briefed him on whistle-blower’s complaint — a key detail about what Trump knew when he made a critical decision at the heart of impeachment investigation. @maggieNYT @julianbarnes
⋙⋙ NYT: Trump Knew of Whistle-Blower Complaint When He Released Aid to Ukraine http://nyti.ms/2QVrj0s
// White House lawyers briefed President Trump in late August about the complaint, people familiar with the matter said.

NBCNews: Former White House counsel Don McGahn must obey subpoena to testify before Congress, judge rules http://nbcnews.to/2R0eXV7 Federal District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
// The same question about White House immunity — this one related to the impeachment inquiry — is pending before another judge in Washington.
⋙ Ruling ⋙ http://bit.ly/34qNdge

Federal District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said McGahn must appear before Congress but retains the ability to “invoke executive privilege where appropriate” during his appearance.

“It is clear to this Court for the reasons explained above that, with respect to senior-level presidential aides, absolute immunity from compelled congressional process simply does not exist,” Jackson said in her ruling.

“Presidents are not kings,” she added. ¤ “This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control,” Jackson said. “Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the people of the United States … ”

💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Sandy, Reeker and Other Transcripts As Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2OMsL2D

● Sandy: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2KWbgfe ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/37DQ1sc
● Reeker: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2XRsFLq ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2ruKyTQ

“The testimonies from Ambassador Reeker and Mr. Sandy continue to paint a portrait of hand-picked political appointees corrupting the official levers of U.S. government power, including by withholding taxpayer funded military assistance to Ukraine, to further the President’s own personal political agenda.

“Mr. Sandy confirmed that he was told by the office of Mick Mulvaney, the Acting White House Chief of Staff, that the President himself had directed the hold on security assistance to Ukraine. However, he was provided no other reason or justification for the hold when he was directed to implement it. And in fact, after he raised concerns with OMB leadership and lawyers that the withholding of funding for Ukraine may violate the law, his authority for approving security assistance funding was revoked and given instead to a hand-picked Trump OMB political appointee.

“Finally, we learned from Mr. Sandy that he was first informed in early September—approximately two months after the hold was implemented—that the reason for the hold was due to concerns regarding European countries not paying their fair share of foreign assistance. Given other testimony and the public admission by Mr. Mulvaney that the aid was held to pressure Ukraine to conduct the investigations desired by the President, this constitutes powerful evidence that this justification was concocted as an after-the-fact rationalization to justify the hold.”

WaPo: Two OMB officials resigned voicing concerns over Ukraine aid hold, official testifies http://wapo.st/2qNdfvr
// Mark Sandy, a career official at the White House Office of Management and Budget, revealed the resignations in testimony to impeachment investigators

🐣 RT @TheLoyalO If Trump withheld aid out of concern with Ukraine corruption, then why did he:
•Fail to notify Congress about the hold as required by law?
•Fail to tell Ukraine about his reason for the hold?
•Ignore Pentagon officials who said the hold was illegal?
⋙ JustSecurity, Sam Berger: Trump’s Hold on Ukrainian Military Aid was Illegal http://bit.ly/34AgZ1O

📊 FiveThirtyEight: Impeachment Poll of Polls http://53eig.ht/2N5MJV2 A spate of new polls shows 5% swing toward impeachment since Saturday ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1199454182106894336?s=20/photo/1

11/26/2019 For: 49.0%, Against 43.5% ✛5.5%
11/23/2019 For: 46.3%, Against 45.6% ✛0.7

TheBulwark, Tim Miller: Fiona Hill: Impeachment Queen http://bit.ly/2OoC7CT
// She’s not the hero we deserve. She’s the hero we need.

WaPo: House panel alleges ‘pattern of abuse’ over Ukraine funds by White House Office of Management and Budget http://wapo.st/2OpFkCa
// Democratic-led committee says OMB abused the law and its own authority by holding up funds at center of Trump impeachment probe

WaPo, Paul Waldman: Trump keeps claiming he’s a king. The courts keep telling him he’s not. http://wapo.st/34o8Opv

💙💙≣ Lawfare: We Wrote a Starr Report! An Account of the Record in L’Affaire Ukrainienne http://bit.ly/2Dv42uF by Scott Anderson, Margaret Taylor and Benjamin Wittes

For present purposes, the relevant story—the one on which the House will necessarily focus—concerns how the president’s personal lawyer influenced Donald Trump’s views on Ukraine and how Trump put him in charge of pursuing the president’s personal and political goals in that country outside the regular channels of government. It is a story about how the institutions and actors within the U.S. government struggled to deal with the president’s pursuing his inappropriate objectives, fueled by phony disinformation they all rejected, through an outside actor. And it is a story about how this deviation from the normal policy process ultimately corrupted interactions with a foreign government, leading to extortionate demands of the Ukrainians that actors within the U.S. government regarded as highly inappropriate and actors in Congress correctly regard as impeachable.

The story these witnesses tell has countless details, many of them fascinating, but it has four major components relevant to assessing the president’s conduct.

First, the testimony shows how Rudy Giuliani pursued objectives in Ukraine for the benefit of his business partners as well as the political interests of his client, President Trump. These activities lead to the president being fed bad information over a long period of time and they ultimately result in the meritless dismissal of Amb. Marie Yovanovitch, as well as to a concerted attack on Deputy Secretary of State George Kent.

Second, against the backdrop of the election of a new president in Ukraine, the testimony shows the development of what Amb. William Taylor described as “an irregular channel” for achieving Trump’s objectives in that country—a channel that was not always playing by the usual rules of diplomacy or bureaucratic lines of communication. The witnesses describe the members of both the regular and irregular channels trying to figure out what was really going on and how to navigate the unprecedented situation of Giuliani’s influence on Trump, in order to help the new Ukrainian president solidify a relationship with the United States—a relationship that is crucial for Ukraine’s continued existence as a fully independent sovereign country.

Third, in this broader context, the witnesses tell a specific story of the development of conditionality regarding a White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. What began as a mere hostility on the part of Trump toward Ukraine, and an unsubstantiated conviction that the Ukrainians had interfered in the 2016 election, came to involve demands to investigate that theory. And it came as well to involve demands that the Ukrainians investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his connection to the Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma, on whose board the younger Biden sat. Those demands, over the course of the summer, came to be linked to the desire of the new Ukrainian government for a White House meeting between Zelensky and Trump. In the live testimony, far more than in the depositions that preceded it, it becomes clear that the development of this conditionality was driven by Trump himself.

Finally, the witnesses tell a related story of how the provision of military assistance to Ukraine similarly came to be conditioned on U.S. demands—because what Ukraine ultimately needs is U.S. support in an ongoing military conflict with a more powerful neighbor that is occupying its territory. The narrative is ultimately one of how an irregular actor’s behavior—circumventing the normal policy process and feeding bad information and conspiracy theories to a president—led to that president’s demanding that an embattled, struggling democracy politically smear a possible 2020 opponent as a condition for U.S. support.

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin When Republican intellectuals support Russian aggression, when Republican congressmen promote Russian disinformation, when Republican committees accept Russian money, and when the Republican Party deifies the president Russia backed, its alignment becomes self-evident.

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood about public opinion on Trump never moving lol nothing matters, here’s new CNN poll:
impeach/remove now
50% yes, 43% no
impeach/remove, late April
37% yes, 59% no

NewYorker, Jane Mayer: The Inside Story of Christopher Steele’s Trump Dossier http://bit.ly/2OnbXQX
// In a new book, the founders of the firm that compiled it defend their work.

WaPo: In bleak report, U.N. says drastic action is only way to avoid worst effects of climate change http://wapo.st/2rqR3qT
// “We need to catch up on the years in which we procrastinated,” a top official says.

📊 Four post-hearing polls show uptick: FiveThirtyEight: http://53eig.ht/2N5MJV2 Once the written summary is out (w/o Jordan/Nunes distractions), it should go up more. ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1199307342455746560?s=20/photo/1

ForeignAffairs, Frank Bowman III: Foreign Policy Has Always Been at the Heart of Impeachment http://fam.ag/2OQjvue
// High Crimes From the Middle Ages to the Age of Trump

🐣 RT @eliehonig Before Trump inevitably tweets an attack on Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson, let me say this. I’ve been before dozens of federal judges, and I was in the courtroom covering the McGahn hearing. I’ve rarely seen any judge as prepared, sharp, on-point, and fair as Judge Brown-Jackson.

🐣 If Trump is “the Chosen One,” you might as well throw the Ten Commandments AND the Sermon on the Mount out the window. If anything, he’s the Antichrist.

🐣 Published today:
● “Impeach” by Neal Katyal and
● “Crime in Progress” (Inside the Steele Dossier and the Fusion GPS Investigation of Donald Trump) by Glen Simpson and Peter Fritsch

🐣 📊 I was surprised at how downbeat Dems were after a single poll came out Friday showing a dip in support for impeachment. Many working people don’t have time to read til the weekend. Three polls came out Monday, showing +8, +9 and +3 FOR impeachment. http://53eig.ht/2N5MJV2 ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1199217341789351936?s=20/photo/1

⭕ 25 Nov 2019

🐣 RT @carolecadwalla ‘It takes only 2-5 years to destabilise a nation…The next stage is crisis. It may take only 6 weeks’ Listen to this ex KGB agent’s eerily prescient account of ‘active measures’ of how Russia seeks to destroy its enemies through chaos(C/o @brexit_sham
💽 https://twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/1199121778058113026?s=20/photo/1

CNN: Democrats eye multiple articles of impeachment as some push to go beyond Ukraine scandal http://cnn.it/2DlvESM

NYT, Michelle Goldberg: Republicans’ Big Lie About Trump and Russia http://nyti.ms/2KVR11a “‘Crime in Progress’ is the best procedural yet written about the discovery of Trump’s Russia ties”
// Collusion wasn’t a hoax and Trump wasn’t exonerated.

WaPo, Greg Sargent: Trump’s impeachment trial will be awash in Russian propaganda. Here’s how to blow up his lies. http://wapo.st/35AkpBR

WaPo Editorial: Trump’s second act is rife with enablers of constitutional degradation http://wapo.st/35AZn6d

🐣 Even though air traffic was supposedly halted, on 9/12/2001 a Royal Saudi 747 swooped into tiny 2-runway Rochester MN airport to pick up unnamed Middle Eastern passengers. Hmmm

🐣 Want the inside scoop on #TrumpRussia, #Impeachment, #UkraineAffair?
Check out Twitter List “Investigators”:
(Intel Community; investigative journalists, bloggers & sleuths)
+1000 sources
https://mobile.twitter.com/Auriandra/lists/investigators

🐣 RT @AndrewDesiderio BREAKING: Federal judge orders former WH Counsel Don McGahn to testify, shattering the WH’s claims of “absolute immunity.” The long-awaited ruling from Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson hands Democrats a big win and pierces the White House’s long-standing blockade on witness testimony. 📌 https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1199098915955585026?s=20

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Donald McGahn Must Testify to Congress, Judge Rules; Appeal Is Expected http://nyti.ms/2XKtpBG
// A judge rejected the Trump administration’s argument that senior White House officials are immune from congressional subpoenas.

AlFranken.com: Disingenuous, Stupid, and Jacketless is No Way to Go through an Impeachment Hearing, Son http://bit.ly/37E6XPe It’s time to call out the crap

NYT: Intelligence Panel to Release Impeachment Report Soon After Thanksgiving http://nyti.ms/35uvLqY
// Moving swiftly to escalate the case for impeaching President Trump, Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee plan to release a report detailing evidence against him soon after Thanksgiving.

NYT, Slade Gorton: My Fellow Republicans, Please Follow the Facts http://nyti.ms/2ONm2W4 Mr. Gorton is a former Republican senator from Washington
// It seems clear to me that the president of Ukraine was subjected to a shakedown.

🐣 RT @MaxBoot Trump hands followers one poisoned chalice after another. They get judicial appointments—but his lawbreaking undermines their claim to be defenders of the Constitution. They get tax cuts—but the resulting deficits undermine their claim to be budget hawks.
⋙ WaPo: For aiding Trump’s abuse of power, the GOP deserves to be voted out of existence http://wapo.st/2DeQpzp

🐣 RT @CarolLeonnig Big: Probe of Giuliani looking very serious. Destruction of documents, foreign nationals contributing to US campaigns are among the possible crimes being investigated. @devlinbarrett @thamburger @postroz @jdawsey1 ¤ Post Matching WSJ
WaPo: Investigators scrutinize Giuliani firm and donations to Trump super PAC as part of broad probe http://wapo.st/35zzUKk

WaPo: Investigators scrutinize Giuliani firm and donations to Trump super PAC as part of broad probe http://wapo.st/35zzUKk

🐣 RT @lrozen 1 person w/ knowledge of the investigation said there is a particular interest in interactions with 3 key figures in the saga of Giuliani’s pursuit of dirt on the Bidens from Ukraine: ex Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko & ex Ukrainian prosecutors Yuri Lutsenko & Viktor Shokin
⋙ 🔆 This❗️⋙ WSJ: Federal Subpoenas Seek Information on Giuliani’s Consulting Business http://on.wsj.com/2KSFEXO
// Subpoenas are issued for information on Giuliani’s associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman

DailyBeast, Julia Davis: When It Comes to Ukraine, Why Are Republicans So Anxious to Play Putin’s Game? http://bit.ly/33pfLW8
// It’s one thing to support Trump, it’s another to embrace Putin’s disinformation. But even some of the savviest GOP Senators are jumping in bed with the Bear.

WaPo, Jason Pack: When it comes to Ukraine, Trump’s alleged misdeeds go beyond quid pro quos http://wapo.st/2KUhUmd “More than any other international hot spot, the future of Ukraine can fundamentally alter the power balance at the heart of the Eurasian landmass.”
// Understanding how important Ukraine is to U.S. security reveals how serious the president’s alleged high crimes were

🐣 RT @MollyMcKew “[Trolls] studied us. They understand how to harness our biases for their own purposes. They know what pressure points to push & how best to drive us to distrust our neighbors…They don’t go to social media for a fight; they go looking for new best friends. And they found them.”

DailyBeast, Margaret Carlson: Hello, John Bolton? This Is History Calling http://bit.ly/35yIxEY
// The former national security adviser will go down in history as the man who let Donald Trump get away with it—or the witness who exposed the president for what he is.

DailyBeast: The Chronicles of Nunes: How His Impeachment Speeches Created an Alternate Reality for GOP http://bit.ly/2XHAHq2
// Over the course of seven opening statements—totaling some 6,300 words—Nunes crafted a narrative that was often at odds with the facts.

WaPo, Sacha Baron Cohen: The ‘Silicon Six’ spread propaganda. It’s time to regulate social media sites. http://wapo.st/35v4HrM
// tags: Borat disinformation conspiracy theories micro-targeting political ads Facebook Twitter; A pluralistic democracy depends on shared truths.

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Why Giuliani Singled Out 2 Ukrainian Oligarchs to Help Dig Up Dirt http://nyti.ms/2pNaOse

VIENNA — They were two Ukrainian oligarchs with American legal problems. One had been indicted on federal bribery charges. The other was embroiled in a vast banking scandal and was reported to be under investigation by the F.B.I.

And they had one more thing in common: Both had been singled out by Rudolph W. Giuliani and pressed to assist in his wide-ranging hunt for information damaging to one of President Trump’s leading political rivals, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

That effort culminated in the July 25 phone call between the American and Ukrainian presidents that has taken Mr. Trump to the brink of impeachment and inexorably brought Mr. Giuliani’s Ukrainian shadow campaign into the light.

In public hearings over the last two weeks, American diplomats and national-security officials have laid out in detail how Mr. Trump, at the instigation and with the help of Mr. Giuliani, conditioned nearly $400 million in direly needed military aid on Ukraine’s announcing investigations into Mr. Biden and his son, as well as a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

But interviews with the two Ukrainian oligarchs — Dmitry Firtash and Ihor Kolomoisky — as well as with several other people with knowledge of Mr. Giuliani’s dealings, point to a new dimension in his exertions on behalf of his client, Mr. Trump. Taken together, they depict a strategy clearly aimed at leveraging information from politically powerful but legally vulnerable foreign citizens. …

⭕ 24 Nov 2019

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood “Bondy also said a top aide to Nunes sometimes joined a group that met frequently in spring 2019 at the Trump Hotel to discuss the Biden matter. Convened by Giuliani, the group included Parnas, Fruman, John Solomon, Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing”
⋙ WaPo: Top House Democrat says ethics probe of Nunes is likely over alleged meeting with Ukrainian about Bidens http://wapo.st/35tviWa

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff Trump has waged an unprecedented campaign of obstruction against our inquiry. ¤ Today we learned about more damning evidence that he is withholding from Congress. ¤ If we allow this to stand, Trump will do permanent damage to our system of checks and balances.
⋙ WaPo: White House review turns up emails showing extensive effort to justify Trump’s decision to block Ukraine military aid http://wapo.st/34jbJj7

🐣 RT @Santucci Material submitted includes audio, video & photos that include Giuliani & Trump. Unclear what the content depicts & committees began accessing material last week. Parnas attorney declined to confirm but said his client “has vociferously and publicly asserted his wish to comply”
⋙ ABCNews: House Intelligence Committee in possession of video, audio recordings from Giuliani associate Lev Parnas http://abcn.ws/37yvtkW

TPM, Josh Kavensky: EXCLUSIVE: Bud Cummins Tried To Interest U.S. Law Enforcement In Bogus Ukraine Dirt On Bidens In 2018 http://bit.ly/2OfsuGe

🐣 RT @DrGJackJones 1/ THREAD: The following Thought Experiment/Logic Tree regarding a profound National Security Risk first occurred to me about eighteen months ago. #ThreatAssesment #DonaldTrump #NationalSecurity #BodyLanguage #RiskAnalysis #BehaviorAnalysis 📌 https://twitter.com/DrGJackBrown/status/1198673052663287809?s=20

🐣 RT @robreiner America is being sucked into the mental illness of its President. Every Lie, every Corrupt Scheme, every Crime is his futile attempt to destroy feelings of worthlessness and illegitimacy. We can not let an empty soul destroy America.

NewYorker, Isaac Chotiner: Interview: Malcolm Nance on the Danger of Conspiracy Theories http://bit.ly/2s68ehJ

🐣 RT @ReliableSources CNN’s @jaketapper says disinformation and lying has become a key part of President Trump’s defense in the Ukraine scandal. ¤ “So much of this is designed, I think, just to confuse the American people and muddy the waters and cloud what the facts are.”

🐣 RT @SethAbramson (THREAD) BREAKING: A top Trump ally revealed Trump’s impeachment defense today—and it’s not what many expected. I break it down here using Ukraine-scandal reporting and my experience as a defense lawyer. I hope you’ll read this and RETWEET—as America needs to know what’s coming. 📌 https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1198644095180255232?s=20

WaPo, Shane O’Sullivan: The real threat to Donald Trump from the impeachment hearings http://wapo.st/2XEI1CO
// Testimony could prompt new witnesses to come forward and new revelations.

🐣 RT @Mimirocah1 Fiona Hill “transcended politics, she transcended the moment. She was, simply, transcendent.”
⋙ WaPo, Monica Hesse: What does female authority sound like? Marie Yovanovitch and Fiona Hill just showed us. http://wapo.st/2XGCH1G

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Time to call out and remove Putin’s propagandists http://wapo.st/35ndcFk “Trump has been disloyal to the United States, not only in giving Russia a leg up in its war against Ukraine, but also in broadcasting his propaganda. … Republicans are just as guilty”

President Trump has been disloyal to the United States, not only in giving Russia a leg up in its war against Ukraine, but also in broadcasting his propaganda. And for that, Republicans are just as guilty.

The New York Times reports that “Fiona Hill, a respected Russia scholar and former senior White House official, added a harsh critique during testimony on Thursday. She told some of Mr. Trump’s fiercest defenders in Congress that they were repeating ‘a fictional narrative.’ She said that it likely came from a disinformation campaign by Russian security services, which also propagated it.” While that did not slow Republicans one bit, we now know that they are neither dupes nor Fox News pawns; they are deliberately assisting in a Russian propaganda operation …

In the case of Trump, he not only picks up the propaganda from domestic sources carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s water, which “worked its way into American information ecosystems, sloshing around until parts of it reached Mr. Trump”; he was duped right from the source speaking “with Mr. Putin about allegations of Ukrainian interference.” Whether the president is being blackmailed is unknown; what we do know is that he is a malleable puppet whose strings are pulled in the Kremlin.

The Post reports that a forthcoming inspector general’s report will affirm that the FISA application submitted for surveillance of Carter Page “had a proper legal and factual basis, and, more broadly, that FBI officials did not act improperly in opening the Russia investigation,” although a low-level employee “inappropriately altered a document that was used during the process” to renew a FISA warrant. In other words: Russia did it. Period.

Fortunately, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) has already called for a hearing on the report. Perfect. Let the committee members draw out from Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and any number of national security officials in Trump’s own administration the obvious conclusions: 1. Russia did it to help Trump; 2. Ukraine had no such plan to “interfere” in our election on behalf of Hillary Clinton or anyone else (“The accusations of a Ukrainian influence campaign center on actions by a handful of Ukrainians who openly criticized or sought to damage Mr. Trump’s candidacy in 2016. They were scattershot efforts that were far from a replica of Moscow’s interference”); 3. Intentionally repeating a falsehood, that Ukraine interfered with our election, is aiding and abetting a hostile power that attacked our election system in 2016.

Republicans must bear full responsibility for raising a specious defense of Trump that aids Russia, and the president should be held responsible for his inability to defend our national security by virtue of his susceptibility to Russian propaganda.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Trump’s last stand: I did it but it’s not impeachable. “Now that the claim Trump never pressured Zelensky no longer holds, ‘the argument has got to be a ‘so what’…Barr’s argument that [Trump] did all these things, but this is what a president can do.’”
⋙ NYT: Barr’s Legal Views Come Under Fire From Conservative-Leaning Lawyers http://nyti.ms/2OgqWfi
// A speech by Mr. Barr last week, in which he argued that Mr. Trump had never overstepped his authority, so alarmed a group of lawyers [Checks & Balances] that they felt compelled to push back publicly.

⭕ 23 Nov 2019

WaPo, Harry Litman: Why a possible contempt count matters as much as the rest of the impeachment case http://wapo.st/2OIR41d

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood Fiona Hill clarified what’s been going on the party of Reagan, from top to bottom, is helping Russian intelligence disseminate propaganda fabricated to harm the United States
⋙ NYT: New Documents Reveal Details of Pompeo’s Role in Ukraine Affair http://nyti.ms/2Ogy4YZ
// Emails and documents released by the State Department support testimony showing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo enabled the Ukrainian pressure campaign at the center of the impeachment proceedings.

WaPo: Top House Democrat says ethics probe of Nunes is likely over alleged meeting with Ukrainian about Bidens http://wapo.st/339Yfow ¤ great article

Parnas’s attorney, Joseph Bondy, told The Washington Post that Ukraine’s former top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, informed Parnas that he had met with Nunes in Vienna in December 2018.

Bondy also said that a top aide to Nunes, Derek Harvey, sometimes joined a group that met frequently in spring 2019 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., to discuss the Biden matter, among other topics. The group, according to Bondy, was convened by Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, and included Parnas, his business associate Igor Fruman, as well as journalist John Solomon and the husband-and-wife legal team of Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing. …

Shokin is a key figure in Giuliani’s effort to press the Ukrainians to open an investigation into Biden. ¤ He was fired as Ukraine’s Prosecutor General in March 2016, after a pressure campaign from Ukraine’s western allies, led by Biden. Shokin has publicly accused Biden of engineering that effort to protect his son Hunter, who was serving on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

📊 Polls on impeachment per FiveThirtyEight http://53eig.ht/2N5MJV2 are showing +7% support for the hearings but slightly dipping numbers for removal. I expect this in part reflects the fact that elections are nearing and people are factoring that it.

🐣 What is striking to me is Trump’s apparent inability to learn, or, perhaps worse, that there’s no one around him who can sit him down and tell him these ideas are disproven and crazy. He just repeats the same b.s. over and over.

🚫 NewYorker, Susan Glasser: The Awful Truth About Impeachment http://bit.ly/2OdIfgR
// depressing

WaPo: Trump tries to woo GOP lawmakers with Camp David getaways, sporting events http://wapo.st/2OeVfTN
// The excursions are part of a broad White House charm offensive, meant to hold House and Senate Republicans in line through a House impeachment vote and a trial in the Senate that appears all but inevitable

🐣 RT @girlsreallyrule Devin Nunes should no longer be on the Intel Committee or engaged in any way in this investigation as there is now proof of a direct conflict. #NunesResign
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar Devin Nunes does not look thrilled as Swalwell reads into the record a story about his ties with indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas 📌 💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1197607345414660098?s=20/photo/1
// thread includes videos of mostly Dem member comments

YahooNews: Biden: ‘Lindsey Graham Is About to Go Down in a Way’ He’ll ‘Regret His Whole Life’ http://yhoo.it/2OfQGbu

🐣 RT @MollyJongFast I’m starting to suspect this Nunes guy is kind of sketchy.
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm Let’s not forget Nunes had to recuse himself from the original House Russia probe. Because he got caught doing a midnight ninja run to the White House to see the intel his old staffers had found to prove Mike Flynn was framed.

💙💙 CNN: Giuliani associate willing to tell Congress Nunes met with ex-Ukrainian official to get dirt on Biden http://cnn.it/33a5zjX “‘Mr. Parnas learned from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin that Nunes had met with Shokin in Vienna last December,’ said Bondy”
✛ “Shokin was ousted from his position in 2016 after pressure from Western leaders, including then-vice president Biden, over concerns that Shokin was not pursuing corruption cases.”

💙💙 DailyBeast, Allison Quinn: Lev Parnas Says He Has Info on Devin Nunes’ Role in Trump’s Ukraine Dirt-Digging Mission http://bit.ly/37uYSfN
// Parnas has said he learned of a Vienna meeting between Nunes and the former Ukrainian official who Trump allies claim was unfairly ousted by Joe Biden.

CNN: White House helped arrange call between Giuliani and Pompeo after handover of Biden allegations http://cnn.it/2KOdjBT

⭕ 22 Nov 2019

🐣 RT @SenWhitehouse Best summary I’ve seen yet of the Ukraine scam Trump tried to pull, and why it’s so serious:
💙⋙ TheAtlantic, Adam Serwer: Trump’s Crime Against America http://bit.ly/35pzaaz
// The president’s offense is abusing his power to stay in office, not disputing Ukraine policy.

NYT, Maggie Haberman: A Senate Trial Could Put Trump’s Use of Aggressive Defense Tactics to Their Biggest Test http://nyti.ms/2XS1u2P
// The president’s campaign against the Mueller report and its author is a road map of what is likely to lie ahead.

TheBulwark, Chris Truax: There Was Also a Cover-Up http://bit.ly/2DeYvs0
// We know about the bribery and the quid pro quo. What we don’t know about yet is who initiated the cover-up.

TPM, Josh Kovensky (11/22): Grassley, Johnson Push Ukraine-DNC Conspiracy Theory With Doc Demand http://bit.ly/2Ohn65B

CNN: DOJ watchdog report expected to say FBI’s Russia probe launched properly but lower-level employees made mistakes http://cnn.it/2KOWI0R This is a big fucking deal

NYT: Charges of Ukrainian Meddling? A Russian Operation, U.S. Intelligence Says http://nyti.ms/2OFy4kl
// Moscow has run a yearslong operation to blame Ukraine for its own 2016 election interference. Republicans have used similar talking points to defend President Trump in impeachment proceedings.

In a briefing that closely aligned with Dr. Hill’s testimony, American intelligence officials informed senators and their aides in recent weeks that Russia had engaged in a yearslong campaign to essentially frame Ukraine as responsible for Moscow’s own hacking of the 2016 election, according to three American officials. The briefing came as Republicans stepped up their defenses of Mr. Trump in the Ukraine affair.

The revelations demonstrate Russia’s persistence in trying to sow discord among its adversaries — and show that the Kremlin apparently succeeded, as unfounded claims about Ukrainian interference seeped into Republican talking points. American intelligence agencies believe Moscow is likely to redouble its efforts as the 2020 presidential campaign intensifies. The classified briefing for senators also focused on Russia’s evolving influence tactics, including its growing ability to better disguise operations.

“The Russians have a particular vested interest in putting Ukraine, Ukrainian leaders in a very bad light,” she told lawmakers.

But the campaign by Russian intelligence in recent years has been even more complex as Moscow tries not only to undermine the government in Kyiv but also to use a disinformation campaign there to influence the American political debate.

… Russian intelligence operatives deployed a network of agents to blame Ukraine for its 2016 interference. Starting at least in 2017, the operatives peddled a mixture of now-debunked conspiracy theories along with established facts to leave an impression that the government in Kyiv, not Moscow, was responsible for the hackings of Democrats and its other interference efforts in 2016, senior intelligence officials said.

The Russian intelligence officers conveyed the information to prominent Russians and Ukrainians who then used a range of intermediaries, like oligarchs, businessmen and their associates, to pass the material to American political figures and even some journalists, who were likely unaware of its origin, the officials said.

That muddy brew worked its way into American information ecosystems, sloshing around until parts of it reached Mr. Trump, who has also spoken with Mr. Putin about allegations of Ukrainian interference. Mr. Trump also brought up the assertions of Ukrainian meddling in his July 25 call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine …

Republican[s] on the Democratic-led House Intelligence Committee, which is conducting the impeachment hearing, have also steered clear of the fringe notion that Mr. Trump mentioned to Mr. Zelensky, which is pushed by Russian intelligence: the so-called CrowdStrike server conspiracy theory, which falsely suggests Ukraine, not Russia, was behind the breach of Democratic operatives’ servers.

[But!] Mr. Trump repeated the baseless claim on Friday in an interview with “Fox & Friends,” laying out the narrative and doubling down after a host gently pressed him on whether he was sure of one aspect of the debunked theory, that the F.B.I. gave a Democratic server to what Mr. Trump had inaccurately described as a Ukrainian-owned company. ¤ “That is what the word is,” Mr. Trump replied.

NYT, Roger Cohen: Fiona Hill and the American Idea http://nyti.ms/2Ogz8wf
// A naturalized American exposes Trump’s attack on what America is and must be.

TheGuardian, Luke Harding: UK knew in 2016 of Trump’s ‘suspicious links’ to Russia, book claims http://bit.ly/34gPwCq
// No 10 did not ‘push matter’ to avoid offending US president, say commissioners of Steele dossier

TIME: Exclusive: CEO of Ukraine State Gas Firm Preparing to Testify in Giuliani Probe http://bit.ly/2QIh6Ev //➔ The real scandal is Giuliani/Perry/Naftogas not Bidens/Burisma

🐣 RT @john_sipher For what it’s worth, this turned out to be a routine FBI inspection. All Bureau inspections find some level of wrongdoing and mete out punishment to various employees. It is how they signal to employees to follows regulations to the letter, no matter what.
⋙ WaPo: Justice Dept. watchdog finds political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI’s Russia probe but documents errors http://wapo.st/2QU0Q3F

NYT: Trump Attacks Impeachment Inquiry and Accuses a Witness of Lying http://nyti.ms/2OBLazc
// Mr. Trump said a career diplomat made up a conversation between him and his ambassador to the European Union, dismissing sworn testimony in the impeachment inquiry.

WaPo, Rachel Sklar: Why it was so satisfying to watch Fiona Hill take charge http://wapo.st/2XGUplS
// Finally, a woman stepped in and reminded us how things are supposed to work.

WaPo Editorial: Yes, Congress should be talking about the president and bribery http://wapo.st/2OcmpKL

11:55pm DailyBeast, Allison Quinn: Lev Parnas Says He Has Info on Devin Nunes’ Role in Trump’s Ukraine Dirt-Digging Mission http://bit.ly/34d4w4j
// Parnas has said he learned of a Vienna meeting between Nunes and the former Ukrainian official who Trump allies claim was unfairly ousted by Joe Biden.

DailyBeast, Sam Stein: Trump’s Gatekeeper Put Rudy in Touch With Pompeo: Emails http://bit.ly/2s7Ygwl
// Newly released documents tie the president even further to the disinformation campaign his personal lawyer was spearheading.

NYT: Charges of Ukrainian Meddling? A Russian Operation, U.S. Intelligence Says http://nyti.ms/34djyad
// Moscow has run a yearslong operation to blame Ukraine for its own 2016 election interference. Republicans have used similar talking points to defend President Trump in impeachment proceedings.

WaPo, Tuluse Olorunnipa: In rollicking 53-minute conversation, Trump embraces conspiraoies, spreads falsehoods and insults opponents http://wapo.st/
// The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter’s insights

🐣 RT @atrupar Trump, to Fox & Friends, on Barr DOJ’s probe of Russia investigation: “What you’re going to see, I predict, will be perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of our country…I could get very much involved, but I don’t…I don’t have any obligation legally to [not get involved]” 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1197884984356421632?s=20

🐣 RT @jonallendc To put this all in one place:
1) Trump is talking Crowdstrike.
2) That’s a pushback on Fiona Hill, a leading expert on Eastern Europe and a former Trump aide, who called bull— on the idea that Ukraine framed Russia for interfering in the 2016 election. 1/x 📌 https://twitter.com/jonallendc/status/1197988227388497922?s=20

🐣 RT @donwinslow [10/1] Have you wondered why @LindseyGrahamSC has been defending @realDonaldTrum like his life depended on it? A friend in federal law enforcement told me about a certain threat @realDonaldTrump has made to Graham. It’s personal. It’s awful. And it’s working very well.
// 10/1/2019

🐣 RT @SykesCharlie The more things change… https://twitter.com/SykesCharlie/status/1197244055530483715?s=20/photo/1-2
// Art Buchwald’s column

RawStory: Lindsey Graham is ‘about to go down’ — because Trump has something on him: Joe Biden http://bit.ly/33fdcWm

Biden explained that Graham is clearly being controlled by someone else. ¤ “They’re asking Lindsey Graham — they have him under their thumb right now,” Biden said. “They know he knows if he comes out against [President Donald] Trump he’s got a real tough road for re-election. Number one. I am disappointed, and quite frankly I’m angered by the fact that he knows me. He knows my son. He knows there’s nothing to this. Trump is now essentially holding power over him that even the Ukrainians wound yield to.”

NYT, Susan Rice: The Four Lessons of Impeachment http://nyti.ms/35lAc7w
// They are not all depressing.

DailyBeast, Erin Banco: Bolton Allies Cut Out ‘Three Amigos’ for Direct Line to Kyiv http://bit.ly/33dGk0i
// After a White House meeting that was thrown into chaos by Ambassador Gordon Sondland, senior National Security Council officials took matters into their own hands, sources say.

DailyBeast, Adam Rawnsley: Here’s How Republicans Are Trying to Distance Trump From Rudy http://bit.ly/34ckOuf
// House Republicans have sought to try suggest that Giuliani wasn’t pursuing Trump’s agenda in Ukraine, teeing up the president’s lawyer as a potential fall guy.

WaPo: ‘Impeachapalooza’: An irregular week for an outlandish presidency http://wapo.st/2KKdZs7

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: We know what happened. Now it’s time to compel Republicans to refute it or condone it. http://wapo.st/33dRXUM

WaPo: How Trump keeps making it tougher for his GOP impeachment defenders http://wapo.st/2OdiTQz

🐣 RT @blakehounshell This sounds a bit less lurid than we have been led to believe [Textblock] https://twitter.com/blakehounshell/status/1197991246364585985?s=20/photo/1
🐣 This appears to explain the “animated” discussion (read: Trump meltdown) seen last week through the windows of the WH, a meeting said to be about the OIG report https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1198001725585670144?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Anthony That big IG report that Trump was excited about. ¤ He’s not gonna be excited. ¤ Here’s what the IG found…
– Investigation wasn’t opened over Steele
– Carter Page FISA didn’t rely on Steele
– Carter Page FISA was legal
– Mifsud, who offered Clinton dirt, wasn’t FBI informant
🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Breaking via NYT: The DOJ IG report “debunks a series of conspiracy theories and insinuations about the FBI that Mr. Trump and his allies have put forward.” IG Horowitz “made no finding of politically biased actions” by top Comey, McCabe and Strzok.
⋙ NYT: Russia Inquiry Review Is Said to Criticize F.B.I. but Rebuff Claims of Biased Acts http://nyti.ms/2D7cWOz
// A [CI IG]. watchdog report will portray the pursuit of a wiretap of an ex-Trump adviser as sloppy, but it also debunks some accusations by Trump allies of F.B.I. wrongdoing.

NYT: Charges of Ukrainian Meddling? A Russian Operation, U.S. Intelligence Says http://nyti.ms/337MLSl
// Moscow has run a yearslong operation to blame Ukraine for its own 2016 election interference. Republicans have used similar talking points to defend President Trump in impeachment proceedings.

🐣 RT @EricGarland First, remember that while the American political system is driving inexorably toward impeaching Trump, he is but a symptom of the real crisis – a coup against civilization by oligarchs around the world looking to rid themselves of liberal democracy.

TheAtlantic, Adam Serwer: Trump’s Crime Against America http://bit.ly/35pzaaz
// The president’s offense is abusing his power to stay in office, not disputing Ukraine policy.

NYT, Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch: The Double-Barreled Dream World of Trump and His Enablers http://nyti.ms/2XH7I5M Mr. Simpson and Mr. Fritsch are the founders of Fusion GPS.
// They wanted to take down Biden. But they also wanted to absolve Moscow of election meddling.

DailyBeast, Molly Jong-Fast: Fiona Hill and Her Unapologetic Anger Is What We All Need Right Now http://bit.ly/2rg3yp8
// She said a number of things about women in the world that should not be lost in the larger flow of testimony.

⭕ 21 Nov 2019 Impeachment Hearings

WaPo: Graham launches probe of Bidens, Burisma and Ukraine http://wapo.st/2rkWkQV

DailyBeast, Anna Nemtsova: Ukrainian Pols Are Playing Games With Impeachment Info http://bit.ly/2KOnZAt
// Members of Ukraine’s parliament said Biden-related ‘investigations’ have been opened. One said Ukraine interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections. Fake news. But music to Trump’s ears.

WSJ, Peggy Noonan: Trump’s Defenders Have No Defense http://on.wsj.com/2DbRUOI
// Witnesses were uneven, but even his closest allies don’t try to deny he did what he’s accused of doing.

🐣 RT @Zac_Petkanas You MUST watch @RepAdamSchiff’s powerful closing statement that sums up the entire #ImpeachmentHearing: ¤ “There is nothing more dangerous than an unethical president who believes they are above the law.” ¤ “We are better than that.”
💽 https://twitter.com/Zac_Petkanas/status/1197627910032637952?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES This is a true statement, except for the modern history part. He is the most corrupt President in American History- Period. The corruption is staggering, blatant and abetted by a phalanx of henchmen and women who are at war with the rule of law and the ideals of the country.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoeBiden It’s clear that Donald Trump has abused the power of the presidency. Full stop. ¤ He is the most corrupt president in modern American history.

🐣 RT @JonahFisherBBC FACT CHECK: That court decision was overturned (Leschenko interference)… and the court in question is notorious for making dubious political motivated decisions.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RudyGiuliani Fiona Hill & her friends ignored blatant Dem corruption, even some proven to a Ukrainian Court. ¤ She is making false allegations against me. I have never met Firtash & had no policy agenda other than to defend my client. It will all be revealed very soon.

⏳WaPo: The full Trump-Ukraine impeachment timeline http://wapo.st/35odsUl

WaPo, Michael Gerson: Republicans’ motivations are all out in the open http://wapo.st/2s8pQJZ

🐣 RT @waltshaub Maybe it’s just because I’m sick today, but I find it gut-wrenching to see an entire party make clear that there is no level of corruption and criminality by their leader that they will ever oppose. They exist only to hold power, even if they must destroy the republic to keep it.

Data&Society, Whitney Phillips (2018): The Oxygen of Amplification http://bit.ly/2KQOZ3s
// 5/22/2018; Phillips uses journalists’ own words to propose a set of editorial “better practices” intended to reduce manipulation and harm.

The Oxygen of Amplification: Better Practices for Reporting on Extremists, Antagonists, and Manipulators Online draws on in-depth interviews by scholar Whitney Phillips to showcase how news media was hijacked from 2016 to 2018 to amplify the messages of hate groups.

Offering extremely candid comments from mainstream journalists, the report provides a snapshot of an industry caught between the pressure to deliver page views, the impulse to cover manipulators and “trolls,” and the disgust (expressed in interviewees’ own words) of accidentally propagating extremist ideology.

🐣 RT @brianklaas There are 58 countries that are more corrupt than Ukraine according to Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index. Did Trump press *any* of them on corruption? C’mon.
⋙ 🐣 RT @PreetBharara Have reporters asked congressional Republicans this simple question: Do you sincerely believe Donald Trump cares about corruption generally? Seriously? Can you give an example not named Biden? Just one?

CNN, Kevin Liptak: Fiona Hill’s extraordinary answer distills what impeachment is about http://cnn.it/2qEukaT

🐣 RT @moscow_project According to his lawyers, Lev Parnas was at the meeting in Madrid a few days after Trump’s call with Zelensky where Giuliani pressured one of Zelensky’s aides to open an investigation into the Bidens.
⋙ DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Parnas Attended Giuliani’s Madrid Meeting With Zelensky Aide http://bit.ly/2KMJm5k
// Parnas was at the table for a meeting where Giuliani pressured a senior Ukrainian official to investigate a company linked to the Bidens, the official told The Daily Beast.

🐣 RT @heidiNBC What Putin took away from GOP indifference to the #ImpeachmentHearing testimony: ¤ @FrankFigliuzzi1: Time for interference Part 2 ¤ Expect an “onslaught” of Russian bots, trolls and worse, w democracy & rule of law at stake. ¤ “The media has got to step up and call it out.”

NYT: Fiona Hill Testifies ‘Fictions’ on Ukraine Pushed by Trump Help Russia http://nyti.ms/2O8kBSY
// The former top White House aide denounced a theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, as she tied the president’s pressure campaign to Russian efforts to sow political divisions in America.

WaPo, Ruth Marcus: The impeachment witnesses are an antidote to Trump’s anti-immigrant worldview http://wapo.st/2QHaNkQ

WaPo, Dana Milbank: Republicans have a new enemy: Truth itself http://wapo.st/2OAwdxi

WaPo Editorial: Fiona Hill shreds the Republicans’ false narrative about Ukraine http://wapo.st/37t1dI8

WaPo: Justice Dept. inspector general draft report finds FBI lawyer altered document http://wapo.st/2O7LRRI “That conduct did not alter Horowitz’s finding that the surveillance application of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page had a proper legal and factual basis”

WaPo: Impeachment witness Fiona Hill warns that conspiracy theories advance Russia’s agenda as they divide Americans http://wapo.st/2qzPEOJ

🐣 RT @real I never in my wildest dreams thought my name would in any way be associated with the ugly word, Impeachment! The calls (Transcripts) were PERFECT, there was NOTHING said that was wrong. No pressure on Ukraine. Great corruption & dishonesty by Schiff on the other side!

WaPo, Aaron Blake: 5 takeaways from Fiona Hill’s and David Holmes’s testimony http://wapo.st/34brGrw

💙💙 NewYorker, Jane Mayer (10/4): The Invention of the Conspiracy Theory on Biden and Ukraine http://bit.ly/2IqF0zz
// 10/4/2019; How a conservative dark-money group that targeted Hillary Clinton in 2016 spread the discredited story that may lead to Donald Trump’s impeachment.

🐣 RT @NicolleDWallace I spent much of my career in politics. I’ve never seen anyone like Fiona Hill.

🐣 RT @MollyJongFast This White House engages in Orwellian doublespeak every damn day.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ZekeJMiller White House: “Schiff and Congressional Democrats Are Playing Right into Russia’s Hands…Fiona Hill warned today that it is Russia’s goal to delegitimize the President of the United States. ”

WaPo: Fiona Hill tells impeachment inquiry about a ‘fictional narrative’ on Ukrainian interference http://wapo.st/35n4WoD

WaPo: Impeachment hearings live updates: Former White House official Fiona Hill to warn of ‘fictional narrative’ on Ukraine interference http://wapo.st/2Ovs9OR

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Fiona Hill Blasts GOP ‘Alternate Narrative’ on Ukraine http://bit.ly/2XJEByN
// The former top White House official handling Russia policy is set to needle Congressional Republicans in her impeachment testimony.

DailyBeast: Fiona Hill Wrote the Book on Putin’s ‘Protection Racket.’ Now She’s Testifying About Trump. http://bit.ly/2KEGnM2
// “Real decision making resides inside the inner circle, while Russia’s formal political institutions have… been emasculated.” Sound familiar?

⭕ 20 Nov 2019 Impeachment Hearings

🐣 RT @AmericanMystic Only Trump could have thought up this mad plot, but his crime (with the active assistance of senior officials) is much more than bribery: Trump’s goal was to rig the 2020 election in his favor. He cannot get away with it or the integrity of our democracy will be destroyed.

🐣 RT @mattklewis Again, the “exculpatory” evidence Trump apologists cite tend to all be events that occurred AFTER Trump realized the genie was out of the bottle…
⋙ 🐣 RT @mattklewis Per Elise Stefanik’s questioning, I would also add that (a) the aid was released only AFTER the IG report was sent to the House Intel Committee, & that (b) President Zelensky canceled his announcement of investigations into the Bidens only AFTER those events transpired..
💙💙 ⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @mattklewis It’s important to note the timing of Trump’s “I want nothing..I want no quid pro quo” statement to Sondland: It occurred on September 9, the exact same day the House Intel Committee received the whistleblower’s complaint….

🐣 RT @MimiRocah Scary: some at FBI felt Ukraine investigation was shut down (we know but interesting to hear some say it) & no one in FBI wanted to touch it b/c of Russia investigation which means Trump & co. tactics of intimidation is working.
⋙ YahooNews, Michael Isikoff and Zach Dorfman: FBI seeks interview with CIA whistleblower http://yhoo.it/37zQSdA

🐣 RT @tribelaw Sondland’s testimony establishes what the House needs to conclude in order to impeach Trump for the “high Crime” of crippling Congress’s lawful impeachment process by withholding the documents and witnesses demanded of the White House and the State Dept
⋙ YahooNews: Fox News Impeachment Expert Ken Starr Says Trump Is In Deep Trouble http://yhoo.it/35nVeCI

🐣 RT @ddale8 Rep. Devin Nunes’ opening statements have been the most objectively inaccurate segments of the impeachment inquiry hearings.

🐣 RT @ZevShaleb EXCLUSIVE. People in Ukraine definitely knew in July. A well-placed source in Kyiv told me minutes ago ‘Ukraine become toxic’ in late July, ‘American support became noticeably absent’. He can’t say it was directly connected to the call, but ‘what else could it be?’ @NarativLive

🐣 RT @ReigerReport Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense LAURA COOPER says there were two ways for the White House to legally withhold aid to Ukraine. ¤ Cooper says both would require congressional notice. ¤ No notice was given to Congress of the hold on Ukraine aid.

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin Trump is an experienced crook. He deputizes thugs like Cohen and Giuliani to do his dirty work, directs everyone to work with them, and then feigns ignorance about the compromising details if anyone asks.

🐣 RT @SethAbramson The reason Trump wanted only the ANNOUNCEMENT of an investigation into Biden and the Democratic Party—but not the INVESTIGATION—is because he knew an actual INVESTIGATION would turn up nothing, whereas a mere ANNOUNCEMENT would tar Biden and the Democrats through November 2020.

✅ PolitiFact: Fact-checking the Gordon Sondland impeachment hearing about Trump, Ukraine http://bit.ly35wJmhR

TIME, David French: Trump’s Actions in Ukraine Weren’t Just Wrong, They Were Dangerous http://bit.ly/2QE7Zoz

💙 NYT Editorial: Sondland Has Implicated the President and His Top Men http://nyti.ms/2O7kPKo
// Congress now needs to hear from more witnesses before an impeachment vote.

WaPo Editorial: ‘Everyone was in the loop’: Gordon Sondland makes two stunning points http://wapo.st/2D5hfKo

… [T]he $1 million donor whom President Trump appointed as ambassador to the European Union, on Wednesday made two stunning points to the House Intelligence Committee: Yes, there was a quid pro quo between Mr. Trump and the president of Ukraine; and “everyone was in the loop” about it, including the vice president, the secretary of state and the White House acting chief of staff.

DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Sam Brodey: Sondland Scorches Trumpland: ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ http://bit.ly/37oLlpT
// Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland named names and left few in the upper echelons of the federal government unscathed.

WaPo: Sondland’s bombshell testimony leaves Trump’s Republican allies scrambling http://wapo.st/2OxGbiP

DailyBeast, Adam Rawnsley: Here Are All the People Sondland Just Threw Under the Bus http://bit.ly/37mI2Qa
// Ambassador Sondland testified that Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence were more aware of the alleged Ukraine shakedown than previously thought.

🐣 RT @qjurecic The Trump-Zelensky phone call is at 9:03am on July 25 ¤ Cooper’s staff gets an email from the Ukrainian embassy asking what’s up with the aid at 2:31pm on July 25—five hours after the call
⋙ 🐣 RT @Susan_Hennessey Cooper says she has learned new information from her staff. Staff showed two unclassified email from State. One received July 25th at 2:31: “Ukrainian embassy are asking about security assistance.” Important to timeline.

DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Sam Brodey: Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland named names and left few in the upper echelons of the federal government unscathed. http://bit.ly/37oLlpT
// Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland named names and left few in the upper echelons of the federal government unscathed.

💙💙 DailyBeast, Matt Lewis: Gordon Sondland Provides the ‘John Dean Moment’ of Trump’s Impeachment http://bit.ly/37pAo7O
// Sondland was going to be the guy who bailed POTUS out. Not quite. And just think—if the Democrats had followed their original timid instincts, we’d never have known this.

WaPo: Philip Bump: Ukraine aid may have been stopped in early July — and Ukraine likely knew by the time of Trump’s call http://wapo.st/32ZP89W
// The timeline of the withholding of aid has been murky.

💙🐣 RT @matthewamiller Schiff and team have run the most effective Congressional probe in history. Informed of the WB complaint on Sep 9, and in a little over two months have broken WH obstruction, got docs & testimony, flipped reluctant witnesses, and revealed the entire plot. Seriously impressive.

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Lev Parnas Helped Rep. Devin Nunes’ Investigations http://bit.ly/2KFfzeI
// The indicted Giuliani associate helped arrange meetings and calls in Europe for the Republican congressman in 2018.

WaPo, Stacey Abrams: Republicans’ extreme positions open the door for Democrats in Georgia http://wapo.st/2QJeXbX

WaPo, Dan Balz: Sondland’s dramatic testimony shakes the impeachment debate and undercuts the president http://wapo.st/2pBrgM5

WaPo: Sondland acknowledges there was a ‘quid pro quo’ involving Ukraine http://wapo.st/2QGcJKb

🐣 RT @MollyMcKew Nunes is like 4chan mad libs ¤ WHISTLEBLOWER STEELE DOSSIER CLINTON CHALUPA LESHCHENKO BLACK DOSSIER SERVERS COLLUSION DEMOCRATIC OPERATIVES

🐣 RT @tomwatson Wow, Ken Starr making a strong case for obstruction and contempt of Congress charges on Fox right now. Cites Nixon. Says he’s changed his mind on these proceedings. “It’s over. There will be articles on impeachment.” 📌 https://twitter.com/tomwatson/status/1197186961229959168?s=20

🐣 RT @CAPAction “We now know that the president in fact committed the crime of bribery… ¤ I think articles of impeachment are being drawn up if they haven’t already been drawn up.” —Ken Starr 💽 https://twitter.com/CAPAction/status/1197187919737499648?s=20/photo/1
// clip from Fox

🐣 RT @RawStory Ken Starr suggests Sondland’s testimony could prompt GOP to ‘make a trip to the White House’ and ask Trump to resign 💽 https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1197179321451982850?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @matthewamiller Sondland’s rebuttal of Taylor is interesting and damning. There weren’t two channels, regular and irregular. There was in fact one channel, directed by the president and known to everyone around him, ordering the quid pro quo.

🐣 RT @AriMelber Holy cow Gordon Sondland going full John Dean in opening statement:
Confirms his view the WH plot was “quid pro quo” bribery
Implicates Giuliani
Shows Pompeo in the loop with new evidence
Implicates Trump, testifies this was on his orders
Adds new emails and evidence

🐣 RT @CarolLeonnig Sondland: President Trump never told me that aid was conditioned on announcing an investigation, in those words…but I came to realize that it was…

🐣 RT @RNicholasBurns Ambassador Sondland’s testimony a bombshell. This scandal is far deeper and broader than Watergate ever was. An abuse of Presidential power and a damning indictment of the President and his associates.

🐣 RT @AriMelber The obvious background here:
Trump felt he won 2016 by casting Clinton as crooked and fixating on an (actual) investigation of her.
He planned for 2020 by going after Biden as crooked and *manufacturing* an investigation of him.

🐣 RT @moscow_project Two things were clear to everybody involved:
-Rudy Giuliani was speaking on behalf of Trump
-Trump and Rudy didn’t want investigations—they wanted a *public announcement* of investigations, which had obvious political benefits for Trump.

🐣 RT @samstein “If you could show me that, you know, Trump actually was engaging in a quid pro quo, outside the phone call, that would be very disturbing.” — Lindsey Graham to @jonathanvswan a month ago

🐣 RT @benjaminwittes I’m old enough to remember when a big part of the Trump defense was that all of the witnesses were passing on second- or third-hand hearsay.

🐣 RT @HouseIntel Ambassador Sondland testified:
➡️ There was quid pro quo in Trump’s Ukraine scheme.
➡️ Zelensky would need to announce investigations that would benefit Trump politically in order to lift the “logjam” of aid and a White House meeting.
➡️ Everyone was in the loop about it.

🐣 RT @K8brannen Sondland’s three big messages:
1.This was all done at the president’s orders.
2. Everyone was in the loop.
3. There was a quid pro quo: WH meeting/Security assistance ($$) for investigations into Biden/2016

🐣 RT @neal_katyal 17.Either way, Trump defense has entirely collapsed. It’s clear he committed a grave impeachable offense, even according to his own witnesses. As my book (released next week!) argues, there is no choice but to impeach and remove him.📌 https://twitter.com/neal_katyal/status/1197152631887728641?s=20

🐣 RT @sbg1 [Susan Glasser] Perhaps we should all give a big thanks to Roger Stone, who may have had a big influence in getting Gordon Sondland to, shall we say, update his testimony.

🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger just implicated Pence. Ruh-roh

🐣 RT @charlie_savage Sondland says he had repeated conversations with Pompeo whose premise was that any release by Trump of the military aid was contingent on Zelensky making a public announcement of investigations, and Pompeo never corrected him and said that premise was wrong.

🐣 RT @evanmcmullin Sondland says email informed multiple senior officials that Zelenskiy would assure Trump he intended to run “investigation.” ¤ “Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret. Everyone was informed…days before the presidential call.” https://abcn.ws/2KBuiXR #ImpeachmentHearings 💽 https://twitter.com/evanmcmurry/status/1197172349218377728?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @HallieJackson That includes not just Pompeo, Mulvaney, NSC staff, per Amb. Sondland – but also Pence: Sondland said he specifically told the VP he “had concerns that the delay in aid had become tied to the issue of investigations.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @jdawsey1 “Everyone was in the loop,” Gordon Sondland says. “It was no secret.”

🐣 RT @harrylitman We are all listening to the same testimony. And each and every R is going to vote against Articles of Impeachment. what exactly is going through their minds right now? what rationalizations can possibly support their making light of this assault on the constitution and US int?

🐣 RT @McFaul Sondland’s testimony is so damning to the president because he is telling the truth.

🐣 RT @sarahdwire “Everyone was in the loop,” Sondland said repeatedly.
People included in “everyone,” according to his testimony:
-President Trump
-VP Pence
-Acting WH Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney
-Sec of State Pompeo
-Rudy Giuliani
-Energy Sec Rick Perry
-Amb John Bolton
-Amb Kurt Volker

WaPo: Sondland: ‘Was there a quid pro quo? … The answer is yes’ http://wapo.st/2O2XKZc

Newsweek: Trump Regularly ‘Can’t Remember What He’s Said or Been Told,’ White House Insider Says http://bit.ly/2O1DK98

⭕ 19 Nov 2019 Impeachment Hearings

WaPo: Trump said his Ukraine call was ‘perfect.’ Impeachment witnesses testified otherwise. http://wapo.st/2XB11C3

DailyBeast, Sam Brodey, Erin Banco and Spencer Ackerman: Republican Witnesses Blow Massive Hole in GOP’s Defense of Trump http://bit.ly/2OrbxYo
// Kurt Volker’s testimony has complicated what was supposed to be an opportunity to amplify the GOP’s impeachment counter-narrative.

DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: Trumpists to Alexander Vindman: ‘Fuck You for Your Service’ http://bit.ly/2rTLD7Y
// Once the party stood for strength. Now, it’s the GOP mocking the testimony of a decorated military officer. Now, it’s the GOP in bed with the darkest forces in the world.

WaPo Editorial: Even Republicans’ preferred witnesses are implicating Trump http://wapo.st/2OwZnNC

NYT, Jesse Wegman: Colonel Vindman’s America http://nyti.ms/2QzHLU1
// It’s not a place that Donald Trump knows much about.

NYT: Officials Testify That Trump Requests on Ukraine Call Were Inappropriate http://nyti.ms/2KF0LwB
// mIn the second week of impeachment hearings, White House national security aides recalled their concerns after the president’s conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart.

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Republicans should have thought twice before calling Volker and Morrison http://wapo.st/2O4AF8v

Politico: This week’s impeachment hearing schedule http://politi.co/37nXGei

Tuesday
9 a.m.: Jennifer Williams, aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, will go before the House Intelligence Committee. They will be the first people to testify who were on the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

2:30 p.m.: Ambassador Kurt Volker, former envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, White House aide with the NSC, will testify before the House Intelligence Committee. Volker and Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, have previously testified in a closed door meeting with the committee with details supporting Democrats’ claim that Trump tried to execute a shadow foreign policy with Ukraine.

Wednesday
9 a.m.: Gordon Sondland will testify before the committee. This will be the first time Sondland publicly addresses claims that he was working closely with Trump in dealing with Ukraine and that he’d told the president that the Ukrainians were ready to comply with his demands.

2:30 p.m.: Laura Cooper, deputy assistance secretary of Defense, and David Hale, undersecretary of State, will testify. Cooper previously described to the committee a state of frenzy within the administration after Trump ordered a freeze on military aid to Ukraine.

Thursday
9 a.m.: Fiona Hill, former senior director for Europe and Russia at the NSC, and David Holmes, political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv will testify. Hill had previously told House investigators that then-National Security Adviser John Bolton instructed her to report her concerns about Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s dealings with Ukraine to NSC lawyers.

NYT, Jamelle Bouie: Republicans Are Following Trump to Nowhere http://nyti.ms/2KAiipz
// There’s an impeachment lesson hiding in the president’s failure to produce the political results he wants.

🐣 RT @ktumulty Via @MJGerson — “Fox News is no longer content to spout pro-Trump propaganda. It must destroy Trump’s opponents, even if they are honorable people. Especially if they are honorable people. “
⋙WaPo, Michael Gerson: Trump spurs a Wild West of continuously worsening political rhetoric http://wapo.st/3445srE

🐣 Trump may have inadvertently laid a trap for himself. Those who might defend him are most likely to not volunteer to testify if it means defying his claim of blanket executive privilege.

DailyBeast, Matt Lewis: Do You Want Your Kids to Grow Up to Be Like Alexander Vindman or Donald Trump? http://bit.ly/2qveBdY
// Trump and his lackeys say the “deep staters” are ruining the country. In fact, these are the very people who’ve been serving their nation with dignity for decades.

WaPo: Lt. Col. Vindman to describe his alarm over president’s call with Ukrainian leader, girding for Republican attack http://wapo.st/32UPEWE

DailyBeast, Erin Banco: Sondland to U.S. Diplomat: Trump Only Cares About ‘Big Stuff’ Like the Biden Investigation http://bit.ly/2XoAp7k
// David Holmes testified, “Ambassador Sondland agreed that the President did not give a shit about Ukraine.”

DailyBeast: Top Diplomat Testified Pompeo Called Hannity About Yovanovitch Smears http://bit.ly/37nNfr9
// “It did come up at some point with the secretary,” David Hale said. “I understood that he did call Sean Hannity.”

Hale further declared that no one within the State Department thought the allegations that were being spread about Yovanovitch had any credibility or validity. At the same time, he acknowledged that despite the belief there was no basis behind the smears, the word got back to Yovanovitch there would be no statement of support for her.

Hale’s testimony tracks with that of both Yovanovitch and senior State Department official George Kent, who both said it was their understanding that Pompeo or someone from State called the Fox host to see “what is going on” with coverage of the allegations.

Hannity, meanwhile, has repeatedly denied that Pompeo contacted him at the time, calling the testimony “fake news” and insisting that he barely covered Yovanovitch during the spring, claiming that he didn’t “know anything about this woman.” He has also threatened to file a lawsuit if officials didn’t “stop spreading bogus rumors and smears about” him.

⭕ 18 Nov 2019

NYT, Thomas Friedman: Mike Pompeo: Last in His Class at West Point in Integrity http://nyti.ms/35cVfsU
// The secretary of state’s behavior has been cowardly and self-serving.

Politico: The Hill vows to review Solomon’s Ukraine pieces http://politi.co/37luSTm
// The columnist’s attacks on a U.S. ambassador, which were hailed by Trump, have come under congressional scrutiny.

Wong told Speier that “there are a lot of dedicated reporters at The Hill who do not share John Solomon’s views.” Last year, some journalists at The Hill complained to management about Solomon’s work, which was later moved from the news side to the opinion section. Solomon departed The Hill in September and later joined Fox News as a contributor.

🐣 RT @HelenKennedy Yikes. Hale says the State Department wanted Yovanovitch to issue a public statement of loyalty to Trump – possibly on camera – in exchange for support from the department. https://twitter.com/HelenKennedy/status/1196604019206168576?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @nwadhams Tillerson fires back at Haley: “There’s so many people still trying to serve the country, so when people write books that quickly after leaving, my guess is there’s two motivations: They need the money and they need the political future.”
⋙ PBS, Candice Norwood: Tillerson says it’s ‘wrong’ to ask another country for personal favors http://to.pbs.org/37s6b86

💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Holmes and Hale Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2KxG2Lh

● Holmes: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2XyrQa8 ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2Xsy7nq
● Hale: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2Kw91if ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2r4jB9D

“Today, the Committees released the transcripts of depositions with Mr. David Holmes and Mr. David Hale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

“Mr. Holmes, a nonpartisan career Foreign Service officer, testified that he was present when Ambassador Gordon Sondland spoke directly with President Trump on July 26—the day after President Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

“Mr. Holmes overheard President Trump asking Ambassador Sondland whether President Zelensky committed to ‘do the investigation’ into the Bidens and the 2016 election, which Trump pressed Zelensky for in his call the previous day. Sondland responded to President Trump stating, ‘Oh yeah, he’s going to do it’ and added that President Zelensky will ‘do anything you ask him to.’ Following the conversation between President Trump and Ambassador Sondland, Mr. Holmes asked Sondland whether it was true that President Trump ‘did not give a [expletive] about Ukraine,’ to which Sondland agreed that Trump did not, and that he only cared about the ‘big stuff’ like ‘this Biden investigation that Giuliani is pushing.’

“Mr. Holmes testified that he felt obligated to come forward to rebut the unfounded claim by the President and his allies that ‘certain senior officials may have been acting without the President’s knowledge in their dealings with Ukraine.’

🐣 RT @mimirocah Yovanovitch’s testimony – and strength – hit a nerve for a lot of people, in part, because of echoes of Dr. Ford’s testimony. @pithywidow & I explain.
⋙ NBCNews, Mimi Rocah and Karen Schwartz: Trump’s smearing of ex-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch echoes Christine Blasey Ford http://nbcnews.to/2XpyqPW
// In the same way that Ford came to symbolize a certain kind of strength, Yovanovitch symbolizes any woman who’s ever had a man try to undermine her, demote her or push her out.

CNN: DOJ inspector general scheduled to testify about Russia report http://cnn.it/35fyhRX before Senate Judiciary on Dec 11

The scheduled hearing is the strongest indication yet that the report’s release is imminent. Graham and other supporters of the President have led a steady drumbeat of anticipation over the Horowitz report in recent weeks, suggesting it will provide evidence of improper conduct by the FBI in the early stages of the investigation that undermines the credibility of the probe.

What the report says is still unknown. But some witnesses who have been interviewed by the inspector general say they expect that it will likely reveal some missteps, though none that should be interpreted as undermining a legitimate investigation.

The report, expected to be released with minimal redactions, is likely to land at the height of the unfolding House impeachment inquiry. It could be a boon for Republicans, who’ve accused law enforcement of abusing its power as it investigated Trump.

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “It’s gonna be really interesting to see which way [Sondland’s] testimony breaks. He’s obviously been somebody who has been reluctant to totally rip the lid off this scandal… This is somebody who is very much on his heels…” – @AaronBlake w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1196583137238757377?s=20/photo/1

JustSecurity, Ryan Goodman: Chart: Side-by-Side Comparison of Kurt Volker’s vs Other Witnesses’ Testimony in Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/32U1tMF Volker’s testimony is contradicted by statements of at least eleven other current or former officials

NYT: Impeachment Investigators Exploring Whether Trump Lied to Mueller http://nyti.ms/2qrlBbP “‘I do not recall discussing WikiLeaks with him,’ Mr. Trump … wrote of Mr. Stone.” Others have testified, under oath, that he did.
// As part of the Russia inquiry, President Trump had given written answers to questions from Robert S. Mueller III.

🐣 RT @AndrewDesiderio Pelosi in letter to colleagues just now: “The facts are uncontested: that the President abused his power for his own personal, political benefit, at the expense of our national security interests.” https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1196504226932953088?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @AndrewDesiderio Pelosi also doubles down on “bribery”: ¤ “The fact is, the aid was only released after the whistleblower exposed the truth of the President’s extortion and bribery, and the House launched a formal investigation.”

AP Exclusive: US officials knew of Ukraine’s Trump anxiety http://bit.ly/2XnHuVw ‘Despite his denials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was feeling pressure from the Trump Administration to investigate Biden before his July phone call with Trump’

🐣 RT @CharlesPPierce If this really is Attorney General William Barr’s final go-round as a servant to radical conservative power, and we can only pray to god that it is, he’s certainly going out with a bang. [Link] https://twitter.com/CharlesPPierce/status/1196445984538148876?s=20
⋙ 🐣 My guess is likely disingenuous, but I think the CI IG report may have turned up clean and Barr is trying to reestablish his cred w Trump. Perhaps too clever.

TIME, Ian Bremmer: The End of the American International Order: What Comes Next? http://bit.ly/2qcVRA5 text of a speech delivered by Ian Bremmer on November 18 at the 2019 GZERO Summit in Tokyo

🐣 RT @olgaNYC1211 Former prosecutor Lutsenko (involved in smear campaign of Amb Yovanovitch) gave an interview to a Ukrainian outlet revealing more details about his 3 day meet w @RudyGiuliani ¤ Most damning is the meet was arranged by a Kremlin backed prosecutor connected to oil business. Lukoil 📌 https://twitter.com/olgaNYC1211/status/1196423099400511488?s=20

🐣 RT @SeanEldridge “If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” -Samuel Adams
⋙ 🐣 RT @real The Crazed, Do Nothing Democrats are turning Impeachment into a routine partisan weapon. That is very bad for our Country, and not what the Founders had in mind!!!!

🐣 RT @TheRickWilson This week is going to be insane.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Opinions seem to be moving rapidly. 51% favor impeachment. 70% believe what Trump did is wrong. Public hearings seem to be working with 20% saying they’re paying close attention now.
⋙ 📊 ABCNews: ABC/Ipsos Poll: 70% of Americans say Trump’s actions tied to Ukraine were wrong http://abcn.ws/2qorsPg 51% think he should be impeached and removed from office

In addition to the 51%, another 19% think that Trump’s actions were wrong, but that he should either be impeached by the House but not removed from office, or be neither impeached by the House nor convicted by the Senate. The survey also finds that 1 in 4 Americans, 25%, think that Trump did nothing wrong.

DailyBeast, Adam Rawnsley: GOP Pushes an Impeachment Conspiracy That the FBI Debunked Years Ago http://bit.ly/33YD3Dh
// Bank records cited by the FBI show that Manafort received some of the money that Ukraine’s “Black Ledger” alleged he was paid.

WaPo, Meg Kelly and Elyse Samuels: How Russia weaponized social media, got caught and escaped consequences http://wapo.st/2KygopH

NPR, Jessica Taylor: Fractured Into Factions? What The Founders Feared About Impeachment http://n.pr/37fCF5q They were “trying to avoid a repeat of the situation they had just fought a war to free themselves from — a ruler with unchecked power.”

💙 NBCNews: Trump’s impeachment ire turns on Pompeo amid diplomats’ starring roles http://nbcnews.to/2r4mEhO By Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Andrea Mitchell
// Impeachment hearings have created a rift between the president and one of his staunchest allies in the administration.

✅ TheIntercept, Robert Mackey (May): A Republican Conspiracy Theory About a Biden-in-Ukraine Scandal Has Gone Mainstream. But It Is Not True. http://bit.ly/2muqizk
// 5/10/2019

💙 ✅ WaPo FactChecker, Glenn Kessler (10/8/2019): The GOP theory that Ukraine ‘set up’ Trump http://wapo.st/2CPohCV

≣ GaslitNation: Alexandra Chalupa Interview [Transcript] http://bit.ly/2XpKT68
// undated; 19p

⭕ 17 Nov 2019

WaPo, Harry Litman (11/17): Adam Schiff is bringing a prosecutor’s sensibility to impeachment hearings http://wapo.st/37FsEP0
● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1199749988580020226?s=20/photo/1

Schiff seems clearly to have brought to this task of a lifetime a calm assessment of what he can hope to do and what he can’t. Some are worried that without more tub-thumping or fireworks, Schiff cannot hope to move the needle of public opinion. But Schiff’s calculation seems to be that if an unassailable factual demonstration of the president’s shakedown of Ukraine to serve his own political interests to the derogation of the country’s doesn’t bring the public around, nothing will.

And if it all comes to naught — not a single congressional Republican breaks rank while 90 percent of Republicans remain firmly behind President Trump — Schiff and the Democrats still will have set out clearly what Trump did and advanced a powerful argument that the abhorrent conduct was incompatible with the office of the presidency. Compared to other episodes in which Trump has been able to prevent the full truth from coming out, this alone would constitute a vital service to the country and to history.

💽 CNN, Fareed Zakaria: What in the World: The Crowdstrike Conspiracy Theory http://cnn.it/37gfW9f
// Disinformation Fellow at The Wilson Center, Nina Jankowicz tells Fareed that President Trump is trying to use the Crowdstrike conspiracy theory to detract from the unanimous conclusions of the Intelligence Community about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Inquirer, Will Bunch: Marie Yovanovitch, impeachment, and America’s last stand for playing by the rules http://bit.ly/32TAIIb

🐣 RT @McFaul Elected politicians do not get to use their public office for private gain. That’s not “foreign policy.” That’s the definition of corruption.
⋙ 🐣 RT @LuvGrammyLife So… UNELECTED BUREAUCRATS DO NOT MAKE FOREIGN POLICY! Their attempts to override the POTUS is criminal!

💽 MSNBC, AMJoy: How conservative media is covering the impeachment hearings http://on.msnbc.com/2qlQ8I0
// The impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump public hearings have been characterized very differently on many Fox News shows, compared to other major news outlets, which instead often called out Republicans for allegedly parroting Kremlin propaganda. Joy Reid and her panel discuss.

💽 MSNBC, AlexWitt: Historian who predicted Trump’s election also predicted his impeachment http://on.msnbc.com/2pwk0RM
// Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted every presidential election since Ronald Reagan in 1984. But in his same 2016 prediction that Donald Trump would win, Lichtman also predicted he’d be just the third president ever to be impeached. The historian joins Alex Witt to discuss his prediction model and draw comparisons to Richard Nixon’s impeachment.

🐣 RT @TeamPelosi Trump is accelerating his attacks — his distractions and lies are getting worse. We must be laser-focused on protecting our Majority so we can keep fighting to defend our democracy and root corruption out of the White House.

ForeignAffairs, Michael McFaul (2018): Russia as It Is http://fam.ag/2pwiwXI
// 6/14/2018; A Grand Strategy for Confronting Putin

🔄  Teri Kanefield Blog: Musing about law, books, and politics http://bit.ly/35aN4xd

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: The party of lying liars http://wapo.st/2Xsb2RV “Both Trump and his House enablers are unfit to serve since personal and political considerations obliterate their ability to detect the truth and thereby to uphold their public obligations.”

🐣 RT @JohnWDean One of many ways Trump’s bribery with Ukraine has been statutorily defined. And of course bribery is a named impeachable offense.
⋙ 🐣 RT @tribelaw “Whoever…being a public official…SEEKS..anything of value personally …in return for: being influenced in the performance of any official act..shall be fined …or imprisoned..or both.” 18 U.S.C. Sec. 201 (b) (2). So even in the federal code, soliciting a bribe is bribery.

WaPo, Max Boot: William Barr’s chilling defense of virtually unlimited presidential power http://wapo.st/32XoTB0

USAToday, Mimi Rocah and Jennifer Rodgers: Impeachment: Trump abuses power by harassing, intimidating witnesses like Yovanovitch http://bit.ly/32RMjI1
// Trump has a pattern of public witness tampering. Using his presidential platform this way may not be criminal but that is not relevant to impeachment.

DailyBeast: Chris Wallace Accuses Top Republican of ‘Very Badly’ Mischaracterizing Impeachment Testimony http://bit.ly/33UyQQQ
// “No, sir, they are career foreign service officers and these are people who worked in the Trump administration,” Wallace snapped back at Scalise.

🐣 RT @ericgarland Mr. Zakaria, you and Jeff Zucker are gliding over WHERE you’d be conducting Zelenskyy’s extorted interview: at Ukrainian oligarch Viktor PINCHUK’s YES conference. ¤ Let’s give people the true context.
⋙ CNN: [ Fareed Zakaria ]The @nytimes has reported that Ukrainian Pres. Zelensky was set to make a public announcement of the investigations sought by Pres. Trump on my @CNN program. So, I think I owe viewers my best understanding of what actually happened. My take: 💽 https://twitter.com/FareedZakaria/status/1196080871939293185?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ericgarland Pinchuk most notoriously gave Trump $150,000 for a “speech” at this same YES Conference while Trump was running for office. ¤ And the US MSM has reported that Mueller was investigating it.
⋙ CNBC (2018): Mueller is reportedly investigating $150,000 a Ukrainian billionaire gave Trump’s foundation http://cnb.cx/2pqWzJp
// 4/9/2018
↥ ↧
TPM, Josh Marshall: A Bit More Detail on the ‘Deliverable’ That Never Was http://bit.ly/2COBE6i

I wanted to flag this brief account by Fareed Zakaria which comes after Matt Shuham’s report from last week about just how close Ukrainian President Zelensky came to delivering the “investigations” Trump demanded. As you’ve likely heard, the announcement was to come on Zakaria’s CNN show, Fareed Zakaria GPS. It got canceled only when the news of the whistleblower complaint was finally going public. It had seemed that the interview was likely scheduled for September 13th and canceled as late as the morning of that day. But according to Zakaria it was only canceled on the 18th or the 19th of September.

This isn’t just a matter of a few days difference. ¤ Zelensky’s team, it seems, did not rule out the announcement until as long as a week until after the aid was released. Zelensky or his staffers told Zakaria when they met for an off-camera chat on the September 13th that they knew the aid had finally been released.

WSJ: Sondland Kept Trump Administration Officials Apprised of Ukraine Push http://on.wsj.com/2XoZ77x
// Ambassador is set to testify Wednesday in second week of public impeachment hearings

DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Lachlan Markay: Gordon Sondland Stepped In ‘and Things Went Really Off the Rails’ http://bit.ly/2qZW6ys
// “Erratic,” “very emotional,” and “lots of yelling.” Those are some of the words used to describe Sondland’s performance in a White House meeting with top Ukrainian officials.

🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind Republican Senators by and large have been notably gone quiet this past week in defending Trump – save the lost sycophants like Graham, Paul and Johnson. This is telling.

🐣 RT @peterbakernyt The Republicans have three conflicting defenses for Trump, writes @gerardtbaker:
1. There was no quid pro quo
2. There was but it’s no big deal
3. There was, it was wrong, but voters should decide.
He thinks the last is the most viable.
⋙ WSJ, Gerard Baker: The GOP Has Three Defenses of Donald Trump. Only One Really Works. http://on.wsj.com/2QrlY0J
// He did it and shouldn’t have. But it should be left to the voters to decide.

🐣 RT @JeffreyGoldberg William J. Burns is the most highly regarded American diplomat of his generation. Here is his indictment of Mike Pompeo’s leadership of the State Department:
⋙ TheAtlantic, William Burns: I Fear the Weak State http://bit.ly/2QpDjqU
// The State Department that I once served is adrift, and its leadership is too often complicit in Trump’s worst tendencies.

🐣 RT @MollyMcKew The Donald J Trump for President campaign is running TV ads saying that a coup against POTUS is underway, led by the lawyer of the whistleblower. ¤ We’re sooooooooo far down the rabbithole.

DailyBeast, David Lurie: This Decision Could Be Bigger Than Impeachment http://bit.ly/37fGSFW
// The Supreme Court has avoided taking sides in what Bill Barr calls a “scorched earth, no-holds-barred war” between Congress and the president. That could end this week.

🐣 RT @Kkyahu fair enough. my edited quote tweet: thoughts and prayers that the doctors at walter reed convince him that resignation is in his best interests

🐣 RT @qjurecic For anyone counting, we’re now up to 3,504 pages of transcripts, or 2.86x the length of the first edition of War and Peace
⋙ 🐣 Feels like War and Peace ~ tons of colorful characters, lots of Russians, competing systems of governance, the fate of Europe in the balance

⭕ 16 Nov 2019

CNN (10/16): Barr slams Democrats and courts: Avalanche of subpoenas is designed to ‘incapacitate the executive branch’ http://cnn.it/2qgKirF “‘He is the president’s lawyer,’ Barr said of the [role of] attorney general. ‘He is the lawyer for the Cabinet’.”

DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Russia Loves the Impeachment Hearings Because GOP Is Parroting Kremlin Propaganda http://bit.ly/32WFHI8
// Vladimir Putin could not possibly envision a sweeter gift than Ukraine falling away from the West into the welcoming—albeit bloodied—hands of the Kremlin.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Unless Pence was the only one who missed out on the code, this is damning: Pence told Zelensky he wanted an update on corruption reform efforts “that he could then convey back to” Trump. Williams gave Pence the 7/25 call memo, didn’t know if he read it
⋙ Politico: Pence aide testified that Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine were ‘inappropriate’ http://politi.co/2CPB48b
// Jennifer Williams told investigators that she took notes while she listened in on Trump’s July 25 phone call.

🐣 RT @TeamPelosi There is no time for fear. We must stand up and do the right thing for our country and hold Trump accountable for his abuses of power. – NP

DailyBeast, Michael Weiss and Casey Michel: The Alleged Russian Mobsters in Trump World’s Orbit: A Dirty Dozen http://bit.ly/2NWQspU
// The impeachment investigations will have as constant background Trump’s most important and long lasting connections to Russia—through alleged mobsters.

💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Morrison and Williams Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2Q5m4ep

● Morrison: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2KqPAYg ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2KtPsHn
● Williams: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2CSjMra ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/37hpNMa

“The testimony released today shows that President Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky immediately set off alarm bells throughout the White House. Both witnesses provided the Committees with first-hand accounts after personally listening to the call in the White House Situation Room.

“Mr. Morrison confirmed Ambassador Taylor’s testimony to the Committees that the Ukrainians were told that U.S. military assistance, not just the White House meeting, was conditioned on their public announcement of political investigations that the President wanted. Additionally, following the September 1 meeting between President Zelensky and Vice President Pence, Mr. Morrison confirmed that Ambassador Sondland informed one of President Zelensky’s top aides that American military aid was conditioned on the investigations. Mr. Morrison informed John Bolton of the meeting and was told by Mr. Bolton to go see the lawyers, which he did.

“Ms. Williams testified that the President’s requests were ‘unusual and inappropriate’ and shed light on ‘possible other motivations behind a security assistance hold.’ She also confirmed, like Lt. Col. Vindman, that the Ukrainian President specifically mentioned ‘Burisma’ during the call, even though the White House call record does not reflect that. Importantly, Ms. Williams also testified that in mid-May, President Trump instructed Vice President Pence to cancel plans to attend President Zelensky’s inauguration before the date for the inauguration had been set.

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews At their introductory meeting in Germany in 2017, Putin urged Trump to recognize Russia’s claim of sovereignty over part of Ukraine, citing links dating to an 11th-century political federation located in modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and part of Russia.
⋙ WSJ: Trump’s View of Ukraine as Corrupt Took Shape Early http://on.wsj.com/2QsYqbM
// President’s skepticism of Kyiv and sympathy for Moscow have colored U.S. engagement

🐣 RT @StevenBeschloss Trump betrayed our allies, the Kurds, paving the way for the Russians to take control in Northern Syria. While people die and lives are destroyed, Trump spends his time appeasing Erdogan and attacking US diplomats who’ve devoted their lives to public service & building stability.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RichardEngel Massive attacks underway against the kurds in northern syria. No ceasefire. Total nonsenses there is. US military officials tell me they are ashamed, “sickened.” It’s cold now outside. What about the families, and kids, out of their homes? @OARichardEngel #AmericanBetrayal

💙 WaPo: How a CIA analyst, alarmed by Trump’s shadow foreign policy, triggered an impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/2CRds38
// nice chronology timeline

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Is it possible to have too many smoking guns?

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Schiff: “The most profound threat to democracy today is not from Russia … The most grave threat to the life and health of our democracy comes from within, from a president without ethical compass. Without an understanding of or devotion to our Constitution.” Via The Hill

✅ CNN, Daniel Dale: Fact check: A list of 45 ways Trump has been dishonest about Ukraine and impeachment http://cnn.it/2XlvzaR

🐣 RT @RichardEngel Spoke to a sr former justice dept official. He too worries Trump can’t get off, won’t get off, “dictator’s treadmill.” Once you’re on the ride is high, so you’ll do anything, and everything, to keep running and not to crash and burn. I’ve seen it all my life. Never ends well

🐣 RT @joshtpm You should go testify just to show them how bad it’s going.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RudyGiuliani After 3 witnesses no evidence has been presented of any offense. The first two permanent diplomats had no direct knowledge just overhearing things. The third one had no knowledge not even hearsay. This is a travesty.

🐣 RT @anders_asland Excellent article documenting how Ken Vogel has disinformed about the US in Ukraine in the NYT to the benefit of Giuliani & Trump. ¤ This is a great embarrassment for @nytimes.
💙💙 ⋙ WaPo: A New York Times reporter dug into Ukraine and the Democrats. Critics are still howling. http://wapo.st/2NUvoQU Ken Vogel
WaPo: New York Times reporter Ken Vogel dug into Ukraine and the Democrats. Critics are still howling. http://wapo.st/2NUvoQU l

🐣 RT @AngrierWHStaff It goes without saying, but the Secret Service doesn’t like taking POTUS anywhere without advanced warning — they only go somewhere unannounced if it’s an absolute necessity.

‼️ 🐣 RT @ShimonPro This is very mysterious today. President Trump’s trip to Walter Reed National Medical Center was previously unscheduled, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. ¤ The visit was not on the Saturday public schedule. It was also not on the internal schedule.

WaPo: Senior national security official ties key official more closely to Trump on Ukraine in impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/32Vx4Oe Tim Morrison

WaPo: White House budget official says decision to delay aid to Ukraine was highly irregular http://wapo.st/2qZ3dXN Mark Sandy

💙💙 CNN: Exclusive: After private White House meeting, Giuliani associate Lev Parnas said he was on a ‘secret mission’ for Trump, sources say http://cnn.it/2qZG3As

Among the many guests who had their pictures taken with President Donald Trump at the White House’s annual Hanukkah party last year were two Soviet-born businessmen from Florida, Lev Parnas and Igor  Fruman. 

At one point during the party that night, Parnas and Fruman slipped out of a large reception room packed with hundreds of Trump donors to have a private meeting with the President and Giuliani, according to two acquaintances in whom Parnas confided right after the meeting.

Word of the encounter in the White House last December, which has not been previously reported, is further indication that Trump knew Parnas and Fruman, despite Trump publicly stating that he did not on the day after the two men were arrested at Dulles International Airport last month.

Eventually, according to what Parnas told his confidants, the topic turned to Ukraine that night. According to those two confidants, Parnas said that “the big guy,” as he sometimes referred to the President in conversation, talked about tasking him and Fruman with what Parnas described as “a secret mission” to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

DailyBeast, Spencer Ackerman and Sam Brodey: Republicans Thought Yovanovitch Would Be a Pushover. She Beat Them Up Instead http://bit.ly/35b8n1R
// The fired U.S. ambassador showed why Trump needed her out of the embassy in Kyiv before pressuring the Ukrainians for dirt on his political opponents.

⭕ 15 Nov 2019 Impeachment Hearings

🐣 RT @McFaul In impeachment hearing today, we heard how Putin practiced “narrative laundering” in blaming Ukraine for interfering in our 2016 election, a narrative that our president now believes. @noUpside @alexstamos & I explain how Russian intel does it:
⋙ WaPo: Here’s how Russia will attack the 2020 election. We’re still not ready. http://wapo.st/2qoKsNp by Michael McFaul and researchers from the Stanford Internet Observatory

WSJ: Federal Prosecutors Probe Giuliani’s Links to Ukrainian Energy Projects http://on.wsj.com/2CRciob
// Associates told others that Giuliani stood to profit from natural-gas project pitched alongside campaign for investigations of Joe Biden

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin I pray that we don’t lose sight of Trump’s escalating abuses of power. Our self-government isn’t guaranteed. This is a moment of truth for the Republic, a time to fight for our freedoms or watch them slip through our fingers while imagining that they never could.

TheWeek: Trump and Attorney General Barr had an ‘animated’ talk, reportedly about the Horowitz report, in the Oval Office http://bit.ly37dROUx

💙 TheAtlantic, David Graham: We Still Don’t Know What Happened Between Trump and Russia http://bit.ly/2XmKCAX
// Roger Stone’s conviction for obstruction serves up some justice but underscores how effectively Trump aides have prevented a full reckoning.

🐣 RT @AndyOstroy Many people are saying @realDonaldTrump’s been holed up in the WH all day/night w/ lawyers ENRAGED at today’s DEVASTATING setbacks…& is having a colossal unhinged MELTDOWN. Screaming, throwing things, threatening to fire everyone. He’s TERRIFIED, PANICKED & DESPERATE… #Trump

💙💙≣ WaPo, Karen Olmsted: Watergate led to sweeping reforms. Here’s what we’ll need after Trump. http://wapo.st/35akAUg
// The laws that will protect elections, end corruption and fix the balance of power.

💙💙 NewYorker, Susan Glasser: In Trump’s Jaded Capital, Marie Yovanovitch’s Uncynical Outrage in the Impeachment Hearings http://bit.ly/2CN3vUl
// A fired Ambassador demonstrates that it is apparently still possible to be shocked by the President.

As with most truly memorable public moments, there was something raw and unexpected about Yovanovitch’s appearance on Friday; it cut through the rote posturing and partisanship to get at an essential fact. Yovanovitch reminded us that all of this is, in fact, amazing and shocking and outrageous. It is not normal. Trump is not on the brink of impeachment because of some arcane dispute over differing philosophies about anti-corruption policies in Ukraine. Yovanovitch, who spent her career fighting corruption in the former Soviet Union, was dumped because the President had allied himself with Ukrainians who wanted to stop America’s anti-corruption efforts. He personally ordered her fired. He spoke threateningly of her during a phone call with Ukraine’s new President and did it again, on Twitter, while she was testifying on Capitol Hill. No previous President—of either party—has ever acted in this way.

That is why Yovanovitch’s appearance was ultimately about what the hell the country is supposed to do with a President who is so manifestly unpresidential. Friday offered a chance to reflect on Trump’s conduct, to consider the extent of his boorishness, his poor judgment, his ignorance, his recklessness, and his callous disregard for anything other than his own personal interests. There will be many days and weeks to come in which to hash out what, if anything, in all this saga involving Ukraine, should be considered impeachable by Congress. But that is not the real import of Friday’s hearing, which was a rare opportunity for America to stop and take stock of Trump and what he has wrought. This was a day to contemplate the excesses of Donald John Trump. …

As Fiona Hill, Trump’s former senior Russia adviser at the National Security Council, told the committee in her deposition, Yovanovitch’s firing was “a real turning point,” the head-snapping moment when the handful of officials in charge of America’s Ukraine policy realized that something had gone terribly wrong and the President was going to war against the executors of his own Administration’s policy. Schiff identified its significance in his opening statement, pointing out that, while “the powers of the Presidency are immense, they are not absolute. And they cannot be used for corrupt purpose.” Those powers, he added, are meant to be used “in service of the nation, not to destroy others to advance his personal or political interests.” …

Several times, Yovanovitch was asked why it mattered that Trump had fired her, what his prerogative was, and why we should care about it. She reached back to the Truman era and to Arthur Vandenberg, the late Republican senator from Michigan, a prewar isolationist who became a pillar of the postwar internationalism that had been the hallmark of American foreign policy right up until Trump took office. “Partisan politics stops at the water’s edge,” Vandenberg was famous for saying, even if the two parties were never as bipartisan about foreign policy as his statement implied. At least the aspiration was there, even if the execution faltered. Yovanovitch still seemed to want to believe it. She insisted upon the idea that there remains an American national interest, as opposed to a Republican interest, a Democratic interest, or a Presidential interest. She was an Ambassador from our past, and maybe from our future. But not, sadly, from our present.

WaPo Editorial: Yovanovitch makes it clear: Trump put his personal interests above the U.S. http://wapo.st/32OfWKg

NYT Editorial: Donald Trump, Corruption Fighter? http://nyti.ms/37kv9Gq
// The impeachment inquiry revealed the absurdity of claims that he wanted to clean up Ukraine.

WaPo: Roger Stone guilty on all counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering http://wapo.st/2QqeaMG

WaPo: Yovanovitch makes it clear: Trump put his personal interests above the U.S. http://wapo.st/32OfWKg

WaPo: Impeachment witness provides firsthand account of hearing Trump demand ‘investigation’ of Bidens by Ukraine http://wapo.st/2Ofr9Ox David Holmes, an embassy staffer in Kyiv, testified that he heard Trump press Sondland about whether Zelensky would ‘do the investigation’

🐣 RT @rachaelmbade WOW. Yovanovitch got the call to come home while she was GIVING AN AWARD to the father of a deceased anti-corruption crusader who was killed by acid due to her work. ¤ She was told to “get on the next plane” that night.

💽 MSNBC: McCaskill: Quest[ion]ing of Yovanovitch ‘cleanup on aisle 5’ for GOP http://on.msnbc.com/2qYQXXa
// Former Sen. Claire McCaskill describes the Republican questioning of former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as “cleanup on aisle 5,” and questions whether you would stop investigating a failed robbery if the suspect was caught in the act.

WaPo, Dan Balz: Hearings underscore the pressure on career officials struggling to serve under Trump http://wapo.st/33RJrvL

🐣 RT @FaceTheNation “He made a mistake,” @SpeakerPelosi says on Trump’s tweet about Yovanovitch during her testimony. “I think part of it is his own insecurity as an impostor…he knows full well he’s in that office way over his head. And so he has to diminish everyone else.” https://cbsn.ws/32PUQek 💽 https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1195481643978498049?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Another “perfect” call. Witnessed by Holmes & others. Trump was shouting to Sondland, anxious to hear his bribery/extortion scheme to get Ukraine to announce Biden investigations was on track before he’d release aid. Remember, Putin heard all of this too. #Impeachment
⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok ‼️💥‼️David Holmes confirms Taylor testimony: He overheard Trump on call w/Sondland. Trump’s voice was so loud, Sondland held the phone away from ear.
TRUMP: So he’s gonna do the investigations?
SONDLAND: Zelensky will do whatever you want. He loves your ass”
#ImpeachmentHearings

NYT: Key Takeaways from Marie Yovanovitch’s Hearing in the Impeachment Inquiry http://nyti.ms/2OlPhz0
// Even as Ms. Yovanovitch was testifying about “the smear campaign against me,” President Trump hurled insults at her on Twitter.

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “We look to our leaders for lots of things, including moral guidance. When something is wrong we have to say it’s wrong. If we don’t say it’s wrong we are complicit in that behavior. That is the obligation we all have as public servants.” – Chuck Rosenberg w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1195483923016540161?s=20/photo/1
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @JasonOverstreet Mild mannered chuck Rosenberg never speaks like this. But he just put his foot up Mike Pompeo‘s ass 💽 https://twitter.com/JasonOverstreet/status/1195378374950047744?s=20/photo/1

NYT, Charlie Savage: Did Trump Commit ‘Bribery’? Pelosi’s Impeachment Accusation, Explained http://nyti.ms/32UOjip
// Her declaration reflected a shift by Trump’s critics from talking about the Ukraine affair using more abstract concepts like “quid pro quo” or “abuse of power.”

🐣 RT @MichaelRWarren According to David Holmes’s opening statement obtained by @mkraju and @jeremyherb, Holmes could hear Sondland tell Trump on the phone that President Zelensky “loves your ass.” ¤ Trump responded “So, he’s gonna do the investigation?” ¤ “Sondland: “He’s gonna do it.”

WaPo: Trump attacks ambassador even as she describes feeling threatened by him http://wapo.st/2Ofr9Ox
// Yovanovitch says that Trump transcript ‘shocked’ and ‘devastated’ her

WaPo, Paul Waldman: Yovanovitch hearing confirms that Trump is running a thugocracy http://wapo.st/2pl6fFi

🐣 RT @real So they now convict Roger Stone of lying and want to jail him for many years to come. Well, what about Crooked Hillary, Comey, Strzok, Page, McCabe, Brennan, Clapper, Shifty Schiff, Ohr & Nellie, Steele & all of the others, including even Mueller himself? Didn’t they lie?….

WSJ: Federal Prosecutors Probe Giuliani’s Links to Ukrainian Energy Projects http://on.wsj.com/2NPZDbz
// Associates told others that Giuliani stood to profit from natural-gas project pitched alongside campaign for investigations of Joe Biden

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Chuck Rosenberg rips into Mike Pompeo: “His silence is deafening. It is an act of abject cowardice. I am astonished that somebody who … was an Army officer does not have the spine to stand up for the people in his organization who are being denigrated by this president.” @MSNBC

🐣 RT @MarshallCohen STONE GUILTY of lying to Congress about his outreach to WikiLeaks and attempts to coordinate with the Trump campaign about hacked Russian emails. He lied to Congress when he testified as part of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian meddling in 2016.

🐣 RT @jimsciutto Breaking: Longtime Trump associate Roger Stone has been found guilty on at least one charge in a case that has shed new light on then-candidate Donald Trump’s anticipation of the release of stolen Democratic emails in 2016.
// 7 of 7 counts: Lied to save Trump

DailyBeast, Spencer Ackerman and Sam Brodey: Smeared, Fired U.S. Ambo to Ukraine Says Trump’s ‘Effect Is To Be Intimidating’ http://bit.ly/2CJ5TLM
// Democrats highlighted Marie Yovanovitch’s work to fight corruption—what President Trump claims motivated his pressure on Ukraine to investigate his political opponents.

🐣 RT @scottbix Marie Yovanovitch’s response to this tweet: “I… I don’t think I have such powers.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch is a stalwart anti-corruption advocate, dedicated to the rule of law. ¤ That made her an obstacle. ¤ So Trump and his allies pushed her out, and set the stage for what was to come.

🐣 RT @tribelaw In our book, “To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment, @JoshuaMatz8 and I predict that it’s how a guilty president reacts to the pressures of an ongoing impeachment proceeding that’s likely in the end to bring down an unredeemably corrupt, lawless leader.

DailyBeast, Lachlan Markay: Transcript Shows WH Made Up Details of Trump’s Zelensky Call http://bit.ly/2QmpwkR
// The transcript released on Friday doesn’t even mention the word “corruption.”

WaPo: Ex-U.S. ambassador says Trump’s comments ‘sounded like a threat’ http://wapo.st/2CIL1Ez

⭕ 14 Nov 2019

NewYorker, Masha Gessen: The Two Irreconcilable Realities of the Trump Impeachment Hearings http://bit.ly/35cCoOF
// “In Reality One, political power is governed by values, norms, history, procedure, and law. In Reality Two, political power aims to be absolute—its limit is what the President can get away with.”

💽 MSNBC, Rachel Maddow: Elephant in the impeachment hearing: Trump hands Russia big wins http://on.msnbc.com/2Os2kzg
// Rachel Maddow runs through a litany of foreign policy decisions by Donald Trump that were of dubious value to American national interests but from which Russia was a clear beneficiary.

💙💙 🔊 TheAtlantic: How to Stop a Civil War http://bit.ly/2Xlj6E4
// Index page for December issue: Listen to Jeffrey Goldberg, Danielle Allen, and Adam Serwer discuss how America is coming apart—and how they think it can be reunited.

● Jeffrey Goldberg: A Nation Coming Apart http://bit.ly/2XkLu9g
// The meaning of the American idea in 2019
● Yoni Applebaum: How America Ends http://bit.ly/2CGO3ZG
// A tectonic demographic shift is under way. Can the country hold together?
● Danielle Allen: The Road From Serfdom http://bit.ly/2OkaAkv
// How Americans can become citizens again
● Adam Serwer: Civility Is Overrated http://bit.ly/2OpHxvU
// The gravest danger to American democracy isn’t an excess of vitriol—it’s the false promise of civility.

Politico: Judge slams feds over murky stance on McCabe http://politi.co/2qW8TSx

CNN: Trump talks Russia probe audit with attorney general and White House counsel in Oval Office meeting http://cnn.it/2OdtKbR the “animated” discussion was noticed by those outside //➔ wild guess: Trump unhappy that even Barr has limits

Bloomberg: Giuliani Faces U.S. Probe on Campaign Finance, Lobbying Breaches http://bloom.bg/2NMFJhu “Probe of lawyer presents a threat to Trump’s presidency”
// Giuliani has become a central figure in impeachment inquiry

The probe of Giuliani, which one official said could also include possible charges on violating laws against bribing foreign officials or conspiracy, presents a serious threat to Trump’s presidency from a man that former national security adviser John Bolton has called a “hand grenade.”

Giuliani is a central figure in the U.S. House impeachment inquiry, which focuses on an effort led by the former New York City mayor to pressure Ukraine’s government to investigate the president’s political rivals. If Giuliani is charged or indicted, he could expose Trump to a new level of legal and political jeopardy, especially if he’s accused of committing a crime on the president’s behalf.

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Adam Rawnsley: Exclusive: Giuliani Ally Pete Sessions Was Eyed for Top Slot in Ukraine http://bit.ly/2NMDWsU
// Pete Sessions received millions from Giuliani’s indicted cronies. He joined Rudy in speaking out against the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. He was even considered as her replacement.

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan, Erin Banco and Adam Rawnsley: The Conspiracy Theory So Far Out There Even Trump’s Biggest Defenders Are Walking Away From It http://bit.ly/2Koprtj
// The Ukrainians had to Google it. George Kent had never heard of it. And yet Trump was so obsessed he tried to will it into existence—but triggered an impeachment inquiry instead.

DailyBeast, Lachlan Markay and Betsy Swan: Five Cellphones, Trump Straws, a Lot of Cash—What This Giuliani Crony Was Carrying When the FBI Arrested Him http://bit.ly/373591X
// Lev Parnas also had the business card of a top Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutor with whom Giuliani met this year.

TPM, Josh Kovensky: The Most Pivotal Moment In The Trump Ukraine Scandal Timeline http://bit.ly/378Ok5G “The fulcrum of the scandal was the April 21 election. It is the key to understanding what came before and to unlocking the sequence of events that followed”
// Lev and Igor

It all comes down to April. ¤ President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and his two now-indicted cronies had thought they had struck a deal with Kyiv for political dirt.

But everything changed in a matter of days. Whatever deal the group thought they had struck fell apart with the election of President Volodymyr Zelensky, forcing Trump and Giuliani to launch a new pressure campaign to bully Kyiv anew into helping them politically.

It was then that Giuliani, his two buddies, and Trump embarked on a flurry of activity to try to convey to the newly elected Zelensky the need to announce investigations into the Bidens and into alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election, eventually trying to bring to bear the full might of U.S. foreign policy to serve their partisan political goals.

The fulcrum of the scandal was the April 21 election. It is the key to understanding what came before and to unlocking the sequence of events that followed, culminating in the impeachment inquiry against Trump.

💙💙 TIMELINE: Also from ✅ FactCheck: http://bit.ly/2q5kgHM
Jan – Rudy (and Lev & Igor) meets w Poroshenko prosecutor Lutsenko in NYC on “investigations”
“Giuliani reportedly spoke with Trump about “investigations” after the January meeting, where Lutsenko spun Giuliani a tale about abuse of office by Joe Biden and supposed collusion in 2016 between Ukraine and the DNC.” Meeting had to be approved by Poroshenko. (Kent)
Feb – Then in Warsaw
March-ish – Deal didn’t materialize, but Lutsenko began talking to John Solomon about “dirt” [smears Yovanovich]
March 20 – Solomon begins publishing conspiracy theory about “dirt” in The Hill
April 21 – Poroshenko lost in landslide; Zelensky elected; Trump calls Zelensky, tells Hannity call will result in Biden dirt that Barr “would want to see”
Late April – Giuliani (w Lev and Igor) want to pitch “dirt” to Zelensky, but needed access, Lev and Igor fly to Israel to meet with oligarch supporting Zelensky, Kolomoisky, to secure access. Kolomoisky “kicked them out”
Early May – Rudy tells NYT he wants to encourage Kyiv to investigate Hunter Biden, as well as allegations that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 elections
May 7 – After lobbying by Giuliani, Parnas, and Fruman, Yovanovich forced out
May 9 – NYT published story, followed by “outcry”; Rudy trip cancelled
Early May – Trip of “Three Amigos” thrown together for Zelensky swearing-in (Perry, Volker, Sondlund)
May 20 – Zelensky inauguration
May 23 – Trump tells “Three Amigos” he was “worried about corruption in Ukraine and indicated that Giuliani – and his push for “investigations” into the matter – was necessary.”
Late May – “Three Amigos” try to get Zelensky to announce investigations; doesn’t happen. Hold put on military aid.
May 16 – Lutsenko tells Bloomberg Hunter Biden “broke no laws”
July 25 – Trump calls Zelensky in which he “praised Lutsenko while telling Zelensky to ‘do us a favor’ and open politically beneficial probes.”
Aug 12 – Whistleblower complaint filed
Aug 25 – Inspector General finds complaint “credible”; tells McGuire he must inform Committee Chairs in seven days
Aug 28 – Politico reports Ukraine money begin “slow-walked”
Aug 29 – Pentagon confirms “hold”; Taylor cables Pompeo to object
Sep 1 – Pence meets Zelensky; Sondland talks to Yermak: aid for “investigations”
Sep 13 – Schiff issues subpoena for whistleblower complaints
Sep 19 – CIOIG meets with Schiff; stopgap spending bill passed to secure Ukraine funding
Sep 25 – WH releases “transcript” of Trump/Zelensky phone call
Sep 26 – Redacted Whistleblower complaint published; Lutsenko tells WaPo Biden did nothing wrong
Sep 27 – Volker resigns

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews “The message is clear: The Kremlin is feeling invincible.”
⋙ WaPo: In Russia, Putin’s state TV apparatus is busy defending Trump http://wapo.st/375jRWm
// How impeachment and Ukraine are being covered in Moscow.

💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Croft and Anderson Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2Q5m4ep

● Croft: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2O7AszY ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2qN1BQF
● Anderson: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2qGPlRU ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2qN1Knb

“Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson, both advisors to Ambassador Kurt Volker on Ukraine policy, testified before the Committees about concerns they had with efforts to press Ukraine into announcing specific investigations which would help President Trump politically. Ms. Croft also testified that Ukrainian officials approached her quietly about the hold on security assistance in the July or August timeframe, before the hold had been made public.”

NYT: Pelosi Points to Possible Bribery Charge Against Trump http://nyti.ms/34Z9yBl
// The day after the first public impeachment hearing, Speaker Nancy Pelosi used the word “bribery,” mentioned in the Constitution’s impeachment clause, to describe President Trump’s conduct.

DailyBeast, Justin Baragona: Fox Regular Claims George Soros ‘Controls a Very Large Part’ of the State Department http://bit.ly/374DfTo
// “He also controls the activities of FBI agents overseas who work for [non-governmental organizations]. That was very evident in Ukraine,” Joe diGenova told Lou Dobbs on Wednesday.

DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: All the President’s Fools Couldn’t Put Trump’s ‘Perfect Call’ Together Again http://bit.ly/2Qoxom5
// Wednesday’s impeachment hearing was a contest of gravitas that the skells, sycophants, and dead-end goons on the committee were bound to lose—and did.

DailyBeast, Spencer Ackerman, Sam Brodey and Asawin Suebsaeng: After Today, the Vise Tightens on Trump’s Ukraine Point Man http://bit.ly/32JS7TP
// Republicans argued that the two witnesses who testified Wednesday weren’t credible since they never spoke to Trump. Increasing pressure on a witness who did: Gordon Sondland.

⭕ 13 Nov 2019 Impeachment Hearings

💽 HuffPo: Dan Rather Exposes Shady GOP Tactic That ‘Jumped Out’ In Impeachment Hearings http://bit.ly/351NMwQ
// “The complicity of the Republicans is depressing, and it’s a serious moment for the country,” said the veteran journalist.

“They seek to have people become numb to what we already know,” Rather continued. “That’s what jumped out to me today, because we already know that the evidence we’re talking about now, the solicitation of a foreign power to get involved in our election, the evidence is strong. The president’s behavior in what he said has been outrageous.”

Rather described “the complicity of the Republicans” during” a “serious moment for the country” as “depressing” and explained how the impeachment effort against Trump differed to those against former Presidents Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon, both of which he reported on.

“First and foremost, this is the first time in which we’ve had an impeachment proceeding in which it involved questions of a foreign power involved in elections or sought to be involved in elections, and very serious military national security issues,” said Rather. “That didn’t exist with the Clinton impeachment. It didn’t exist with the impeachment effort against Richard Nixon, who resigned, rather than face them.”

“But in a broader and much more important way, this is fundamentally about our history of the country and the destiny of our country because history is watching and listening and it’s going to be a very tough chronicler of these events and the people involved in the events of today,” he added.

🐣 RT @mikecarpenter Viktor Shokin, Konstantin Kulyk, Yuri Lutsenko & Dmytro Firtash are all associated with major corruption scandals. Trump and Giuliani enlisted the most corrupt Ukrainian oligarchs and officials to carry out their scheme of pressuring President Zelensky.
⋙ JustSecurity, Kate Brannen, Tess Bridgemsn and Ryan Goodman: Highlights of Taylor-Kent Hearing and Connections to Other Witnesses http://bit.ly/2NK1CxS

🐣 RT @PreetBharara Ratcliffe used to be a US Attorney so of course he can’t understand why an extortion victim might deny being extorted in front of the extortionist upon whom he still relies

🐣 RT @danpfeiffer The Republicans are much more interested in persuading Trump of their loyalty than in persuading the public of Trump’s innocence.

💽 🐣 RT @neal_katyal The only other R arg, that aid ultimately was released, v weak:
1) It’s not a defense to bank robbery to say “I didn’t get to carry it out b/c the cops stopped me.” Attempted crimes are crimes. Trump tried to do this secretly, he just got busted
2) Timeline blows it apart…1/2 📌 https://twitter.com/neal_katyal/status/1194702105933746177?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @neal_katyal
[ Timeline blows it apart… ]
8/12/19–whistleblower files complaint
9/9/19- House told of whistleblower complaint.
9/9/19–Sondland and Taylor exchange text messages and Sondland sends scripted “no quid pro quo” text
9/10/19-House asks for info about whistleblower complaint
9/11/19–Ukraine aid released
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @renato_mariotti Very important point by Neal Katyal. The Ukraine aid was only released after the House was informed of the whistleblower complaint.
⋙ 🐣 RT @neal_katyal The President attempted to get Ukraine secretly to help him by announcing a public investigation into his chief political rival. That’s impeachable, even if he didn’t pressure Ukraine thru tying up aid/WH meetings w him. But he did those too. Fact he got caught doesn’t excuse him

🐣 RT @NewsHour Rep. Jordan calls on the whistleblower to testify because they are “the reason we’re all sitting here today.” ¤ Rep. Welch: “I’d be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify. President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there.” https://to.pbs.org/2qOAuFa 💽 https://twitter.com/NewsHour/status/1194902793502543873?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: Ambassador’s cellphone call to Trump from Kyiv restaurant was a stunning breach of security, former officials say http://wapo.st/2pmFP6g

Politico, Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Gerstein: Feds’ closing argument: Roger Stone made the House Russia report ‘not accurate’ http://politi.co/2XhJWNh
// Prosecutors also implied that Stone’s misdirection caused special counsel Robert Mueller to potentially lose out on key evidence.

💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ HPSCI (House Intel): Chairman Schiff Releases Opening Statement for First Open Hearing http://bit.ly/2KhuStF

Today, Chairman Adam Schiff released his opening statement for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s first open hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald J. Trump.

In 2014, Russia invaded a United States ally, Ukraine, to reverse that nation’s embrace of the West, and to fulfill Vladimir Putin’s desire to rebuild a Russian empire. In the following years, thirteen thousand Ukrainians died as they battled superior Russian forces.

Earlier this year Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine on a platform of ending the conflict and tackling corruption. He was a newcomer to politics and immediately sought to establish a relationship with Ukraine’s most powerful patron, the United States. The questions presented by this impeachment inquiry are whether President Trump sought to exploit that ally’s vulnerability and invite Ukraine’s interference in our elections? Whether President Trump sought to condition official acts, such as a White House meeting or U.S. military assistance, on Ukraine’s willingness to assist with two political investigations that would help his reelection campaign? And if President Trump did either, whether such an abuse of his power is compatible with the office of the presidency?

The matter is as simple, and as terrible as that. Our answer to these questions will affect not only the future of this presidency, but the future of the presidency itself, and what kind of conduct or misconduct the American people may come to expect from their Commander-in-Chief.

There are few actions as consequential as the impeachment of a President. While the Founders did not intend that impeachment be employed for mere differences over policy, they also made impeachment a constitutional process that the Congress must utilize when necessary.

The facts in the present inquiry are not seriously contested. Beginning in January of this year, the President’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, pressed Ukrainian authorities to investigate Burisma, the country’s largest natural gas producer, and the Bidens, since Vice President Joe Biden was seen as a strong potential challenger to Trump.

Giuliani also promoted a debunked conspiracy that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that hacked the 2016 election. The nation’s intelligence agencies have stated unequivocally that it was Russia, not Ukraine, that interfered in our election. But Giuliani believed this conspiracy theory, referred to as “Crowdstrike,” shorthand for the company that discovered the Russian hack, would aid his client’s reelection.

Giuliani also conducted a smear campaign against the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. On April 29, a senior State Department official told her that although she had “done nothing wrong,” President Trump had “lost confidence in her.” With the sidelining of Yovanovich, the stage was set for the establishment of an irregular channel in which Giuliani and later others, including Gordon Sondland – an influential donor to the President’s inauguration now serving as Ambassador to the European Union – could advance the President’s personal and political interests.

Yovanovich’s replacement in Kyiv, Ambassador Bill Taylor, is a West Point graduate and Vietnam Veteran. As he began to better understand the scheme through the summer of 2019, he pushed back, informing Deputy Assistant Secretary Kent and others about a plan to condition U.S. government actions and funding on the performance of political favors by the Ukrainian government, favors intended for President Trump that would undermine our security and our elections.

Several key events in this scheme took place in the month of July. On July 10th, Ambassador Sondland informed a group of U.S. and Ukrainian officials meeting at the White House that, according to Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, a White House meeting desperately sought by the Ukrainian president with Trump would happen only if Ukraine undertook an investigation into “the energy sector,” which was understood to mean Burisma and, specifically, the Bidens. National Security Advisor Bolton abruptly ended the meeting and said afterwards that he would not be – quote – “part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up on this” – end quote.

A week later, on July 18, a representative from OMB, the White House agency that oversees federal spending, announced on a video conference call that Mulvaney, at the direction of the President, was freezing nearly $400 million in security assistance authorized and appropriated by Congress and which the entirety of the U.S. national security establishment supported.

One week after that, Donald Trump would have the now infamous July 25th phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. During that call, Trump complained that the U.S. relationship with Ukraine had not been “reciprocal.” Later, Zelensky thanks Trump for his support “in the area of defense,” and says that Ukraine was ready to purchase more Javelins, an antitank weapon that was among the most important deterrents of further Russian military action. Trump’s immediate response: “I would like you to do us a favor, though.”

Trump then requested that Zelensky investigate the discredited 2016 “Crowdstrike” conspiracy theory, and even more ominously, look into the Bidens. Neither of these investigations were in the U.S. national interest, and neither was part of the official preparatory material for the call. Both, however, were in Donald Trump’s personal interest, and in the interests of his 2020 re-election campaign. And the Ukrainian president knew about both in advance — because Sondland and others had been pressing Ukraine for weeks about investigations into the 2016 election, Burisma and the Bidens.

After the call, multiple individuals were concerned enough to report it to the National Security Council’s top lawyer. The White House would then take the extraordinary step of moving the call record to a highly classified server exclusively reserved for the most sensitive intelligence matters.

In the following weeks, Ambassador Taylor learned new facts about a scheme that even Sondland would describe as becoming more insidious. Taylor texted Sondland, “Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?”

As summer turned to fall “[i]t kept getting more insidious,” Mr. Sondland testified. Mr. Taylor, who took notes of his conversations, said the ambassador told him in a September 1 phone call that “everything was dependent” on the public announcement of investigations “including security assistance.” President Trump wanted Mr. Zelensky “in a public box.” “President Trump is a businessman,” Sondland said later. “When a businessman is about to sign a check to someone who owes him something, the businessman asks that person to pay up before signing the check.”

In a sworn declaration after Taylor’s testimony, Sondland would admit to telling the Ukrainians at a September 1st meeting in Warsaw “that resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks.”

The President’s chief of staff confirmed Trump’s efforts to coerce Ukraine by withholding aid. When Mick Mulvaney was asked publicly about it, his answer was breathtaking: “We do that all the time with foreign policy . . . I have news for everybody: get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy. That is going to happen.” The video of that confession is plain for all to see.

Some have argued in the President’s defense that the aid was ultimately released. That is true. But only after Congress began an investigation; only after the President’s lawyers learned of a whistleblower complaint; and only after Members of Congress began asking uncomfortable questions about quid pro quos. A scheme to condition official acts or taxpayer funding to obtain a personal political benefit does not become less odious because it is discovered before it is fully consummated. In fact, the security assistance had been delayed so long, it would take another act of Congress to ensure that it would still go out. And that Oval Office meeting that Zelensky desperately sought – it still hasn’t happened.

Although we have learned a great deal about these events in the last several weeks, there are still missing pieces. The President has instructed the State Department and other agencies to ignore Congressional subpoenas for documents. He has instructed witnesses to defy subpoenas and refuse to appear. And he has suggested that those who do expose wrongdoing should be treated like traitors and spies.

These actions will force Congress to consider, as it did with President Nixon, whether Trump’s obstruction of the constitutional duties of Congress constitute additional grounds for impeachment. If the President can simply refuse all oversight, particularly in the context of an impeachment proceeding, the balance of power between our two branches of government will be irrevocably altered. That is not what the Founders intended. And the prospects for further corruption and abuse of power, in this administration or another, will be exponentially increased.

This is what we believe the testimony will show — both as to the President’s conduct and as to his obstruction of Congress. The issue that we confront is the one posed by the President’s Acting Chief of Staff when he challenged Americans to “get over it.” If we find that the President of the United States abused his power and invited foreign interference in our elections, or if he sought to condition, coerce, extort, or bribe an ally into conducting investigations to aid his reelection campaign and did so by withholding official acts — a White House meeting or hundreds of millions of dollars of needed military aid — must we simply “get over it?” Is that what Americans should now expect from their president? If this is not impeachable conduct, what is? Does the oath of office itself – requiring that our laws be faithfully executed, that our president defend a constitution that balances the powers of its branches, setting ambition against ambition so that we become no monarchy – still have meaning?

These are the questions we must ask and answer. Without rancor if we can, without delay regardless, and without party favor or prejudice if we are true to our responsibilities. Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of a country America was to become, “A Republic,” he answered, “if you can keep it.” The fundamental issue raised by the impeachment inquiry into Donald J. Trump is: Can we, keep it?

🐣 RT @joshtpm What still sticks with me are the repeated interchanges where Castor or some GOP Rep asked Taylor abt some canard from John Solomon or Hannity and then grinned in vindication when Taylor said, “um I’m not familiar with that”.
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm 2/ The idea being that if you weren’t fluent in the characters and spells from Ukraine Collusion D&D it was ludicrous that you could have a position of responsibility in the Foreign Service.

🐣 RT @HouseIntel Today we heard from Ambassador Bill Taylor and George Kent in the first public hearing of the impeachment inquiry. ¤ The takeaway: Testimony from both witnesses confirms that Trump abused the power of his office for his own political gain. ¤ Here’s what else you should know ⬇️ 💽 https://twitter.com/HouseIntel/status/1194775241039462400?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @AshaRangappa Has any GOP member explained why — if as Jim Jordan says Ukraine is “one of the three most corrupt countries on the planet” — Trump trusted them to investigate two U.S. citizens for…corruption? 🤔

🐣 RT @renato_mariotti The first day of impeachment hearings looked like trials where the prosecution has the defendant on tape admitting to a crime. ¤ Republicans tried to distract and confuse the issues because Democrats have the goods on Trump.
⋙ Politico, Renato Mariotti: Impeachment Is Not a Fair Fight, and on Day One It Showed http://politi.co/2ObQrNr
// There’s only so much Republicans can do when Democrats have all the evidence they need.

🐣 RT @joshtpm When I step back it’s just jarring how pathetic this is. We’re stuck in some alt reality where the gang from the geriatric ward is spun up about a great new offer emailed to them by a Nigerian prince. Only it’s not that funny because they’re running the country.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ “Rudy called me earlier this year to tell me what he discovered about Ukraine. He was told that these people in Ukraine were working to frame the president.” 💽 [DeGenova/Toensing on Fox]
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok We’re adaptive creatives—for better & worse. Most have adapted to the daily onslaught of authoritarian mafia state bs. Some still don’t grasp the gravity of what’s happened let alone maintain a sense of outrage. Then there’s us, who haven’t slept well since Russia invaded Crimea.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @Basquerading “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.” – Hannah Arendt [orig as pdf]

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood on these two “dueling narratives”:
one of them – which Taylor and Kent described – has been proven true by overwhelming evidence
the other has been shown to be fabricated nonsense
⋙ WaPo, Issac Stanley-Becker: Dueling narratives, separated by a polarized media, collide at first public impeachment hearing http://wapo.st/34XmDuS

WaPo: Impeachment hearings begin with new evidence of phone call implicating Trump in Ukraine controversy http://wapo.st/33MNQjR

WaPo Editorial: Kent and Taylor testify to Trump’s corruption. And more evidence is coming. http://wapo.st/2Oef4cF

NYT, Noah Bookbinder: The Evidence of Wrongdoing by Trump Is Overwhelming http://nyti.ms/2QiJnkQ
// The witnesses’ testimony on Wednesday was clear and alarming.

WaPo: Republicans tried to make him impeachment’s ‘star witness.’ Bill Taylor became an Internet meme instead. http://wapo.st/2QgpriD

DailyBeast, Michael Tomasky: You’ve Got to Be High to Believe Republicans’ Impeachment Bullshit http://bit.ly/2Oct2eS
// Democrats have to sell the country on their assertion that Trump released the money only because he was about to get busted. A lot hinges on them winning that argument.

DailyBeast, Will Sommer: Devin Nunes Pushes Bogus ‘Ukrainian Collusion’ Conspiracies During Impeachment Hearing http://bit.ly/375LTRl
// The top intel committee Republican pushed debunked claims about Ukraine to excuse the president’s actions.

WaPo, EJ Dionne: Nunes and Kent tell us everything we need to know about impeachment http://wapo.st/375L6Qn

💙💙 💽 CSPAN: HPSCI Impeachment Hearing with William Taylor and George Kent http://cs.pn/2KjMcya

WaPo, Greg Sargent: At hearing, Republicans carry forward Trump’s effort to make lies into truths http://wapo.st/2QcIR86

WSJ: Justice Department Filing Suggests No McCabe Prosecution Imminent http://on.wsj.com/32EdF4c
// In pending lawsuit, DOJ says it won’t block release of documents related to former deputy FBI head based on probe

🐣 RT @GregMiller The big development today: new evidence tying Trump to Ukraine plot. He spoke by phone w/Sondland on 7/26 seeking status report on “investigations.” Shockingly, Sondland calls POTUS by cell from Kyiv restaurant. So Russia prolly intercepted the call.
⋙ WaPo: New testimony ties Trump more directly to Ukraine pressure campaign http://wapo.st/32L2UwM

🐣 RT @JoshTPM He used extortion to get a foreign country to sabotage a US election in his favor. What else is there to say?

🐣 RT @SarahKendzior “It’s about annihilating law, facts, truth. It’s about them saying ‘You know the truth. You may have even heard me confess the truth, confess my crimes. But it makes no difference what you heard, because this is a matter of power.'” — @gaslitnation

⭕ 12 Nov 2019

WaPo, David Ignatius: People died while Trump played games with Ukraine’s military aid http://wapo.st/2KedoOP

💙💙 CNN: Impeachment investigators slate open hearings for 8 more witnesses next week http://cnn.it/2NFDaxN ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1194460186947272704?s=20/photo/1
// Schedule of Hearings

● Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council aide next Tuesday morning
● Kurt Volker, the former US special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, a National Security Council aide, next Tuesday afternoon
● Gordon Sondland, US Ambassador to the European Union on the morning of Wednesday, November 20
● Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense and David Hale, the under secretary of State for political affairs, on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 20
● Fiona Hill, Former White House Russia expert on the morning of Thursday, November 21

WaPo: Trump offers trade deal, sanctions workaround to Erdogan for better U.S.-Turkey relations http://wapo.st/36Wmt93
// The offer is likely to infuriate at least some of the overwhelming House majority that voted last month to impose sanctions on Turkey over its assault into Syria

🐣 RT @KatieCouric Pres. Trump likely lied to special counsel Mueller about conversations he had in 2016 regarding WikiLeaks’ plans to release info stolen from Democrats by Russian hackers. That’s the big takeaway from dramatic courtroom testimony that occurred Tuesday in the trial of #RogerStone.
⋙ 🐣 RT @MotherJones JUST IN: President Donald Trump likely lied to special counsel Robert Mueller about conversations he had in 2016 regarding WikiLeaks’ plans to release information stolen from Democrats by Russian hackers.
⋙⋙ MotherJones, Dan Friedman: Stone Trial Reveals Trump Likely Lied to Mueller http://bit.ly/2KhmsCV
// New bombshells at the trial of Trump’s longtime adviser.

WaPo: Aides are counseling Trump not to fire Mulvaney, as acting chief of staff changes course again http://wapo.st/2qR5DaJ
// Lawyer says the acting chief of staff will follow Trump’s order not to cooperate.

WaPo, Dana Milbank: The case against Trump in seven words http://wapo.st/2NG2fss
“He abused presidential powers for personal advantage”
“He abused presidential powers for personal advantage”
“He abused presidential powers for personal advantage”
“He abused presidential powers…

WaPo: At donor dinner, Giuliani associate said he discussed Ukraine with Trump, according to people familiar with his account http://wapo.st/2KgtMyu “Parnas’s account of the 2018 dinner is the first indication that he or Fruman interacted directly with Trump about Ukraine”
// Lev and Igor

TPM: Bill Taylor Op-Ed Subtweets Entire Trump Ukraine Scandal http://bit.ly/34V5im9
↥ ↧
💙💙 USEmbassyUkraine: Op-Ed in Novoye Vremya by CDA Taylor: Ukraine’s Committed Partner http://bit.ly/2NEHiOq

🔆 This❗️⋙ 📔 JustSecurity: Public Document Clearinghouse: UKRAINE Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2CEsQ2F ‼️ Links to ALL documents ‼️

Bloomberg, Ilya Arkhipov: Don’t Sweat U.S. Presidential Vote, Russia Says It’s on the Case http://bloom.bg/32C7qhe
● ‘Don’t worry,’ Russian foreign minister jokes at Paris forum
● U.S. intelligence concluded Russia meddled in 2016 campaign

AP, Jonathan Lemire: Trump to face limits of his power in impeachment hearings http://bit.ly/32Jix7Y

🐣 RT @HayesBrown ‘Twas the Night before Hearings
And all through the Hill
No business was moving
Not even a Bill

The committee room prepped
To minimize glare
Ready for the cameramen
Soon to be there

With the witnesses ready
And the lawyers on deck
POTUS readied his Twitter
To blast them to heck

🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote Here it is. The link we’ve been waiting for. Trump had foreknowledge of the Wikileaks dumps and talked to roger Stone about it. This has been redacted in every single report, filing, and 302 so far, but it just came out in open court.
⋙ 🐣 RT @BradMossEsq Trump denied in writing and under oath to Mueller any recollection of ever discussing WikiLeaks with Stone or being aware of Stone discussing WikiLeaks with the campaign. ¤ Gates testified he was in the car with Trump when he Trump talked to Stone about it.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @rachelseinerwp Rick Gates direct is over. Brief but hardly lacking in substance, including government getting on record that Donald Trump himself talked about upcoming WikiLeaks disclosures based on conversation with Roger Stone

💙🐣 RT @awprokop Now the audio is onto Swalwell questioning Stone about a deleted tweet of his attacking @RVAWonk and claiming he had a “perfectly legal back channel to Assange”
⋙ doccloud: http://bit.ly/32DoZ0l https://twitter.com/awprokop/status/1194340189453389824?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @SethAbramsom My only “ask” to print, radio, podcast, TV and digital media in the United States is that you not wait until it’s too late to see that we’re in a NATIONAL EMERGENCY ¤ If you work in media and aren’t acting like we’re in a NATIONAL EMERGENCY, you’re failing your duty to the country

🐣 RT @VeraMBergen Trump blames Michael Atkinson, whom he appointed, for being “disloyal” for finding the anonymous whistle-blower’s complaint on his interactions with Ukraine to be credible
⋙ NYT: Trump Has Considered Firing Intelligence Community Inspector General http://nyti.ms/2qKYsBa //➔ I’m shocked, shocked
// Haberman and Schmidt; The president blames Michael Atkinson, whom he appointed, for finding the anonymous whistle-blower’s complaint on his interactions with Ukraine to be credible.

🐣 Confession become him
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Why is such a focus put on 2nd and 3rd hand witnesses, many of whom are Never Trumpers, or whose lawyers are Never Trumpers, when all you have to do is read the phone call (transcript) with the Ukrainian President and see first hand? He and others also stated that there was…..
⋙ 🐣 RT @real …..”no pressure” put on him to investigate Sleepy Joe Biden even though, as President, I have an “obligation” to look into corruption, and Biden’s actions, on tape, about firing the prosecutor, and his son’s taking millions of dollars, with no knowledge or talent, from a…..
⋙ 🐣 RT @real ….Ukrainian energy company, and more millions taken from China, and now reports of other companies and countries also giving him big money, are certainly looking very corrupt (to put it mildly!) to me. Both Bidens should be forced to testify in this No Due Process Scam!

💙💙 TheAtlantic, Yoni Applebaum: How America Ends http://bit.ly/2CGO3ZG ¤ #longread
// Dec 2019 issue; A tectonic demographic shift is under way. Can the country hold together?

🐣 RT @SykesCharlie In retrospect, Nixon made a huge mistake by not spending months focused on the background and politics of Frank Wills, the security guard who stumbled on Watergate break-in…. #whistleblower

WaPo: On eve of open hearings, GOP, Democrats lay out competing cases on impeachment http://wapo.st/2Qe31ia

NBCNews: In private speech, Bolton suggests some of Trump’s foreign policy decisions are guided by personal interest http://nbcnews.to/34VTaBC
// The former national security director was especially critical of the president’s handling of Turkey, according to multiple sources present for his remarks.

CNN: Inauguration galas, an intimate dinner, and a White House party: Trump’s 10 interactions with indicted Giuliani associates http://cnn.it/2QeLTsq

WaPo, Greg Sargent: Trump just undercut his own spinners’ latest line of propaganda http://wapo.st/2NEc4aj

GOP HPSCI: Briefing Memo http://bit.ly/2KfVY4J

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Trump told Lavrov & Kislyak he was fine with Russia’s election interference, admitting he knew it was a Russian operation! He was so grateful; he blurted out classified secrets! So PLEASE let’s stop saying he “believes” Ukraine did it. He is *knowingly pushing #disinformation. https://twitter.com/PaulaChertok/status/1194289278106230786?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @BillKristol So there was collusion, and there was lying to cover it up. And while I suspect the impeachment articles will be narrowly Ukraine-focused, members of Congress deliberating on impeachment are entitled to consider whether Ukraine is part of a longer train of abuses and usurpations.
⋙ 🐣 RT @BradMossEsq Trump denied in writing and under oath to Mueller any recollection of ever discussing WikiLeaks with Stone or being aware of Stone discussing WikiLeaks with the campaign. ¤ Gates testified he was in the car with Trump when he Trump talked to Stone about it.

WaPo Factchecker, Glenn Kessler and Salvador Rizzo: The Fact Checker’s guide to impeachment hearing spin http://wapo.st/32HN4TG

Politico, Juleanna Glover: There’s a Surprisingly Plausible Path to Removing Trump From Office http://politi.co/33H0HUG
// It would take just three Republican senators to turn the impeachment vote into a secret ballot. It’s not hard to imagine what would happen then.

🐣 RT @MarshallCohen THREAD: Top minds from both political parties are preparing their best strategy as the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump heats up. Here’s my analysis of the strongest arguments FOR and AGAINST impeaching President Trump. 📌 https://twitter.com/MarshallCohen/status/1194245488301789184?s=20
⋙ CNN, Marshall Cohen: The case for and against impeaching President Donald Trump http://cnn.it/2rCBZql

TPM, Josh Marshall: The Collusion Never Stopped. The Whole GOP Got on Board. http://bit.ly/2X6vqrC The conspiracy theories being promoted by the GOP derive from Russian propaganda channels going back to 2016.

DailyBeast, Sam Brodey, Jackie Kucinich and Betsy Swan: Meet the Inquisitors About to Rule the Impeachment Hearing http://bit.ly/2Kcvlxx
// One’s a former mob-buster. The other’s a veteran of more than a decade of Capitol Hill’s most divisive investigations. And on Wednesday both will go prime time.

“His style is right out of the SDNY bootcamp, as am I. He will know everything there is to know about a witness and the circumstances around the witness. He’ll be fully, 100 percent prepared.””
— Elie Honig, a former SDNY prosecutor who worked with Daniel Goldman

“He’s a very dedicated institutionalist. He’s one of those people you see on the Hill that you know he could have left a long time ago and made a lot of money in any number of places.”
— Former Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), of Steve Castor

🐣 RT @tedlieu Dear @realDonaldTrump: It’s clear @GOPLeader McCarthy & Rep @DevinNunes are letting you down. Force them to release the “Republican version” of the witness transcripts. Why haven’t Kevin McCarthy & Devin Nunes done this yet? I hope you yell at them big time. They sure deserve it.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Shifty Adam Schiff will only release doctored transcripts. We haven’t even seen the documents and are restricted from (get this) having a lawyer. Republicans should put out their own transcripts! Schiff must testify as to why he MADE UP a statement from me, and read it to all!

DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Sam Brodey: Top Pentagon Official: White House Asked Mysterious Questions About Ukraine Aid http://bit.ly/2qIq8Xe
// “The way the email was phrased, it said follow-up from POTUS meeting,” Laura Cooper testified. “So…I’m thinking that the questions were probably questions from the President.”

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 I think we’re going to see some of the best America has to offer beginning on Wednesday. We’re going to see people who are the polar opposite of folks like Trump and Barr and Mulvaney and Graham and McConnell. We’re going to see sefless patriots.
⋙ 🐣 RT @wyomingnan I’m with you there. I have very low days having seen the real underside of America in all this &the worst is seeing what’s in the Repub party right now. I feel like evil aliens have slowly invaded our society without us knowing it. Is Wednesday going to bring hope or more crap?

⭕ 11 Nov 2019

TIME, Joyce White Vance: Why All of Trump’s Defenses Against Impeachment Are Doomed to Fail http://bit.ly/2OhyYEU

WaPo: Trump cites corruption in Kyiv and European stinginess to justify actions on Ukraine. Neither rationale withstands close scrutiny. http://wapo.st/33QcpMV Europe has provided $18.3B vs $4B from the U.S., and Zelensky filled his new cabinet with reformers

WaPo, Max Boot: Can American democracy survive a second Trump term? http://wapo.st/2O1JAGx “Second-Term Trump is more likely to inflict damage — to our democracy, our environment, our world order — that is incalculable and unfixable”

VanityFair, Eric Lutz: Giuliani Crony Lev Parnas Is Going Full Kamikaze on Ukraine http://bit.ly/2O9WxhE
// Spurned by Trump, Parnas now says he personally offered a quid-pro-quo ultimatum to the incoming Ukrainian government.

According to an attorney for Parnas, he traveled to Kiev just ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky’s swearing-in in May to deliver an ultimatum: investigate Joe Biden, or Vice President Mike Pence will not attend Zelensky’s inauguration, and Congressionally-approved military aid will be held up. The account to the New York Times, which was strenuously denied by Giuliani and others potentially implicated, suggests that the effort to extort Zelensky into conducting politically-motivated probes on Trump’s behalf began earlier than previously known and included threats beyond the suspended aid and a denied White House visit. It also puts the spotlight back on Giuliani, who rebutted Parnas’s accusation. “Categorically, I did not tell him to say that,” Giuliani told the Times. The other two people at the meeting this spring—Igor Fruman, the other Giuliani associate arrested last month, and Serhiy Shefir, a member of Zelensky’s inner circle—also denied Parnas’ claims.

Of course, it’s probably in their best interest to do so. Parnas’ account, which he plans to deliver to House lawmakers as part of their impeachment inquiry, draws all parties involved deeper into the scandal that has engulfed the White House and left several in the president’s orbit exposed to potential legal jeopardy. Giuliani has been under particular pressure since October, when Parnas and Fruman were pinched at Dulles International Airport attempting to flee the country—right after having lunch with Giuliani at Trump’s D.C. hotel.

WaPo: White House infighting flares amid impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/2NDPRce
// A dispute erupts between the Mulvaney and Cipollone camps over how to counter House Democrats’ impeachment push

Reuters: Putin, Merkel say Ukraine’s Donbass [Donetz] should get special status – Kremlin http://reut.rs/2CB5WJB “The breakthrough raised hopes that a date would be set for the summit involving Kiev, Moscow, Berlin and Paris.”
Reuters: Putin, Merkel say Ukraine’s Donbass [Donetz] should get special status – Kremlin http://reut.rs/2CB5WJB //➔ In terms of language, culture and politics, Donbass [Donetz province] is the most Russophilic ~ but one remembers the Sudetenland
● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1194198543742967810?s=20/photo/1
// four maps

WaPo, Eugene Robinson: Rank partisan solidarity is all Trump’s defenders have left http://wapo.st/2NBPAql

Axios, Mike Allen: Preview: “A Warning,” by “Anonymous” Trump official http://bit.ly/33Qtkyw “Don’t worry about Congress,” the president said. “Just do what you need to do.” ¤ “Can we just get rid of the judges? Let’s get rid of the fucking judges,” Trump fumed one morning.

RawStory: Trump told national security official to blow off Congress and ‘do whatever’ they wanted: tell-all book http://bit.ly/ book by “Anonymous”

Reuters: Former U.S. top diplomat Rice concerned by shadow diplomacy on Ukraine http://reut.rs/2KemlI3 “It is troubling. It is deeply troubling,” she said.

CNBC, Holly Ellyatt: The international system is somewhat dangerous and chaotic,’ Condoleezza Rice warns http://cnb.cx/3524FHR “nothing challenges this system like the rise of populism, nationalism, protectionism and isolationism“

● Condoleezza Rice, the former United States Secretary of State, said on Monday the ‘global order’ was in a “somewhat dangerous and chaotic” state.
● The global or world order refers to a rule-based system of international relations created by the U.S. and its allies after World War Two.
● Headlining a CNBC-moderated panel on “Political Risk in the 21st Century” at the Adipec oil and gas conference in Abu Dhabi, Rice told the audience that “the global order is suffering a period of dislocation.”

🔆 This❗️⋙ DailyBeast: Mulvaney’s OMB Held Up Lethal Ukraine Aid in 2017 for Fear of Russian Reaction http://bit.ly/2O0xayF
// “[It] was rather unusual to have OMB expressing concerns that were purely policy-based and not budget-oriented,” former White House official Catherine Croft told investigators.

🐣 RT @MaddowBlog It’s not just about praising Vladimir Putin and having secret communications with him all the time, it’s that this is what we are doing to our closest ally who is at most danger from Russia’s every move. ¤ This is what we’ve been doing to them.
⋙ 🐣 RT @MaddowBlog Unless this president is removed in this impeachment process, the repair of our standing with Ukraine is going to be job one for the next president of the United States. ¤ Whoever replaces Trump will have this as day one, job one as the cleanup for what this guy’s already done.

💽 MSNBC, DeadlineWH: Testimony reveals Trump’s view on Ukraine was driven by Russia and Hungary’s leaders http://on.msnbc.com/
// NYT’s Peter Baker, former chief of staff for the CIA and Dept of Defense Jeremy Bash, former congresswoman Donna Edwards, former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman, and NBC News’ Heidi Przybyla on the revelation in George Kent’s testimony about Russia and Hungary’s influence on Trump when it came to Ukraine

🐣 RT @tribelaw The REASON all Trump roads lead to Moscow is that Trump is so deeply beholden to Putin that he can’t afford to cross his (to put it politely) Kremlin sugar daddy. It explains sanctions relief, Ukraine shakedown, and pretty much all of what passes for Trump’s Russia policy.

WaPo: Testimony from Pentagon, State Dept. officials undercuts a key piece of Trump’s impeachment defense http://wapo.st/2X5EcpP

📔💙💙🔆 This❗️⋙ House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence (HPSCI): President Trump’s Abuse of Power http://bit.ly/33QbknW Summary with Links; graphic presentation
// continually updated

When the White House released the July 25 phone record, the American public saw firsthand that when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought more weapons critical to his country’s defense, President Trump responded: “I would like you to do us a favor though,” laying bare his grave abuse of the power of the presidency.

The House of Representatives launched an impeachment inquiry to ascertain the full extent of the president’s misconduct, and thanks to testimony from dedicated, nonpartisan public servants, we now have a much fuller picture of how President Trump abused the State Department and other levers of government for his own political gain.

Pursuant to House Resolution 660, we are now releasing transcripts of these witness interviews so every American can see the facts and decide for themselves: is this conduct acceptable?

Marie Yovanovitch is the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
Her testimony demonstrates how President Trump removed a respected diplomat in advance of a months-long pressure campaign to interfere in the 2020 election for his own political gain.

President Trump approved the removal of a highly-respected and effective diplomat based on a smear campaign orchestrated by the President’s allies.

● The smear campaign against Ambassador Yovanovitch was based on public falsehoods. The president’s allies sought to tarnish her reputation, character, and her work to clear the deck to advance Trump’s scheme.
● Ambassador Yovanovitch said she felt threatened by Trump’s words and attempts to remove her, and expressed concern for her safety and career.

Ambassador Michael McKinley is the former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State.
His testimony demonstrates the contamination of U.S. foreign policy to serve the President’s political interests rather than our national security interests.

With each new interview, we uncover more evidence about the President’s attempts to manipulate the levers of power to his personal, political benefit.

● Ambassador McKinley’s testimony confirms Trump and his allies launched a months-long pressure campaign starting back in November of 2018 to get Ukraine to launch bogus investigations into a political rival.
● It appears that Ambassador Yovanovitch was pushed out to make room for Trump’s henchmen to come in and advance his scheme. McKinley testified: “What is clear is that both Volker and Sondland were engaging the Ukranian Government in conjunction with Rudy Giuliani on domestic political issues.”

Ambassador Gordon Sondland is the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. Ambassador Kurt Volker is the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine. Their testimony confirms the ‘insidiousness’ of President Trump’s months-long pressure campaign, jeopardizing national security.

● Ambassadors Volker and Sondland testimony shows the progression of efforts by the President and his agent, Rudy Giuliani, to use the State Department to press Ukraine to announce bogus investigations that would benefit President Trump politically.
● President Trump directed the Ambassadors to work with Giuliani on Ukraine policy, and over the course of the summer, an effort was made to extract a public statement from the new Ukrainian president that the Ukrainian government was investigating Burisma or the Biden family and a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 U.S. elections.
● It is clear from their testimony that, in exchange for the statement, President Trump would award the Ukrainian president with a highly coveted White House meeting and, later, with millions of dollars in critical military aid being withheld.
● Ambassador Sondland testified that the President’s scheme “kept getting more insidious as [the] timeline went on, and back in July, it was all about just corruption.”

Ambassador Bill Taylor served as the chargé d’affaires for Ukraine.
His testimony confirms the insidiousness of Trump’s months-long pressure campaign at the expense of U.S. security and foreign policy interests.

● The testimony of Ambassador Taylor—a West Point graduate, Vietnam veteran, and nonpartisan diplomat—shows how President Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine and conditioned its release, as well as a vital White House meeting, on the President of Ukraine publicly announcing investigations into debunked conspiracy theories involving the Biden family and the 2016 election.
● In the early stages, the promise of a coveted Oval Office meeting was dangled in exchange for announcing bogus investigations into the Bidens and 2016 election interference. As the Ukrainians resisted, the stakes were raised: nearly $400 million in desperately needed military aid was blocked.
● Taylor’s testimony lays bare how the shadow foreign policy channel pursued by the President’s agent, Rudy Giuliani, with the assistance of Ambassadors Sondland and Volker, placed immense pressure on the Ukrainian government to advance Trump’s scheme.

🐣 RT @MaddowBlog “In a meeting during that trip, Perry handed the new president a list of people he recommended as energy advisers. One of the four names was his longtime political backer Michael Bleyzer.”
⋙ 💙 AP: After boost from Perry, backers got huge gas deal in Ukraine http://bit.ly/2Q7HmYU
// But it’s *our* corruption

🐣 RT @IlvesToomas If it looks like an asset, talks like an asset and acts like an asset…
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump reportedly called Bolton at home to complain about a CNN story that said the Navy was pushing back against Russian aggression in the Black Sea. When CNN portrayed the move as a response to Russia, the White House told the Navy to cancel the maneuver.
⋙⋙ Politico: Alarm bells’: What Cooper, Croft and Anderson told impeachment investigators http://politi.co/2NBco9M
// The investigators released transcripts of Laura Cooper, Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson.

💙 NYT, Michelle Goldberg: To Exonerate Trump, Republicans Embrace Russian Disinformation http://nyti.ms/36ZkwJ0
// In this week’s impeachment hearings, expect a lot of G.O.P. conspiracy theorizing.

NYT: Defense Dept. Official Testified Trump Questioned Ukraine Aid in June http://nyti.ms/34M43po
// Laura K. Cooper told impeachment investigators the White House began questioning the military aid after it came up at a meeting with President Trump.

NYT: Trump, Ukraine and Impeachment: The Inside Story of How We Got Here http://nyti.ms/2CvNGRV
// President Trump fixated on Ukraine as a solution to his political problems. In five months, his obsession upended American foreign policy and threatened his presidency. Here is how it happened.

💙💙 🔆 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

💙💙 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Croft and Anderson Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2Q5m4ep

● Croft: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2O7AszY ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2qN1BQF
● Anderson: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2qGPlRU ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2qN1Knb

H. Res. 660, which was passed by the House of Representatives on October 31, 2019, authorizes the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence “to make publicly available in electronic form the transcripts of depositions” with “appropriate redactions for classified and other sensitive information.”

Pursuant to this resolution, and consistent with the Committee’s rules and longstanding bipartisan practice, the Committee has begun preparing transcripts from the impeachment inquiry for public release, which includes a thorough, nonpartisan security review to protect classified and other sensitive information.

As part of this process, the Committee is redacting (1) personally identifiable information; (2) the names of non-senior Executive Branch personnel and Intelligence Community employees; (3) the names of committee staff who did not ask questions or make on-the-record statements; and (4) classified or potentially classified information or other sensitive information not pertinent to the subject of the impeachment inquiry.

In addition, consistent with the Committee’s rules, each transcript has been made available to the witness for inspection, including to identify technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections. The Committee has also taken into consideration requested redactions from witnesses, if they fall within the parameters above.

Although the transcripts list Members of the three Committees who were present at the outset of a deposition, they do not necessarily reflect the attendance of all Members who may have joined or departed a deposition at different points.

WaPo, Aaron Blake: Nikki Haley’s real disclosure: Concerns about Trump’s dangerousness went right to the top http://wapo.st/34UKNX1

🐣 RT @carolecadwalla Boris Johnson is a national security risk. This is his personal decision. If the report contains information pertinent to the election, he is deliberately subjecting us to harm from a hostile foreign power for personal political gain.
⋙ TheGuardian, Charlotte Higgins: UK government delay of Russia report is shaming, says Clinton http://bit.ly/36QVH1P
// Ex-secretary of state says it is unacceptable to keep report from public before election

DailyBeast, Michael Tomasky: The Secret Reason Republicans Won’t Impeach Trump http://bit.ly/34RSCwA
// The modern GOP is an un-American party. It is not interested in democracy; it is interested in power and it doesn’t care how it gets it.

WaPo, Greg Sargent: An epic ‘Meet the Press’ rant unmasks the real goal of Trump’s lies http://wapo.st/32GeDN7

🐣 RT @CharlesPPierce There is not a lick of truth in this.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Shifty Adam Schiff will only release doctored transcripts. We haven’t even seen the documents and are restricted from (get this) having a lawyer. Republicans should put out their own transcripts! Schiff must testify as to why he MADE UP a statement from me, and read it to all!

NYT: How Russia Meddles Abroad for Profit: Cash, Trolls and a Cult Leader http://nyti.ms/2NDAhh5
// Madagascar has little obvious strategic value for the Kremlin or the global balance of power. But Russians were there during an election, offering bribes, spreading disinformation and recruiting an apocalyptic cult leader.

NYT: Bolton Rejects Legal Alliance With Mulvaney http://nyti.ms/2p6YiDy
// A lawyer representing the president’s former national security adviser filed a motion opposing an effort by Mick Mulvaney to join a suit on impeachment testimony.

🐣 These will be hearings unlike any other. Two so-called “narratives” will compete. One is true. One is a lie. It is a test. The American people get to decide. Never have the stakes been higher. “A republic – if you can keep it.” #Impeachment

🐣 RT @Sulliview The national press faces its most difficult and important test of the Trump era starting Wednesday. Here’s how they can ace it. (Beware of stunts; focus on substance not speculation; lose the mealy-mouthed language of false equivalence.) My column:
⋙ WaPo, Margaret Sullivan: Media beware: Impeachment hearings will be the trickiest test of covering Trump http://wapo.st/34ONola
⋙ 🐣 RT @GeneralHealthy Providing one from each “side” to debate, when the evidence is 95% in favor of one side, is pure bullshit in the media. ¤ It gives the impression that there are REAL credible merits of the argument on both sides…when there really aren’t.
⋙⋙ There really aren’t, but 40% of people think there are. If 10-15% can be convinced by evidence – can distinguish between truth and spectacle – there is a chance we can come through this challenge intact.

🐣 My grandfather (WWI), father (WWII), husband (Viet Nam) and son (Iraq) have all been vets. We should honor all vets by winning the battle to save our democracy from ALL enemies, foreign and domestic, in this time of great peril. #Impeach

CNN, Zachary Wolf: The biggest week yet in the House impeachment investigation is here http://cnn.it/2CzAF9M

🐣 RT @AaronBlake The president’s top aide and his Secretary of State thought he was such a danger that they felt the need to recruit other people to resist him. ¤ The story isn’t that the U.N. ambassador declined. It’s that the the recruitment effort took place.

AP: After push from Perry, backers got huge gas deal in Ukraine http://bit.ly/2Q7HmYU

WaPo Factchecker, Glenn Kessler: Pompeo tries to spin himself out of a tricky situation http://wapo.st/2NXP8BW On the dismissal of Amb. Yovanovitch: “This is a story of spin. See if you can keep track of the bouncing ball.”

⭕ 10 Nov 2019

🐣 RT @djrothkopf Russia’s plan to infiltrate & influence right wing parties in Western democracies has turned out to be one of the greatest intelligence successes in modern history-a sweeping, shocking, enduring success. We need to view everything from the 2016 election to the Ukraine scandal… 📌 https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1193540493415788545?s=20
🐣 RT @ as part of this one massive attack on our system. The Brexit vote and the current positioning of the UK Tory party is part of it. So too are political shifts in France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary and Poland. Not viewing it in its totality is a huge mistake. [ … ]

🐣 RT @NightlyPolitics Republican Joe Walsh: ¤ “I’ve given up on the Republican Party. The Republican Party is a cult. They no longer stand for ideas. The Republican Party right now is all about washing their leader’s feet every day.” 💽 https://twitter.com/NightlyPolitics/status/1193759909495504896?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin And we have the White House’s own detailed accounting of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president in which Trump himself attempted to secure illegal foreign election help in exchange for US military aid.
⋙ 🐣 RT @jimsciutto You would have to forget all we know about the top-down structure of this administration to imagine that Trump’s underlings were freelancing on Ukraine.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @GregJaffe In 3,000 pages of impeachment testimony Trump often seems like a supporting character in someone else’s drama– unseen, mercurial impossible to please. The key impeachment question: What exactly did he do?
⋙⋙⋙⋙ WaPo, Greg Jaffe: The key impeachment question: What did Trump want from Ukraine — and what exactly did he do? http://wapo.st/2X6AMTY

NYT Editorial: The Disorienting Defenses of Donald Trump http://nyti.ms/
// The president and his allies ask Americans to reject the evidence before their eyes.

NYT Editorial: The Disorienting Defenses of Donald Trump https://t.co/4ctPcCtRag pic.twitter.com/A4V9oPDhu2

— 🇺🇸 Auriandra 🇺🇦 (@Auriandra) November 11, 2019

The case for weighing the impeachment of President Trump boils down to a few simple points: In an effort to win re-election in 2020, Mr. Trump apparently attempted to extort a foreign government into announcing an investigation of his top political rival. The president did so while also trying to revive a conspiracy theory that casts doubt over whether the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election on his behalf. Witnesses have already testified that in order to achieve those goals, Mr. Trump withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid against the bipartisan wishes of Congress. All the while, the president and his staff have refused to cooperate with the congressional investigation into what transpired.

Here’s a field guide to some of the lines of attack that Republicans have used so far.

● There was no quid pro quo.
● How could it have been a quid pro quo if the Ukrainians didn’t know about it?
● It’s all just hearsay. And the whistle-blower is a partisan Democrat.
● It was a quid pro quo. But so what? This happens all the time.
● It was a quid pro quo, but President Trump was only interested in rooting out corruption in Ukraine.
● It was a quid pro quo, but Mr. Trump had nothing to do with it.
● Fine. It was a quid pro quo. Trump ordered it. He did so for his own political benefit. The Ukrainians knew about it. That’s bad, but it’s not an impeachable offense.
● It wasn’t a real quid pro quo because the Trump administration is too disorganized to pull off such a scheme.
● “I hardly know the gentleman.”
● This is a coup by the Deep State! A decorated American soldier is a Ukrainian agent! The witnesses who have testified are “Never Trumpers”!

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Retaliation against Lt. Col. Vindman started shortly after he reported his concerns with Trump’s call to Zelenskyy to the senior White House lawyer, John Eisenberg. Vindman was subsequently excluded from trips to all countries in his portfolio (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus). https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1193642351970963457?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @brianstelter Bill Moyers says that he fears for the U.S. “for the first time in my long life.” ¤ “A democracy can die of too many lies. And we’re getting close to that terminal moment unless we reverse the obsession with lies that are being fed around the country.”
⋙ 💽 CNN: Bill Moyers says he fears for America for ‘first time’ http://cnn.it/2pZyMka
// Legendary journalist Bill Moyers discusses the looming impeachment hearings with Brian Stelter. Moyers fears for the country “for the first time, because a society, a democracy, can die of too many lies. And we’re getting close to that terminal moment, unless we reverse the obsession with lies that are being fed around the country.”

DailyBeast, Erin Banco: Ukrainians Contacted U.S. Officials in May About Aid Fears http://bit.ly/34OR06A
// nIn May, Ukrainian officials were growing increasingly concerned about Rudy Giuliani’s public comments regarding investigations into Hunter Biden and Burisma.

BusinessInsider: Boris Johnson’s Conservative party has received cash from 9 Russian donors named in a suppressed intelligence report http://bit.ly/2Ny5hio
// businessmen linked to Kremlin

🐣 RT @PaulaReidCBS UPDATE: @mikevolkov20, attorney for Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, tells @CBSNews his client “Still has a job – his detail ends in July 2020.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @FaceTheNation VINDMAN OUT AT NSC: After testifying on the Hill, NSA O’Brien says Alexander Vindman will be removed from the National Security Council. “Everyone who’s detailed at the NSC, people are going…back to their own departments and we’ll bring in new folks” https://cbsn.ws/2p41BLK

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews The meeting took place in May, in Kyiv, with only 3 people in attendance: Parnas, Fruman and Serhiy Shefir, a member of the inner circle of President Zelenskyy. The sit-down took place at an outdoor cafe. The men sipped coffee and spoke in Russian.
🐣 RT @mikecarpenter Lev Parnas says he told a Zelensky associate in May that military aid would be withheld and VP Pence would not attend the inauguration unless the Bidens were investigated. Not sure I trust a con man’s word but this needs investigating.
⋙ NYT: Giuliani Associate Says He Gave Demand for Biden Inquiry to Ukrainians http://nyti.ms/32up8mM
// Lev and Igor; The claim by the associate, Lev Parnas, is being vigorously disputed.

🐣 RT @MSNBC “Bannon didn’t only say the Trump campaign was receiving what it thought was inside information on Wikileaks from Roger Stone, he also suggested that they believed that Stone was sort of orchestrating the release of these Democratic emails.” – Dan Friedman
⋙ MSNBC, TheLastWord: Bannon: Stone was ‘access point’ to WikiLeaks http://on.msnbc.com/36SgPo8
// Mother Jones reporter Dan Friedman tells Ali Velshi Steve Bannon’s testimony against Roger Stone suggests the “Trump campaign apparently thought it was colluding with WikiLeaks.” Bannon testified under oath that Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign considered Roger Stone as the “access point” to WikiLeaks. Natasha Bertrand joins.

⭕ 9 Nov 2019

DailyBeast, Christopher Dickey: The Night the Cold War World Turned Upside Down http://bit.ly/2WXEPlm
// The generation now quaintly known as “boomers” had grown up thinking the planet might soon be blown to hell. Now that threat was over. Or was it?

CNN, Kevin Liptak: Transcripts depict Trump as fickle, susceptible to flattery and prone to grudges http://cnn.it/2qD4dRd

🐣 RT @UROKlive1 “The Republican Party was in big trouble. I brought the party back. The Republican Party is strong. The Republican Party is strong. They’ve got to remain faithful. And loyal.” ¤ Who Will Betray Trump?
⋙ Politico Mag, Tim Alberta: Who Will Betray Trump? http://politi.co/33AjJMe
// 11/8/2019; Donald Trump knows there are potential traitors in his midst. His presidency could depend on keeping them at bay.

🐣 RT @waltshaub 18 U.S.C. § 201 makes it a crime to corruptly “demand” a thing of value in exchange for an official act. ¤ It does not matter if the demand was met. It does not matter if the official later dropped the demand. The demand is the crime.
// law, US code, anti-extortion

DailyBeast, Will Sommer: GOP Unveils Wild Wishlist of Impeachment Witnesses Including Hunter Biden and the Whistleblower http://bit.ly/2K4eih6
// Ranking Republicans issued their own list Saturday including Hunter Biden and the unnamed whistleblower, who they say will help treat the President with “fundamental fairness.”

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Aide to Ukrainian President Addresses Bill Taylor Testimony http://bit.ly/34Ndt41 //➔ Ukrainian official criticized US for pursuing politically-motivated investigations while urging Ukraine not to investigate its own previous president for corruption
// The top U.S. diplomat indicated to impeachment investigators that a Zelensky aide seemed enraged about his relative’s military service. That aide says there’s more to the story.

Volker and Taylor’s efforts to influence Ukrainian prosecutors’ investigation decisions made for a bit of discomfort, according to George Kent, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs. Kent said that when Taylor and Volker urged Yermak not to investigate Poroshenko, Yermak pointed to American efforts to get Ukraine to open politically motivated investigations.

“Andry Yermak said: What? You mean the type of investigations you’re pushing for us to do on Biden and Clinton? And at that point Kurt Volker did not respond,” Kent said.

💙💙 DailyBeast, Masha Gessen: How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Radicalized Putin http://bit.ly/2Q6Wrd1
// orig dated 10/24/2019, pub’d today; In 1989, as East Germany collapsed around him, a KGB spy in Dresden named Vladimir Putin came to some hard conclusions that would later inform his bellicose geopolitics.

WSJ: Giuliani Associates Urged Ukraine’s Prior President to Open Biden, Election Probes http://on.wsj.com/34PVBpn
// Lev and Igor; Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman pushed then-president Poroshenko [earlier than thought] to announce probes in return for U.S. state visit

A late February meeting in Kyiv between Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman and then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko took place at the offices of Ukrainian general prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko, the people said. It came soon after Messrs. Parnas and Fruman met with Mr. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, and Mr. Lutsenko in New York in late January and again in Warsaw in mid-February, Mr. Giuliani has said.

Mr. Lutsenko also attended the late February meeting, the people said. Mr. Poroshenko didn’t ultimately announce that he was opening those investigations. Mr. Lutsenko, the prosecutor, gave an interview to the Hill in March in which he said he was opening an investigation into alleged interference by Ukrainians in the 2016 U.S. election. He also said he had evidence he wanted to present to the U.S. Justice Department related to former Vice President Joe Biden and Burisma Group, a Ukrainian gas company where Mr. Biden’s son, Hunter, was a director. Two months later, in an interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Lutsenko said he had no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens. …

The meeting, which hasn’t previously been reported, shows associates of the U.S. president’s personal lawyer as early as February were pressing the president of Ukraine to open investigations that could benefit Mr. Trump politically in exchange for a White House visit. No White House meeting resulted from the discussions. Mr. Poroshenko lost his re-election bid to Volodymyr Zelensky, who Mr. Trump in a July call urged to investigate the Bidens, as well as other matters. …

🐣 RT @TheHill Reporter: “What do you think of the idea of President Trump going to Moscow for the May Day parade?”
Joe Biden: “Are you serious?”
Reporter: “Yes, he’s been invited and he said he’s considering it.”
Joe Biden: “You’re kidding me. Whoa. Are you joking?”
💽 https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1193304483121520640?s=20/photo/1

💙 Bloomberg: State Department Freed Ukraine Money Before Trump Says He Did http://bloom.bg/33w4Vyc
● Department lawyers found the White House lacked authority
● Chain of events undercuts Trump’s account of freeing the funds

🐣😅 RT @AltCyberCommand impeachment is infair to rupublicans who had to waite through the mueller which hunt while they were just trying to smock their cigars and enjoy their covfefe with hamberders in everlasting peach. this is a unpresidented discgrace and also melanie will not let me tapp anymore

WaPo: Ukraine expert who listened to Trump’s call says ‘there was no doubt’ the president was seeking investigations of political rivals http://wapo.st/36RHXn9
// Lt Col Vindman

USAToday: 5 takeaways from the impeachment inquiry testimony of Fiona Hill, former White House adviser on Russia http://bit.ly/2NZYTiM

● Bolton was ‘furious’ about the push for Ukraine investigations
● Giuliani’s ‘whirlwind’ of Ukraine claims
● Gordon Sondland’s activities were ‘deeply concerning’
● Hill was ‘shocked’ by Trump’s call with Zelensky
● Hill and Republican questioners butt heads

WaPo: House GOP asks for Hunter Biden and whistleblower to testify in impeachment probe http://wapo.st/34H6vgM

⭕ 8 Nov 2019

WaPo, Daniel Baer: The Berlin Wall’s fall shaped a generation of U.S. diplomats. Trump upends that. http://wapo.st/32zpb0A
// American exceptionalism? Now it’s American pedestrianism.

EmptyWheel: Why Did Gucciardo Pay Giuliani Partners For His “Loan” To Fraud Guarantee? http://bit.ly/2Q61J8Q

Slate, William Saletan: The Ukraine Depositions Have Destroyed Trump’s “Corruption” Defense http://bit.ly/32vtBpf
// Republicans say the president wanted to clean up Ukraine. Witness testimony shows he didn’t.

💽 MSNBC, Hardball: Kathleen Matthews plays Hardball http://on.msnbc.com/33Ju8FL
// “Kathleen The Queen”; Hardball has a special guest for the show’s 20th anniversary: Kathleen Matthews!

WaPo, Philip Bump: An oral history of how Trump allegedly tried to leverage a White House visit for an investigation into the Bidens http://wapo.st/2p90kDm

🐣 RT @ChristopherJM Vindman testified that Fiona Hill told him that Patel was misrepresenting himself as a Ukraine expert and Trump believed Patel was in charge of Ukraine policy on the NSC. Vindman also said that he was told not to attend a meeting with Trump b/c he might be mistaken for Patel.

🐣 RT @myworldmysun Mo Brooks Republican Rep said
“The American people deserve a public and open process”
Just before the GOP stormed the Impeachment Inquiry.
Now Trump Says “They shouldn’t be having public hearings”

YahooNews: Testimony from Alexander Vindman and Fiona Hill caps a devastating week for Trump http://yhoo.it/2CsVHXS

🐣 RT @MSNBC So far, at least 11 officials have been no-shows for testimony during the House impeachment inquiry. https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1193106729317412864?s=20/photo/1

WashingtonExaminer: Bannon: Trump campaign saw Roger Stone as link to WikiLeaks and Assange http://washex.am/32uEGHk

💽 MSNBC, RachelMaddow: With impeachment looming, Trump rallies dubious support http://on.msnbc.com/34Jhl5Z
// Rachel Maddow looks at the cast of characters being assembled to support Rudy Giuliani and, in turn, Donald Trump heading into public impeachment hearings in contrast to the stalwart set of witnesses being lined up by the House impeachment committees.

WSJ: Giuliani Associates Urged Ukraine’s Prior President to Open Biden, Election Probes http://on.wsj.com/34PVBpn //➔ there was a prequel
// Lev and Igor; Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman pushed then-president Poroshenko to announce probes in return for U.S. state visit http://on.wsj.com/

CNN: UK inquiry was warned of Russian infiltration, leaked testimony shows http://cnn.it/2rkR4fU

🐣 RT @RepSwalwell One more time for the people in the back: ¤ The whistleblower pulled the fire alarm. The 1st responders showed up and saw smoke, flames, and @realDonaldTrump holding matches. Does it matter who pulled the fire alarm?

🐣 RT @MollyMcKew POTUS just said he wants to go to the Kremlin’s military parade in May — and hoo-boy, I guess he’s all done pretending that this wasn’t all about debasing himself for Russia. The propaganda is now writing itself.

DailyBeast, Justin Baragona and Asawin Suebsaeng: Vindman Burns Trump Booster John Solomon: ‘All the Key Elements’ of His Reporting ‘Were False’ http://bit.ly/2rrumD3
// Hannity’s favorite “investigative” reporter’s columns formed the basis for Trump allies like Rudy Giuliani’s messaging about Biden and Democrats.

Throughout his testimony, released Friday, the National Security Council’s top Ukraine expert, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman—who listened in on the infamous July 25 call between Trump and Ukraine’s president—noted that Solomon’s March interview with former Ukraine Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko was a major influence on Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the president, especially when it came to the removal of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch last spring.

Lutsenko alleged in the interview that Ukrainian officials helped Hillary Clinton in 2016 by leaking damaging information about former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and that Yovanovitch gave him a “do-not-prosecute” list and cooperated with Clinton to undermine Trump. Lutsenko eventually retracted the claim against Yovanovitch.

During an exchange with pro-Trump Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Vindman said that Solomon’s article was a “false narrative” and that he based that assertion on “authoritative sources.” When asked to elaborate, the NSC official said he talked to “interagency colleagues from State and the Intelligence Community,” adding they found the claims against Yovanovitch to be “preposterous.”

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Oh BTW: Collusion. Steve Bannon just admitted on the witness stand in Roger Stone’s trial that the Trump campaign used Stone as the “access point” to Wikileaks. You know, the Russian asset that published Russia’s hacks to subvert our election that put a Putin-lover clown in WH.

🐣 RT @MaddowBlog “The Russians were who attacked us in 2016, and they’re now writing the script for others to do the same. And if we don’t get our act together, they will continue to make fools of us internationally.” -Fiona Hill, former senior NSC official 💽 https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1193004130589192193?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Fiona Hill gets brilliantly testy schooling & slamming Republicans’ Ukraine conspiracy theories as playing into Russia’s hands. “All of you are going down a [misinformation] rabbit hole…Russians thrive on misinformation …We’re in peril as a democracy.” #Maddow #UkraineGate https://twitter.com/PaulaChertok/status/1192996742834188288?s=20/photo/1-4

🐣 RT @harrylitman Both Hill and Vindman finger Mulvaney. Lines clearly drawn now: Giuliani, Sondland, Volker, Mulvaney Pompeo in roughly that order v. Hill, Vindman, Yovanovitch, Kent, Taylor.

Politico: Hateful calls, conspiracy theories’: What Fiona Hill told impeachment investigators http://politi.co/2WXhy2Q

🐣 RT @brianklaas Just to be clear: trying to extort a bribe is a crime even if you don’t get the bribe in the end. And impeachment (followed by Senate removal) is not “the death penalty.” It just means you don’t get to be president any longer. You know better, @NikkiHaley. Stop being so craven.
⋙ 🐣 RT @sahilkapur Nikki Haley says President Trump did “nothing impeachable” because he released the aid and Ukraine didn’t do the investigation. ¤ “Impeachment is, like, the death penalty for a public official…there’s nothing in that transcript that warrants the death penalty for the president.”

WaPo: Giuliani associates pressed past president of Ukraine to announce Biden investigation in exchange for state visit http://wapo.st/33xB5tb

NYT: Bannon Tells of Campaign Willing to Try ‘Dirty Tricks’ to Win in 2016 http://nyti.ms/36MS5xO
// The former Trump campaign chairman testified at the trial of a longtime Trump adviser, Roger J. Stone Jr.

NYT: Impeachment Briefing: Anatomy of a Scene From the Hill Testimony http://nyti.ms/2qyuJLA
// The transcript of Fiona Hill’s interview describes a cinematic White House scene. Our reporters help break it down.

WaPo: Trump learns that fake charities are tons of fun until you get caught http://wapo.st/2X6YAXT
// Maddow: Pam Bondi received $25,000 from charity; down she’s on Trump’s legal team

WSJ: Giuliani Lawyer Advised Company Shut Down Over Fraud Complaints http://on.wsj.com/34Tt4zh
// Rudy Giuliani’s new lawyer advised an invention-promotion company that allegedly defrauded customers

WaPo: Top White House official told Congress ‘there was no doubt’ Trump sought quid pro quo with Ukrainians http://wapo.st/34NKmNR

🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom This is a pretty widespread conclusion among almost all Russia experts. Because that’s how Russia works. It would have been strange if they had *not* targeted him.
⋙ 🐣 RT @janestreet Buried at the end of the testimony, Hill says she believes Putin was targeting Trump back when he was a businessman! https://twitter.com/janestreet/status/1192939766075015168?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: Alexander Vindman: Soviet emigre and decorated U.S. Army officer wanted to be as American as can be. Now the president questions his motives. http://wapo.st/2Q1XWZW

🐣 RT @OliverDarcy Lee Zeldin repeatedly asked Lt. Col. Vindman about the veracity of a John Solomon story. Vindman kept saying “all the key elements” of it “were false.” 📌 https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy/status/1192861998645731329?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @OliverDarcy Fiona Hill talks about influence of conspiracy theories from places like InfoWars. ¤ Asked about The Hill, she says, “It’s become part of what’s become a very large universe of information … that are out there on the internet … affecting an awful lot of people’s judgements.”

DailyBeast, Will Sommer: Trumpkins Accused Him of Being the Whistleblower. They Were Wrong. http://bit.ly/33txhsU
// A former Obama staffer has been erroneously accused by the pro-Trump internet of blowing the whistle on the Ukraine affair. He didn’t. But now his life has been upended.

WaPo, Jason Rezaian: A ray of light in the mysterious case of an American missing in Iran http://wapo.st/33vgaHn the case of Bob Livingston, the longest-held hostage in US history

WaPo, Dana Milbank: The United States is being run by a toddler http://wapo.st/34HWkIX “He has tantrums. He rips up paper. He disregards facts. He believes crazy conspiracies. He’s erratic and ill-informed”

📔🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Vindman and Hill Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/34JUlEa
// 11/8/2019; Depositions Reveal First-Hand, Direct Testimony on Instruments of Power Used for Political Gain

● Vindman: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2NSQEoL ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/32sSKRt
● Hill: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/32xLow2 ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2X12TDN

“Lieutenant Colonel Vindman—an active duty military officer who was awarded the Purple Heart after being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq—performed another duty to the country by testifying before the Committees about presidential misconduct that he witnessed during his service at the White House. Lt. Col. Vindman testified that the July 25, 2019, call between President Trump and the Ukrainian president led him to report immediately to lawyers at the White House his serious concerns about political investigations the President pressed for on the call.

“Lt. Col. Vindman also told the Committees that the ‘demand’ by President Trump for the announcement of a politically-motivated investigation into a U.S. citizen by a foreign country forced him to make a‘moral and ethical’ judgment, and led to his concern that the act could ‘undermine U.S. national security.’ He also detailed a pressure campaign waged by the President and his allies ahead of the call, and how he properly reported this activity to the same White House legal advisors.

“Dr. Fiona Hill—a respected Russia and Ukraine expert who served as Lt. Col. Vindman’s supervisor—detailed how senior officials at the White House, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, shared her serious concern about efforts prior to the July 25 call to push Ukraine to undertake these politically-motivated investigations, and about her efforts, at Mr. Bolton’s direction, to report this activity to senior White House officials.

“Lt. Col. Vindman and Dr. Hill—two courageous and patriotic Americans—testified despite pressure by the White House to silence their testimony. Their superiors in the White House have declined to cooperate with the inquiry, but transcripts released today show clearly that individuals close to the President were alarmed by a presidential scheme as illicit and corrupt as a ‘drug deal.’”

NYT, Maggie Haberman: ‘A Warning’ by ‘Anonymous’: 5 Takeaways http://nyti.ms/33xWN0m
// The book seems to be the product of a Republican with access to the White House who grew increasingly upset by President Trump.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance If Bolton is serious about preserving the Republic he’ll present himself to testify instead of playing games about what he knows. It’s either party or country in this moment.
💙 ⋙ NYT: Bolton Knows About ‘Many Relevant Meetings’ on Ukraine, Lawyer Says http://nyti.ms/
// The former national security adviser would be an important witness in the impeachment inquiry, but his lawyer wants a court to rule on whether he should testify.

⭕ 7 Nov 2019

CNN: Pence aide said Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine was political and not a normal diplomatic call http://cnn.it/2Q2pqi3

NBCNews: U.S. response on Ukraine sidelined by ‘Greenland question,’ testimony reveals http://nbcnews.to/2pUMRiL
// Trump sparked a diplomatic row with Denmark in August after he proposed that the U.S. buy Greenland.

WaPo: House GOP looks to protect Trump by raising doubts about motives of his deputies http://wapo.st/2WVfDf7 U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, Trump’s lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, and possibly acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney

CNN: Lawyer for Ukraine whistleblower sends White House cease and desist letter to stop Trump’s attacks http://cnn.it/33FlUhu

🐣 RT @davidfrum These Ukrainian soldiers were killed in August 2019, while President Trump was withholding congressionally voted military aid to pressure Ukraine to exonerate Russia and defame his political opponents https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1179960497573171200?s=20/photo/1
// 10/3/2019; Ukrainian casualties: photos of 8 men
⋙ KyivPost: 72 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russia’s war this year http://bit.ly/36MOrnh
// 8/30/2019

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump went against the advice of his national security team when he decided to “congratulate” Putin and later invited him—OUR ADVERSARY—to the White House, but ripped up a congratulatory letter/WH invite addressed to—OUR ALLY— #Ukraine’s Zelenskyy. What’s wrong with this picture?

NBCNews: Diplomat testified that Putin, Orban poisoned Trump’s views on Ukraine http://nbcnews.to/2Nq9VyN
// Senior State Department official George Kent told House investigators that Trump’s views on Ukraine changed after conversations with the leaders of Russia and Hungary.

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Sam Stein: Ukrainians Teased U.S. Officials About Trump’s Obsession With Biden http://bit.ly/2NMww7K
// The conversation was described as “awkward.”

🐣 RT @McFaul The more we learn, the more I am impressed at how @ZelenskyyUa and his team resisted Trumps pressure to engage in misconduct.

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok NO way #Pence was outside the extortion loop. Recall Trump bailed on Warsaw Poland trip. Hurricane Dorian was a pretext. He played golf! And sent Pence as more pressure, reminding Zelensky that NO Trump meeting or aid unless Ukraine acquiesced on investigations. #UkraineGate

🐣 RT @joncoopertweets .@TheDemCoalition filed an election complaint w/ the DoJ against then FL Attorney General Pam Bondi in Sept 2016. The Trump Foundation gave Bondi $25,000 for her re-election, and she then dropped the case against Trump U. It was a bribe, plain and simple.
⋙ ABCNews (2016): Election Complaint Filed With DOJ Against Florida AG for 2013 Trump Foundation Contribution http://abcn.ws/33tKl1o

💙💙 WaPo, Philip Bump: This is how close Trump’s plan came to working http://wapo.st/2Ck10J1 TIMELINE: “But for two news articles, President Trump’s strong-arming of Ukraine probably would have worked.”

On Aug. 28, the first news article dropped. Politico reported that the aid was on hold and quoted an administration official who insisted that it was under review. In that article, an official from the Defense Department stated on the record that no further review was necessary, the aid having gone through necessary reviews. But still, no assistance was coming.

The next day, Yermak, the aide to Zelensky, texted Volker and William B. Taylor, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, with concerns about the article. While there are some indications that Ukraine knew about the aid stoppage before that point, it’s clear that it was the Politico article that forced the issue to the forefront. Taylor testified that he was flummoxed, not being able to give Yermak a reason the aid had been stopped.

Sondland made it clear to Yermak on Sept. 1: The aid had been stopped because the Trump administration wanted those investigations. Sondland told investigators with the House impeachment inquiry that he simply assumed this was the predicate for the aid to be released, without any specific direction from Trump. In short order, that explicit link between aid and the investigations trickled out to the rest of the United States’ Ukraine team. Taylor said that after confronting Sondland that same day, he was told that “everything” depended on an announcement of new investigations, “including security assistance,” and that Trump wanted Zelensky “in a public box” on the issue. …

Zelensky and his team struggled with a choice articulated by Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: “whether to capitulate to President Trump’s demands to publicly announce investigations against his political enemies or to refuse, and lose desperately needed military aid.”

Zelensky — who won election as an anti-corruption reformer — decided to capitulate. He’d announce the investigations in an interview with CNN on Sept. 13, Kramer said. The Ukrainians told Sondland on Sept. 8 and he shared it with Taylor.

Taylor, worried about the appearance of Ukraine taking a side in U.S. politics, pressured then-Ukrainian national security adviser Alexander Danyliuk to keep the CNN interview from happening. Kramer describes Danyliuk as the “lone holdout” among Zelensky’s team; he told Taylor that the interview wouldn’t happen. As the interview loomed, Taylor asked Zelensky’s team to confirm that no interview would take place. Yermak, he said, “looked uncomfortable in response to the question.”

By then, though, the second article had come out. The Washington Post’s editorial board wrote on Sept. 5 that it had been “reliably told” that the aid was on hold to pressure Ukraine to initiate investigations helpful to Trump. That was a Thursday; by Monday, Sept. 9, Democratic lawmakers had announced an inquiry of the Trump administration’s dealings with Ukraine. That day, the House and Senate intelligence committees were informed about a whistleblower complaint filed in response to Trump’s July 25 call, although it’s not clear whether they were informed about its focus.

Two days later, after Zelensky had agreed to the CNN interview but before it was set to occur, the administration released the aid. Zelensky’s team canceled the interview, leaving Ukrainians to wonder what he might have said. …

📔🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release George Kent’s Deposition Transcript as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2pQjH4j

● Taylor: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2CjYwud ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2WRwZK5

“The testimony of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent strongly corroborates testimony from numerous other witnesses. Mr. Kent affirms that he and his colleagues recognized the impropriety of pressuring Ukrainian officials to undertake politically-motivated investigations to help President Trump’s reelection prospects in 2020.

“Mr. Kent not only affirms testimony released this week by the Committees, but he also describes his contemporaneous documentation of conversations and events. Yet, the State Department and White House continue to withhold these key documents from the Committees in defiance of duly authorized subpoenas. These actions demonstrate the President’s clear obstruction of Congress and support the inference that these documents further corroborate the testimony of presidential misconduct that we have received.”

💙💙 EmptyWheel, Marcy Wheeler: After Engaging in Multiple Overt Acts Benefitting a Conspiracy, Bill Barr Had Kerri Kupec Commit the Most Overt Act http://bit.ly/34G9h60

WaPo, Max Boot: The anatomy of a Republican smear http://wapo.st/2pHgp3v “If you want to see a real-time example of how McCarthyism operates, look no further than the attempts by President Trump and his henchmen to malign the heroic whistleblower”

DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: Trump Told Kentucky’s Voters to Make the Election About Him. They Did, and He’s Fucked. http://bit.ly/2WUrdav
// Trump proved this week that big rallies, big talk, and bad campaigns are a recipe for electoral disaster, and alienated suburban voters are a dagger in the heart of the GOP.

🐣 RT @mike_giglio internal State Dept. memo blasts Trump admin for not doing more to stop Turkey’s Syria invasion, accuses Turkey-backed fighters of “war crimes and ethnic cleansing,” and calls it all “a catastrophic sideshow and it is to a significant degree of our making”
⋙ WaPo: Bolton willing to defy White House and testify if court clears the way, according to people familiar with his views http://wapo.st/2NNVfsl the related ruling in the McGahn case could provide clarity by the end of November

DailyBeast, David Lurie: SCOTUS’ Choice: Trump or the Rule of Law http://bit.ly/36NHrXF
// With its own legitimacy at stake, the Supreme Court has avoided weighing in on the president’s attempts to make the legal system his personal guardian. That’s about to change.

As his losses pile up, Donald Trump has made it plain he expects the Supreme Court to serve as his ultimate protector from the overreaching “Deep State” and its allies in Congress.

We’re about to find out if Chief Justice John Roberts and other members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority will accept Trump’s designation of their institution as his personal guardian. The court would do so at its own peril, as stepping in to protect the president could help elect a Democratic president and Senate, and encourage them to put a quick end to the court’s long-standing conservative majority.

Notably, the court has yet to weigh in as Trump has stonewalled nearly all efforts to gain access to key White House witnesses and documents for months. But it may weigh in soon, now that a federal appeals court in New York upheld a district court ruling ordering Trump’s accounting firm to hand over Trump business and financial records in its files, including the tax returns of the President and his businesses.

The case raises issues going “to the heart of our Republic,” Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said as he declared that Trump will petition the Supreme Court for relief. Under an agreement between the parties, Trump will be asking the court to decide the case during its current term, meaning a reckoning is coming. Trump’s argument that his accountants cannot be subpoenaed for his financial records is quite weak, particularly given that the court upheld a subpoena directly to the president for the White House tapes during Watergate, in its 8-0 United States v. Nixon decision. …

This is hardly the first time the Supreme Court has been called upon to render a decision in a high-profile case implicating who will become president, or whether a sitting president will remain in power. Such decisions almost inevitably have a heavy impact on the court’s reputation, for better or for worse.

The court emerged from Watergate with its reputation enhanced, after justices appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents (including Nixon himself) joined together to order the president to comply with a court order to turn over the tapes. Justice Brett Kavanaugh has described the Nixon decision as among the “greatest moments in American judicial history,” given that the courts “stood up to the other branches, were not cowed, and enforced the law.” …

🐣 RT @gtconway3d When there’s no room left in the stadium to move the goalposts, you just take the goalposts and leave.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ABC “I’m not going to read these transcripts,” Sen. Lindsey Graham says of transcripts of depositions from House impeachment inquiry. ¤ “The whole process is a joke…I’m not going to legitimize it.” https://abcn.ws/2oSjLzZ

WaPo, Paul Waldman: The Trump-era GOP: Grifters all the way down. http://wapo.st/2NQwk7p

⭕ 6 Nov 2019

DailyBeast, Justin Baragona: Lindsey Graham Claims Trump Donor Sondland Is in Cahoots With ‘Democratic Operatives’ http://bit.ly/2WRLIVj
// “Why did Sondland change his testimony?” Graham wondered aloud. “Was there a connection between Sondland and Democratic operatives on the committee?”

🐣 RT @yashar 1. Exclusive: I’ve obtained passages from the book by ‘Anonymous’, the author of the NYT Op-ed ¤ In the book, Anonymous claims that senior officials had no doubt that Pence would support invoking the 25th amendment if the majority of the cabinet agreed 📌 https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1192271574365278208?s=20

💙💙 WaPo: The fall of 1989 http://wapo.st/2p0X1xY
// ✛ Blacklist; various authors; The Berlin Wall crumbled. Regimes toppled. But 30 years later, how much have things changed?

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Schiff asked Taylor about his assertion that multiple NatSec officials sought a meeting with Trump to discuss lifting a hold on military aid to #Ukraine but the meeting proved difficult to schedule, because the issue of “purchasing Greenland” took up a lot of energy in the NSC.” https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1192184402169749516?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @CDG_GDR Apparently a lot of staff time taken up by something Republicans said was only a joke

🐣 RT @BillKristol I’m struck by Trumpworld’s obsession with the whistleblower. Exposing him wouldn’t help Trump’s case a bit. But it’s clear that outing him would be really satisfying psychologically to Trumpsters. One forgets how central to Trumpism are petty vindictiveness and cowardly bullying.
⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok The whistleblower is a powerful distraction. Smearing witnesses is a primary strategy. The WB is a focal point to literally put a face on the smear campaign, and to direct the angry mob to the scapegoat. They’re out for blood. And to revel in their lawlessness. Ugly AF.

TheAtlantic, David Graham: The More We Learn, the Worse Things Look for Trump http://bit.ly/2re8Q4q
// Republicans insisted that the full account would vindicate the president, but that’s not how it’s worked out.

💙 BuzzFeedNews, Emma Loop and Michael Sallah: Facing Scrutiny Of Their Donation To Top Republicans, Giuliani’s Associates Turned To A Major Trump Ally For Help http://bit.ly/33pNS0R
// Lev and Igor, source of funds related to marijuana [an interest of Firtash] and LNG imports [their side deal in Ukraine; RNC connections]; A firm run by Andy Surabian, who has worked with Steve Bannon and Donald Trump Jr., says Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the business partners at the center of the impeachment inquiry, still haven’t paid for work done last year.

🐣 RT @AndrewDesiderio WHOA. Costello is the lawyer who emailed Michael Cohen saying, “Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places.” ¤ He’s now representing Giuliani.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ I am represented and assisted by Robert Costello and the Pierce Bainbridge firm in particular, Eric Creizman and Melissa Madrigal.
🐣 RT @BillKristol Isn’t Rudy admitting here that if he interfered to shape U.S. foreign policy, it was for the private interest of his client? And if he did so with Trump’s approval and involvement, that Trump was carrying out U.S. foreign policy in his personal interest not the national interest?
💙💙 🐣 RT @RudyGiuliani The investigation I conducted concerning 2016 Ukrainian collusion and corruption, was done solely as a defense attorney to defend my client against false charges, that kept changing as one after another were disproven.

WaPo: Prosecutor says Roger Stone lied ‘because the truth looked bad for Donald Trump’ http://wapo.st/2NsrRsN

NYT: Stone Trial Links Trump More Closely to 2016 Effort to Obtain Stolen Emails http://nyti.ms/2NojY7p
// Newly revealed calls between President Trump and Roger Stone dovetailed with key developments in the theft of Democratic emails, prosecutors said.

WaPo: Ambassador’s testimony offers window into impeachment inquiry’s first public hearing http://wapo.st/2JWZr7Y

WaPo, Dana Milbank: Are Bill Taylor’s notebooks Trump’s Nixon tapes? http://wapo.st/2qxEh9O

WaPo: Trump wanted Barr to hold news conference saying the president broke no laws in call with Ukrainian leader http://wapo.st/2Npbg9i

WaPo: John Bolton expressed alarm about shadow Ukraine policy, but at key moments it’s unclear what he did to stop it http://wapo.st/2pDQ4mU

🐣 RT @Bill_Maxwell_ Bill Taylor testimony: ¤ Transcript released for top US diplomat in Ukraine as part of impeachment inquiry. ¤ Taylor one of several witnesses who explained how he was told that “everything” Ukraine wanted was conditioned on the investigation.

📔🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Ambassador Bill Taylor’s Deposition Transcript as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2JWZiRS

● Taylor: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2rhMrDn ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2WQCys7

“The testimony of Ambassador Taylor—a West Point graduate, Vietnam veteran, and nonpartisan diplomat—shows how President Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine and conditioned its release, as well as a vital White House meeting, on the President of Ukraine publicly announcing investigations into debunked conspiracy theories involving the Bidens and the 2016 election.

“Ambassador Taylor’s testimony lays bare how this shadow foreign policy channel pursued by the President’s agent, Rudy Giuliani, with the assistance of Ambassadors Sondland and Volker, placed immense pressure on the Ukrainian government to accomplish the President’s goal. Ambassador Taylor makes clear why this military aid and continued bipartisan support for Ukraine are so critically important—and why these efforts to undermine U.S. foreign policy for domestic political reasons were so damaging. We look forward to his public testimony.”

HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): House Intelligence Committee Announces First Week of Open Hearings With William Taylor, George Kent and Marie Yovanovitch http://bit.ly/33AbmAc

WaPo: ‘Talk to Rudy’: Testimony from diplomats highlights Giuliani’s central role in driving Ukraine policy http://wapo.st/2CkllOd

🐣 RT @mitchellreports .@neeratanden: “A big question for Dems, in those counties can they get back some voters on kitchen table issues. Even in midterms, Dems did better in rural counties, significantly in many states really focusing on ACA expansion & issues like teacher pay.” #AMRstaff
⋙ 🐣 Yes, Dems did 13% better among RURAL voters in 2018 than in 2016 ‼️ This is a greater than the change for any other demographic.
CNN Exit Polls 2016 http://cnn.it/2PWBn9j
CNN Exit Polls 2018 http://cnn.it/2QHVBki ¤

✅ WaPo Factchecker, Salvador Rizzo: Trump’s false claim about what the Ukrainian president said about the U.S. ambassador http://wapo.st/2CfPIFE FOUR PINOCCHIOS 🍄🍄🍄🍄

WaPo, Tulose Olorunnipa and Philip Rucker: Trump makes falsehoods central to impeachment defense as incriminating evidence mounts http://wapo.st/2qujgfQ

🚫 WaPo: Senate Republicans consider including Bidens in Trump impeachment trial http://wapo.st/2PSzeex
// unlikely to happen; a distraction

ABCNews, Matthew Dowd: Impeachment looms large over the 2020 election, but Trump’s approval could be a bigger factor: Opinion http://abcn.ws/32qF49r Every president running for re-election for 60 years has received on election day within 1% of their job approval number
// “Every president running for reelection over the last 60 years has received on Election Day a percentage of the popular vote within a point of their job approval number.”

WaPo, RobertCosta: Kentucky outcome embarrasses Trump and worries many Republicans ahead of 2020 http://wapo.st/2JSHvLx

Newsweek, Greg Olear: Mike Pence Knew http://bit.ly/2WQw4t3

🐣 RT @JoeNBC #MoscowMitch has the lowest approval rating of any senator in America. Bevin’s approval rating was much higher. Your Putin fixation has now put the Majority Leader’s political future at risk. Russia’s Republican comrade is in for the fight of his political life.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Based on the Kentucky results, Mitch McConnell @senatemajldr will win BIG in Kentucky next year!

RawStory: MSNBC’s Morning Joe hilariously blames ‘toxic’ Trump for Bevin loss: ‘You lost Kentucky for Republicans!’ http://bit.ly/2NLsk8d

“Donald Trump the night before saying, you have to do this for me, basically saying this is all about me, this is all about Trump,” Scarborough said. “Bevin has to win or if he doesn’t this will be the biggest loss in the history of American politics.”

“Before Donald trump went to Kentucky on that last night and had those stupid shirts that said, ‘Read the transcript,’ printed up,” Scarborough said. “By the way, which of course the document he was talking to said up top, ‘This is not a transcript.’ The stupidity, it’s really shocking, and we’re sitting there going, how do people get away with that? They don’t.”

“We’re going to get to what happened again in the suburbs, in the Cincinnati suburbs, which, again, once again shows that Donald Trump is toxic,” Scarborough said.

Republicans won the other statewide races in Kentucky, but they didn’t tie themselves so closely to the president.

“Here’s the thing, they don’t get away with it,” he added. “He doesn’t get away with it. He’s going to be impeached. His party lost the biggest landslide vote loss in the history of the United States, Republican 2018, for following him blindly.”

Scarborough said Bevin had been cruising to re-election before rallying with Trump the night before polls opened.

“Bevin, get this, oh, so unpopular,” he said. “Bevin was ahead by 5 percentage points in the polls before Donald Trump came to the state.”

“Donald Trump cost him 5 1/2, 6 percentage points by that one rally,” Scarborough continued. “Think about it, if you’re Donald Trump you’re waking up this morning and you know — Donald, come here. Get a little closer. Bevin was ahead, son. He was ahead by five points before you went to Kentucky.”

“Donald, look at that,” he added. “I know you don’t like reading, Donald, but look — that stands for Republican. He had 52 percent before you went and did that rally for him, and he got those poor folks wearing that shirt that said ‘read the transcript’ when the piece of paper itself said ‘this is not a transcript.’ Donald, this is not working for you. You should just stay home and watch like those cage fights, right?”

“Donald, my friend, you lost the state for Republicans,” he concluded.

⋙ @Morning_Joe Often overlooked is the 13% swing of RURAL voters toward Dems between 2016 and 2018. Most rural districts remained Red BUT it shows up in state wide races like for Senator or Governor, eg Kentucky governor.
2016 http://cnn.it/2PWBn9j
2018 http://cnn.it/2QHVBki ¤

🐣 RT @JimAcosta On last night’s results, source who regularly talks to Trump: “Totally bad. Kentucky and Virginia signal to GOP they are underestimating voter intensity against Trump, and it could be terrible for them next year,” the source said. “Bad omen for impeachment,” the source added.
⋙ 🐣 Per @Morning_Joe Beshear was losing by 5% in the last poll of the KY race

DailyBeast, Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng: Giuliani Cronies Planned ‘Fraud Guarantee’ Infomercials Starring Rudy http://bit.ly/2qtZYqY
// The former New York City mayor was nearly even more of a cable news fixture.

🚫 DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Thanks to Rand Paul, Russian Media Are Naming the Alleged Whistleblower http://bit.ly/2oR6JCP
// disgusting; Outing “the whistleblower” is the most egregious, but certainly not the only, example of Kremlin-funded media cheerleading the fight against impeachment. They love “their” Trump.

⋙ 🐣 According to FoxNews poll http://fxn.ws/2PIxCDX 34% of the 41% currently opposing impeachment say they could be swayed by new evidence. If all were persuaded, it would add 14% to the current 49% favoring impeachment = 63%. It was 58% for Nixon (59% of GOP opposed) https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1192060377896562688?s=20/photo/1
// FoxNews poll from 11/3/2019

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Erin Banco: Exclusive: Trump Letter Promised Zelensky ‘Unwavering’ Support http://bit.ly/2PPYMc7
// In the letter, published here for the first time, Trump pledges to stand by Kyiv no matter what. That was before he withheld aid to pressure Ukraine into investigating his rival.

🐣 🔆 This❗️⋙ On @MorningJoe, @ HeidiNBC reports that in open hearings in no later than two weeks, these fact witnesses will testify:
● Marie Yovanovitch, former ambassador to Ukraine
● Willam Taylor, her successor
● Lt Col Alexander Vindman, listened to call between Trump & Zelensky

⭕ 5 Nov 2019

CREW Sues Pompeo and State Department Over Recordkeeping Failure http://bit.ly/33XQaVl ‘State Dept officials used an irregular channel that bypassed department recordkeeping systems to enlist the aid of Ukraine … to dig up dirt on the president’s political enemies’

WashingtonMonthly, Martin Longman: Lev Parnas Could Be the Star Witness Who Takes Trump Down http://bit.ly/2Q4RL7x

JustSecurity, Sidney Blumenthal: A Dozen Questions for John Solomon http://bit.ly/34PNaKB

💙 WaPo, Philip Bump: This is how close Trump’s plan came to working http://wapo.st/2Ck10J1 TIMELINE: “But for two news articles, President Trump’s strong-arming of Ukraine probably would have worked.”

NYT: U.S. Envoy in Syria Says Not Enough Was Done to Avert Turkish Attack http://nyti.ms/2qAgzty
// In an internal memo, the senior American diplomat in northern Syria criticized the Trump administration for failing to try harder to deter Turkey from invading northern Syria last month.

🐣 The fact Barr wouldn’t go “on tv” to say Trump’s phone call w Zelensky was ‘perfect’ gives me some hope maybe he’s going to break it to him that he found nothing going after Trump’s counter-narrative on the 🍊s of Mueller probe. He’s toast w Trump anyway? 🤞

WaPo: Trump ordered to pay $2 million to charities over misuse of foundation, court documents say http://wapo.st/36SxhoC

CNN, Elliot Williams: The biggest question facing voters in 2020 http://cnn.it/2Cpi28l “Do rules matter” //➔ seems Dems are the Constitutional LAW and ORDER vs Chaos party now

🐣 RT @SethAbramson Trump’s impeachable crimes *must* be seen by Americans as CUMULATIVE. He doesn’t get a pass on *any* of it. He obstructed justice. He committed bribery. He illegally solicited foreign donations. He witness tampered. He lied to investigators. He abused power. He violated his oath.

🐣 RT @McFaul Will Trump defenders now throw Sondland under the bus, or will they say his testimony is being misunderstood (like the perfect phone call)?
⋙ 🐣 Where they’re heading: “If the President does it, it’s not illegal.” We’ve been here before.

🐣 RT @ For over a year, I resisted calls for an impeachment inquiry, knowing it is a remedy with serious consequences for the country. ¤ But the evidence we’ve uncovered of the president’s abuse of power has made that inquiry a necessity. ¤ We will do our duty.
⋙ NYT: Inside Adam Schiff’s Impeachment Game Plan http://nyti.ms/2NmtSGT
// Democrats believe the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee could be the man to bring down President Trump. This is how he’s running his investigation.

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff Testimony from Sondland and Volker demonstrates:
➡️Trump used a White House meeting and military aid to pressure Ukraine to publicly announce political investigations.
➡️The pressure campaign came at the expense of our national security.
➡️And it got more insidious over time.

Testimony from Sondland and Volker demonstrates:

➡️Trump used a White House meeting and military aid to pressure Ukraine to publicly announce political investigations.

➡️The pressure campaign came at the expense of our national security.

➡️And it got more insidious over time. pic.twitter.com/NMZt2XRHDk

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 5, 2019

💽 MSNBC, Hardball: David Jolly thinks ‘Lindsey Graham should resign if he’s not going to do his job’ http://on.msnbc.com/2NO5sFj
// On Senator Lindsey Graham’s denial on a quid pro quo, David Jolly says: “I think Lindsey Graham should resign if he’s not going to do his job. He’s the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and he says he’s not going to take the time to look at the facts.”

🐣 RT @renato_mariotti We’ve approached “Baghdad Bob” territory.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Yamiche NEW White House statement on impeachment inquiry:”Both transcripts released today show there is even less evidence for this illegitimate impeachment sham than previously thought.” https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1191815597971165191?s=20/photo/1

💙 WaPo, Philip Bump: Gordon Sondland just gave us this scandal’s smoking quid pro quo http://wapo.st/2NEWH04

🐣 .@SecPompeo ~ “A cadet shall not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do.” ¤ My husband tells me this honor code applies for life. ¤ @StateDept @WestPoint_USMA

💙🐣 RT @brycetache Kentucky, Virginia and Sondland all flipped today.

WaPo, David Ignatius: Where is Mike Pompeo? He’s hiding in fear of Donald Trump. http://wapo.st/2CiLnl2

NYT: Trump Tax Return Case Confronts Supreme Court With a Momentous Choice http://nyti.ms/2CfSSce
// Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton sustained unanimous losses when they sought to withhold evidence, suggesting that President Trump may face an uphill fight.

💙 NYT: Sondland Updates Impeachment Testimony, Describing Ukraine Quid Pro Quo http://nyti.ms/2WKIdjg
// Gordon D. Sondland recounted how he told Ukrainian officials that military aid was tied to their commitment to investigations President Trump wanted.

💙 WaPo: Gordon Sondland just gave us this scandal’s smoking quid pro quo http://wapo.st/2NEWH04

💙 🐣 RT @kylecheney READ: Sondland submitted this amendment to his testimony, saying other witnesses refreshed his recollection tha tmilitary aid was withheld as part of Trump’s push to get a Biden investigation going. https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1191790088218394625?s=20/photo/1-3
📌 COMPLETE THREAD: https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1191789347445624838?s=20
💙 🐣 MT @kylecheney WOW: Kurt Volker TEXTED to a top Ukrainian official the script they wanted Zelensky to read to announce the Burisma (i.e. Biden)/2016 election investigaitons. ¤ The text: https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1191796014237331457?s=20/photo/1 ¤ The latest:
💙 🐣 RT @kylecheney In a conversation that included Volker, Trump said “all” Ukrainians as “corrupt” and “terrible people.” He said they “tried to take me down” — a reference to conspiracy theories that Manafort and Kilimnik had planted during the 2016 campaign. https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1191813999849037826?s=20/photo/1
⋙ Politico: Sondland reverses himself on Ukraine, confirming quid pro quo http://politi.co/
// A key figure in the Ukraine saga revised his testimony for impeachment investigators.

🐣 RT @ABCNews JUST IN: DOJ, DOD, DHS, DNI, FBI, NSA, and CISA release joint statement on 2020 election security, warning, “Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions.” https://abcn.ws/2PSAiin https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1191840420906643457?s=20/photo/1

WaPo, Aaron Blake: 5 takeaways from the Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker testimonies http://wapo.st/2oPCwUJ

🐣 RT @AndreaChalup Putin has great representation in the hearings thanks to Devin Nunes. When Chairman Schiff first ran for Congress, bet he never imagined he’d have to counter Kremlin propaganda promoted by his GOP colleagues while they smeared a US ally. Pres. Reagan must be rolling in his grave.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavis Are their heads truly filled with this garbage, or is the GOP willingly disseminating Russian conspiracy theories? https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1191809744966766592?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: With revised testimony, Sondland ties Trump to quid pro quo http://wapo.st/2JVk7gz

🐣 RT @Yamiche Huge change it seems. ¤ Amb to E.U. Gordon Sondland updated his statement before Congress to say he now remembers telling top Ukrainian official that country likely would not receive U.S. military aid unless it publicly committed to investigations of Bidens that Pres Trump wanted. https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1191793420072890368?s=20/photo/1

NYT: Impeachment Inquiry Transcripts: Key Excerpts of Sondland’s and Volker’s Testimonies http://nyti.ms/2JUBJtb
// House investigators on Tuesday released transcripts from two more closed-door depositions.

📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Sondland and Volker Transcripts as Part of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2WKuedv
// New Text Messages Also Released

● Sondland: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/33nkqsq ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2NjiXxC
● Volker: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/34A7mQE ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2WOhnXE
● Volker texts: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2qtbhju ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/30QhpPi

“The testimony of Ambassadors Volker and Sondland shows the progression of efforts by the President and his agent, Rudy Giuliani, to use the State Department to press Ukraine to announce investigations beneficial to the President’s personal and political interests.

“As early as May 2019, President Trump directed the Ambassadors to work with Giuliani on Ukraine policy, and over the course of the summer, an effort was made to extract a public statement from the new Ukrainian president that the Ukrainian government was investigating Burisma or the Biden family and a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 U.S. elections.

“It is clear from their testimony that, in exchange for the statement, President Trump would award the Ukrainian president with a highly coveted White House meeting and, later, with millions of dollars in critical military aid being withheld. Ambassador Sondland called this changing U.S. policy toward Ukraine a ‘continuum’ that became ever more ‘insidious’ over time.

“Finally, with the release of the full production of text messages provided to the Committees by Ambassador Volker, and an additional declaration by Ambassador Sondland, the President’s scheme comes into clearer focus.

“In an effort to prevent further incriminating information from coming to light, the State Department is continuing to obstruct our investigation by refusing to provide subpoenaed records, including additional text messages provided to the Department by Ambassador Sondland. This blanket stonewalling will only continue to build the case against the President for obstruction of Congress, especially in light of the damning evidentiary record the Committees have already gathered.”

WaPo: The Mueller Report Illustrated: Inside the special counsel’s obstruction investigation – Washington Post http://wapo.st/2Cj5xLQ
// A forthcoming book and six-part digital series on the obstruction investigation

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Erin Banco: Gordon Sondland Admits He Told Ukraine Aid Was Tied to Biden Probe http://bit.ly/2JQ5FpZ
// The U.S. ambassador to the European Union revealed in his revised testimony that he believed there was an attempt to tie Ukraine aid to public announcements of investigations.

🐣 RT @pbump Sure, why not.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kathrynw5 Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he won’t read any of the transcripts, and dismissed Sondland’s reversal. ¤ “I’ve written the whole process off … I think this is a bunch of B.S.” ¤ Per @alanhe

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan: Source for ‘Ukraine Collusion’ Allegations Met Devin Nunes http://bit.ly/2JSJik5
// Ex-diplomat Andrii Telizhenko said he and Nunes discussed Ukrainian politics and how to fight Russian propaganda.

⭕ 4 Nov 2019

Wonkette: Rudy’s Fixers Keep Breaking Sh*t http://bit.ly/2X8PMRe

WaPo, Yaël Eisenstat: I worked on political ads at Facebook. They profit by manipulating us. http://wapo.st/2K67ob2
// The company can’t avoid damaging democracy.

🐣 RT @justinamash Read the Constitution.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Read the Transcript

DailyBeast, Lachlan Markay: Rudy Allies Are Spreading Dirt About Bannon Behind the Scenes http://bit.ly/36DKMYU
// Trump’s former chief strategist is coming under attack from allies of the president’s personal attorney, with one memo calling Bannon “THE FOX IN THE TRUMP HOUSE.”

Politico: Giuliani associate Parnas offers to comply with subpoena http://politi.co/33ltZIb
// Many of Parnas’ records were seized by the FBI in raids on his home and elsewhere around the time of his arrest last month.

🐣 RT @JoyceVanceWhite If reports that his pal Lev Parnas is cooperating are true, we will likely get answers to the question of who has been paying Rudy soon. That should make him very nervous.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ Prosecutors are looking at his bank records. I have lots of questions, including who’s paying Rudy, if he’s paying for his travel (if not, someone else is), if he’s being reimbursed for travel & if he’s received any reimbursements/payments from the gov’t. https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1183906266520915969?s=20
// 10/14/2019

DailyBeast, Amy Knight: Putin’s Top Spy: We’re Teaming Up With D.C. on Cybersecurity http://bit.ly/36zVQq8
// Behind-the-scenes cooperation with U.S. agencies, particularly on cybercrime and terrorism, is a theme the Kremlin likes to push onto center stage. Trump likes it, too.

💽 MSNBC, TheBeatWithAri: Trump’s Nixon problem: When Republicans bail on impeachment http://on.msnbc.com/2oRjZHK
// Every House Republican voted against moving forward with the Trump impeachment probe. But Democrats may be eyeing lessons from Watergate, when public hearings helped turn sentiment against Nixon, and key Republicans bucked their own party to back impeachment.

🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom I am immobilized with a heating pad on my back, so you’re all getting my Sunday night blast of ill-temper about Trump’s latest attacks on Vindman and others. Bottom line: We are not required to think well of people who are still defending this. /1 📌 https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1191200567210590210?s=20
🐣 RT @ “Polarization” implies that people give a shit about policies and ideas. I will fight all day long with @CharlesPPierce or @jentaub on the left, or @JayCaruso on the right, because we disagree about policies and visions for America. That’s not this. This is something else. /4
🐣 RT @ What’s also new is that the GOP – once called the party of ideas even by Sen. Moynihan in my lifetime – has now decided that being in power is more important than fidelity to ideas or to the Constitution itself. There is no legal or constitutional red line they respect. /6
🐣 RT @ Mass communication technology exploited by unprincipled and cynical leaders in wink-wink cahoots with foreign powers, demagogues getting rich by scaring rubes and old people, a sociopath with a cult following. This is something we once would have joined together to stop. /7
🐣 RT @ At some point, friendship and comity require shared values. Americans have broken friendships over early Communism, McCarthy, civil rights, Nixon, Vietnam. This was not a tragedy. It was the social opprobrium that is a sign of moral health rather than relativistic anomie. /11
🐣 RT @ This is another of those times. The President has become a raving paranoid on national television, name calling members of Congress, smearing military officers, promising secret revenge, demanding others in the govt break the law, deriding our intel and LE professionals. /12
🐣 RT @ But the damage to the legitimacy and the long-term health of our institutions is now, in some cases, deep and irreversible. This will harm everyone long after this idiocy is over, except for the right wing grifters who will take their payday and skip town. /17
🐣 RT @ Either way, the rest of us are not obligated to respect those views, no more than we had to respect the supporters of Joe McCarthy, Father Coughlin, Huey Long, George Lincoln Rockwell, or any of the other hideous Americans who attracted a mass following. Enough is enough. /19x

NYT: Excerpts and Analysis From 2 Impeachment Inquiry Transcripts http://nyti.ms/2Cj4ECF
// House Democrats released the first two transcripts of their closed-door impeachment testimonies.

💙 NYT: Pompeo Faces Political Peril and Diplomats’ Revolt in Impeachment Inquiry http://nyti.ms/2WK2Igf
// The secretary of state has been drawn deeply into the Ukraine scandal, with a parade of his diplomats testifying. He is sticking by the president.

WaPo, Dana Milbank: So this is why Trump doesn’t want officials to testify http://wapo.st/36zeEFQ

Yovanovitch detailed a Hollywood-ready tale about how Giuliani and two of his now-indicted goons hijacked U.S. foreign policy as part of a clownish consortium that also included Sean Hannity and a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor. Their mission: to oust the tough-on-corruption U.S. ambassador who threatened to frustrate Giuliani’s plans to get Ukraine to come up with compromising material on Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.

WaPo: Former ambassador testifies she felt threatened by Trump’s comments about her http://wapo.st/2PMdzEN

📔 🔄 🔆 This❗️⋙ HouseIntelCommittee (HPSCI): Committees Release Testimony of Yovanovich and McKinley as Part of New Public Phase of Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/36vgIPr

● Yovanovich: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/2PTqCnM ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2PQOete
● McKinley: Key Excerpts: http://bit.ly/32cHgRT ; Transcript: http://bit.ly/2NJkdZE

The three Chairs issued the following statement announcing today’s releases:

“As we move towards this new public phase of the impeachment inquiry, the American public will begin to see for themselves the evidence that the committees have collected. With each new interview, we learn more about the President’s attempt to manipulate the levers of power to his personal political benefit.

“The transcripts of interviews with Ambassadors Yovanovitch and McKinley demonstrate clearly how President Trump approved the removal of a highly respected and effective diplomat based on public falsehoods and smears against Ambassador Yovanovitch’s character and her work in support of long-held U.S. foreign policy anticorruption goals.

“Ambassadors Yovanovitch and McKinley’s testimony also demonstrates the contamination of U.S. foreign policy by an irregular back channel that sought to advance the President’s personal and political interests, and the serious concerns that this activity elicited across our government.

“Unfortunately, despite those concerns, the transcripts also show clearly that efforts to secure public support for Ambassador Yovanovitch from the senior-most levels of the State Department were never realized, thanks to worry among those leaders that such support would be directly undermined by presidential attacks.”

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “It looks like American foreign policy has become a cross between the Three Stooges and the Godfather. It’s an amazing mix of venal, violent corruption and complete and utter incompetence. That’s a toxic combination.” – @RonaldKlain w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1191491840597463041?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @duty2warn Malignant Narcissism has been at the root of the most vicious inhumanity in human history. A malignant narcissist when threatened tells lies that are the diametric opposite of truth. They walk a line between sanity and insanity. We are witnessing a descent now. In plain view.

🐣 RT @EricLiptonNYT There’s an earlier chapter with Trump & Ukraine. It involves a Ukrainian leader courting Trump. Hundreds of millions in politically convenient deals for Trump. A hold on Mueller investigation & US missiles. w/ @MarkMazzettiNYT @AndrewKramerNYT
⋙ 💙 NYT: Inside Ukraine’s Push to Cultivate Trump From the Start http://nyti.ms/2PMlhyQ
// Former President Petro Poroshenko alternately flattered President Trump, signed deals with U.S. firms and met with Rudolph Giuliani.

WaPo: Former ambassador Yovanovich testifies she felt threatened by Trump’s comments about her http://wapo.st/2PMdzEN

💙 NYT, Michelle Goldberg: On Ukraine, Trump Is a Con Man, but He’s Also a Mark http://nyti.ms/2C95SAD
// Corrupt forces find it easy to manipulate this president.

EmptyWheel, Marcy Wheeler: When Your Joint Defense Agreement with the Russian Mob Blows Up in Your Face http://bit.ly/2PO54ZQ “Parnas has decided to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry because Trump pretended not to know Parnas”

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Lev Parnas, Giuliani Associate, Opens Talks With Impeachment Investigators http://nyti.ms/2JP0E16
// Mr. Parnas could offer Congress a vein of information about a political pressure campaign in Ukraine.

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “These are, in today’s Republican party, spineless politicians rotten to the core without virtue, without any level of human integrity, devoid of self respect… Without courage and without the moral compass to recognize their own malevolence” – @DavidJollyFL w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1191487380190093313?s=20/photo/1

WaPo, Michael Gerson: Warren’s climb in the polls should horrify Democrats http://wapo.st/2oLMLtb

🐣 RT @JuddLegum A U.S. ambassador was under attack from several people close to the president so she asked her bosses at the State Department WTF was going on and THEY TOLD HER THEY’D CALL SEAN HANNITY TO FIND OUT

💙 Reuters, Polina Ivanova and Ilya Zhegulev: Exclusive: Ukraine to fire prosecutor who discussed Bidens with Giuliani – source http://reut.rs/2WJwh1l Basically in keeping with Trump’s demands

🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind The Mueller report interviews released Saturday revealed that Manafort pushed the conspiracy that Ukraine hacked the DNC, as early as the summer of 2016 -and importantly, per Gates, Manafort was parroting Konstantin Kilimnik, who the FBI believes has ties to Russian intelligence.
🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind So in summary, the conspiracy theory that Ukraine hacked the DNC server which Attorney General Barr is tracing down – and Giuliani, Trump and the rest of the regime are using to punish Ukraine, likely originated with Russian intelligence.

Reuters: Exclusive: Giuliani associate Parnas will comply with Trump impeachment inquiry – lawyer http://reut.rs/2WMipUa

TPM, Summer Concepcion: Grassley Defends Whistleblower Again After Trump Renews Attacks http://bit.ly/2CgkvBW

TPM, Josh Kovensky: Impeachment Be Damned: In Ukraine And US, The Hunt For Dirt Continues http://bit.ly/36Basp1

DailyBeast: Republicans’ Sad New Trump Defense: Is Attempted Murder Really a Crime? http://bit.ly/2WIPvUF “I don’t think it’s sunk in how damning these revelations are”
// I don’t think it’s sunk in how damning these revelations are, partly because information is coming at us so quickly that it’s hard to fully digest it.

💙 DailyBeast, Erin Banco and Jackie Kucinich: Senior State Adviser: Pompeo’s Silence on Yovanovitch Attacks Absolutely Killed Morale http://bit.ly/2NgR6OI
// “He just listened,” Michael McKinley, a senior aide to Pompeo, said.

💙 WaPo, Aaron Blake and Amber Phillips: 7 takeaways from Marie Yovanovitch’s and Michael McKinley’s Ukraine testimony http://wapo.st/2WIgJe2
// links to transcripts

💙 NYT: House Impeachment Investigators Release Transcripts of Closed-Door Testimony http://nyti.ms/32cN8dX

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Trump’s shift from “no quid pro quo” to “there was nothing wrong with my quid pro quo” is the kind of thing we’ve seen him get away with before. But, saying there was a quid pro quo is an admission there was attempted bribery. Bribery is a constitutional ground for impeachment.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ WaltShaub Trump just tweeted that there’s “nothing wrong” with engaging in “quid pro quo” to extort a foreign power into attacking our election. We are in some seriously dark times when the president’s defense becomes “I didn’t do the crime, but there’s nothing wrong with crime if I did.”

🔊 Words Matter Podcast: Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America on Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/36sfu7j
// It is impossible to understand Donald Trump without understanding America’s relationship with television. James Poniewozik is the chief television critic for The New York Times. He often focuses on the intersection between television, politics and culture. He is the author of the new book — Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America
// Donald Trump as anti-hero

⭕ 3 Nov 2019

🐣 RT @SallyDeal4 Biden & our allies pushed out Ukrainian prosecutor because he DIDN’T pursue corruption cases, not to thwart investigation of H. Biden. Burisma Holdings wasn’t even under scrutiny at the time Joe Biden called for Shokin’s ouster.
⋙ USAToday, Courtney Subramanian: Explainer: Biden, allies pushed out Ukrainian prosecutor because he didn’t pursue corruption cases http://bit.ly/33ERGLW
// because he DIDN’T

AP: Mueller documents: Manafort pushed Ukraine hack theory http://bit.ly/32etwWW

Notes from an FBI interview were released Saturday after lawsuits by BuzzFeed News and CNN led to public access to hundreds of pages of documents from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. The documents included summaries of interviews with other figures from the Mueller probe, including Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Manafort speculated about Ukraine’s responsibility as the campaign sought to capitalize on DNC email disclosures and as Trump associates discussed how they could get hold of the material themselves, deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates told investigators, according to a summary of one of his interviews.

Gates said Manafort’s assertion that Ukraine might have done it echoed the position of Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business associate who had also speculated that the hack could have been carried out by Russian operatives in Ukraine. U.S. authorities have assessed that Kilimnik, who was also charged in Mueller’s investigation, has ties to Russian intelligence. American intelligence agencies have determined that Russia was behind the hack, and Mueller’s team indicted 12 Russian agents in connection with the intrusion.

💙 NYT: Manafort Spread Ukraine Conspiracy Theory Months Before 2016 Election http://nyti.ms/2PJ1ikv
// Documents from the special counsel’s inquiry show that President Trump’s former campaign chairman shared the theory shortly after stolen Democratic emails were published that June.

CBSNews: Whistleblower willing to answer Republicans’ questions in impeachment probe, lawyer says http://cbsn.ws/2K1nMK3 in writing, but without going through Democrats

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood bipartisan support has long been the gold standard signifying national consensus ¤ but concept loses meaning if one party withholds support no matter what, as a matter of strictly-enforced doctrine ¤ McConnell announced this strategy against Obama ¤ It’s GOP impeachment strategy now

🐣 RT @BillKristol Of course many (all?) of those who listened to Trump’s call were horrified. But Trump does argue that he knew the call had many listeners, and that’s evidence of innocence. What then to make of his insistence on meeting Putin one-on-one, and confiscating the translator’s notes?

🐣 RT @amandarivkin There are countries capable of reform in the face of failure and collapse, countries where human misery and suffering are not treated as sports for the soul, where alcohol isn’t consumed by the bathtub full and the truth about the barbarism of the past isn’t spun into foul lies.
⋙ 🐣 RT @amandarivkin Just sayin’ Leonid, no one is Russophobic because Russophobia isn’t real. People don’t like Russia because it’s leadership past and present is literally comprised of some of the worst people on earth who are responsible for so much human misery on this earth.
⋙ 🐣 RT @amandarivkin There are better brands than a corrupt mafia coterie of oligarchs pretending to govern a country they are absolutely incapable of governing. There are big countries with a GDP greater than Italy. There are countries where the leader doesn’t get off on being a comic book villain.

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Sure, Republicans want to retain power. But they’ve chosen wrapping themselves in Trump to do it. That means embracing mind-numbing propaganda, lurching toward fascism & aligning w/ true foes of America & democracy. Trump’s adopted Putin’s views on nearly everything, esp #Ukraine
⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Do you think Republicans knew Trump would soak up Russian propaganda like a sponge? Because that’s the generous take on Trump’s apparent loathing of Ukraine. He’s even said “It’s not a real country.” GOP better wake up & smell the Putin. #ImpeachAndRemove WaPo: http://wapo.st/2pEzmU9

🐣 RT @NatSecMulligan As Americans begin to tune out of the confusing political debate about high crimes and misdemeanors and quid pro quo, Washington insiders should take note. We need to keep it simple. Here’s how. 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/NatSecMulligan/status/1191058737848573953?s=20

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 Given that we are now in an officially-declared impeachment hearing, Congress should subpoena all phone conversation records with specific world leaders (first among them Putin) that are hiding in the secret server. It would be a treasure trove of impeachable Trump dirty-talk.

🐣 I saw the danger of “siloing” back in the ‘90s ~ that the Internet wld let people self-sort. First I thought this would be based on ideology; then I thought it was based on brain structures; now I think it is based on social evolution: Enligtenment values vs a prior feudal model.

🐣 RT @BillKristol How large is Trump’s base? Well, take a look at the cross tabs at pages 43-44. 41% of registered voters are against impeachment. Of those, 57% say no new evidence could cause them to change their minds. That would put Trump’s hardcore base at around 25%. https://fxn.ws/2NcAc3J

📊 Fox News Poll: Fox News Poll: 49 percent favor impeaching Trump http://fxn.ws/2PIxCDX (Fox News polls are rated “A” by FiveThirtyEight)
● Job Performance 42/57 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1191026872370503683?s=20/photo/1
● Impeach? 49/41 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1191027250533142528?s=20/photo/1
● New evidence 34* https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1191027653622599680?s=20/photo/1
● Remove v Vote 42/43 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1191028011132428289?s=20/photo/1
// *among those opposing impeachment: could change mind 34, no 57

📊 Fox News Poll: Biden leads nomination race, tops Trump by 12 points in matchup http://fxn.ws/2PIxCDX (Fox News polls are rated “A” by FiveThirtyEight)
● Change since March https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1191022351728730114?s=20/photo/1
● Matchups https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1191022672655847427?s=20/photo/1
// Trump vs: Biden 39/51, Sanders 41/49, Warren 41/46, Clinton 41/43, Buttigieg 41/41

CNN: Mueller interview notes obtained by CNN show Trump’s push for stolen emails http://cnn.it/33bW1G9

🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom Manafort was in bed with pro-Russian oligarchs, meaning “Russia.” They wanted to discredit the election story, and turn Americans – one in particular – against Ukraine. Manafort did what he was paid to do: keep Trump pro-Russian and anti-Ukraine

DailyBeast, Sam Brodey: Inside the Republican Plan to Deep-Six the Trump Impeachment Hearings http://bit.ly/33olegk
// Trump allies plan to call for witnesses who could bolster their narrative and hammer away at the anonymous whistleblower whose account launched the inquiry in the first place.

DailyBeast, Michael Weiss: Here’s How the KGB Knew You’d Be a Traitor: an Exclusive Look at Its Recruitment Manual http://bit.ly/32a5Rae
// The bottom line for spy recruitment comes down to this: look for the losers, especially the ones who want to think they are winners because they hang on to important positions.

⭕ 2 Nov 2019

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Such a shocker that Konstantin Kilimnik, with his ties to Russian intelligence, has been promoting the same conspiracy theory (“let’s pretend that Ukraine—not Russia—meddled in U.S. elections”) that Trump is still pushing. https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1190739813919580161?s=20/photo/1
// from Buzzfeed’s Mueller docs

🐣 RT @JohnWDean At what crime did Richard Nixon succeed, Brit? The break-ins failed, the abuses of power failed, the obstructions failed. Have you ever heard of conspiracy, aiding & abetting, attempted crimes or endeavors— all can be serious crimes. Don’t show you’re stupid, @brithume
⋙ 🐣 RT @brithume Dumb answer. Failed crimes don’t get the ultimate penalties. Impeachment is the ultimate penalty.

🐣 RT @markrcarpenter Surely one of the most successful active measures of all time:
Manafort blamed Ukrainians for the DNC hacks by “parroting a narrative advanced by Konstantin Kilimnik,” who the FBI assessed has ties to Russian intelligence.
And it’s still propagating.
⋙ WaPo: Internal Mueller documents show Trump campaign chief pushed unproven theory Ukraine hacked Democrats http://wapo.st/34oCK4k

🐣 RT @tedlieu Why is @realDonaldTrump making up this lie? Because he knows these transcripts, which are all reviewed and signed off by the witnesses, will be devastating to him when they are released to the public. ¤ No one is above the law.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Schiff will change the transcripts just like he fraudulently made up the phone call. He is a corrupt politician!

🐣 RT @ericgarland I concur. If Manafort, Kushner, and Trump were working with Veselnitskaya & Co on June 9 down to the level of propaganda about the Clinton Foundation, THEY WERE COLLUDING. BIGLY. WITH THE RUSSIAN MOB. 📌 https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1190794358519422977?s=20
🐣 RT @ THIS EXPLAINS THE PANIC CALLS TO UKRAINE THIS SUMMER. Trump knew that impeachment would bring up the real details of how in bed they were with Putin.
🐣 RT @ The only play Trump had left was to bully Ukraine’s new president into helping him “both sides” the issue by ginning up a fake investigation of Joe Biden. ¤ Because IT WASN’T BOTH SIDES.
🐣 RT @ Neither side is perfect. But only one political party conspired directly with America’s mortal enemies at the level of hacking computers, planning propaganda using Russian military-grade PsyOps, and laundering Russian Mob money into campaigns. ¤ The GOP. And Trump. [ … ]

WaPo: Internal Mueller documents show Trump campaign chief pushed unproven theory Ukraine hacked Democrats http://wapo.st/2NzIrFR The documents were obtained through FOIA lawsuits by BuzzFeed and CNN

EmptyWheel, Marcy Wheeler: DOJ Pre-Dumps the Stone Trial: What BuzzFeed Obtained via FOIA http://bit.ly/2PJwikm “we’re really only getting a snippet of damaging information we’ll get over the next two weeks”

NYT: In Trump’s Twitter Feed: Conspiracy-Mongers, Racists and Spies http://nyti.ms/2NDkA83

🐣 RT @ JasonLeipold Earlier this year, right after AG Barr released his memo characterizing Mueller’s report, I started filing #FOIA requests for primary source documents that were used to draft the report as well as other underlying documents amassed by Mueller’s probe ¤ 1/📌 https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1190834783514853376?s=20
⋙ BuzzFeedNews, Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormie: Here Are 17 Things BuzzFeed News Is Trying To Pry Loose About The Mueller Investigation http://bit.ly/34zXKp5
// 4/17/2019; BuzzFeed News has filed Freedom of Information Act requests for a broad swath of records about the Mueller investigation — and is already fighting for some of them in court.r
↥ ↧
💙💙 BuzzFeedNews: The Mueller Report’s Secret Memos http://bit.ly/2oIj8Jp
// By Jason Leopold and Zoe Tillman and Ellie Hall and Emma Loop and Anthony Cormier;
BuzzFeed News sued the US government for the right to see all the work that Mueller’s team kept secret. Today we are publishing the first installment.
⋙ ≣ First Tranche: [pdf] http://bit.ly/2NNmx2b 278p

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump told his top advisers that “everyone” was telling him not to do it because it would anger Russia, the former official said. In fact, his entire team was advising the opposite.
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump’s entire national security Cabinet unanimously supported selling antitank weapons to the Ukrainians. But Trump hesitated. “He kept saying it . . . wasn’t worth pissing off Russia and what a bad country Ukraine was.”
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump peppered Volker with his negative views of Ukraine, suggesting that it wasn’t a “real country,” that it had always been a part of Russia, and that it was “totally corrupt.” ¤ [That is EXACTLY what Putin would want Trump to think and say.]
⋙ WaPo: A presidential loathing for Ukraine is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/36pnt5j

DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: Your Trumpkins Won’t Say It But You’re in Deep Shit, Donald http://bit.ly/2PCC6Mx
// You’ll never admit it, and no one in your orbit will tell you, but you’re in the s**t, and it’s getting deeper and more pungent by the hour.

⭕ 1 Nov 2019

ForeignPolicy (11/1): Fear and Loathing at Pompeo’s State Department http://bit.ly/33pp5tU
// Career diplomats feel betrayed as the secretary of state stays silent on the Ukraine inquiry. But Pompeo remains a star in Republican circles as he eyes a possible Senate run.

🐣 RT @ForeignAffairs Those battling today against the plagues of nationalism and irrationalism should remember Albert Camus’s greatest insight, writes Robert Zaretsky: while hope might well be foolish, despair is even more so.
⋙ ForeignAffairs, Robert Zaretsky: The Cure for the Plague Is Decency http://fam.ag/2WR8NYi
// For Times of Extremity, Albert Camus Prescribed Modest Virtues

💙 Reuters: Exclusive: Overhaul of Ukraine prosecution agency buries Manafort inquiries – investigators http://reut.rs/2pD724E

Politico, Natasha Bertrand: Testimony: White House lawyer told Vindman not to discuss Ukraine call http://politi.co/34vlElx
// The Nationals Security Council’s top Ukraine adviser told lawmakers he was instructed to conceal details of the president’s conversation from other officials.

Eisenberg recorded Vindman’s complaints in notes on a yellow legal pad, then conferred with his deputy Michael Ellis about how to handle the conversation because it was clearly “sensitive,” Vindman testified. The lawyers then decided to move the record of the call into the NSC’s top-secret codeword system—a server normally used to store highly classified material that only a small group of officials can access.

Vindman did not consider the move itself as evidence of a cover-up, according to a person familiar with his testimony. But he said he became disturbed when, a few days later, Eisenberg instructed him not to tell anyone about the call—especially because it was Vindman’s job to coordinate the interagency process with regard to Ukraine policy.

💽 MSNBC, All In: Chris Hayes presents 9 pieces of evidence of a quid pro quo http://bit.ly/2NFykPK
// Chris Hayes lays out the nine pieces of evidence that show Trump committed the most elemental form of corruption and bribery.

DailyBeast, Barbara McQuade: Trump and His Defenders Keep Tossing Around Legal Terms. Here’s What They Really Mean. http://bit.ly/325Z3uc
// The idea seems to be to confuse the public by tossing around terms that simply don’t apply to his impeachment proceeding.

WaPo, Barbara McQuade: Trump’s demands that we ‘READ THE TRANSCRIPT!’ are just sleight of hand http://wapo.st/2C4lqpl
// The president agrees with his critics on what happened on the call. But they disagree on whether it was corrupt.

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Least surprising news: Indicted Russian mob linked oligarch #FIRTASH bankrolled Lev Parnas’ jet setting w/ #Giuliani in search of Biden dirt. So Firtash’s money, made thx to Putin, funded Trump’s Ukraine extortion scheme! #AllRoadsLeadToPutin #Impeachment
🔆 This❗️⋙ CNN, Vicky Ward and Marshall Cohen: ‘I’m the best-paid interpreter in the world’: Indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas touted windfall from Ukrainian oligarch http://cnn.it/36k2gcK

Earlier this year, Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, received a sudden windfall of money from a prominent Ukrainian oligarch who is fighting extradition to the United States and is suspected of having ties to the Russian mob, according to four sources who spoke with Parnas.

This summer, Parnas told potential business associates that his company began receiving payments from the oligarch, Dmytro Firtash, who is living in Austria while fighting bribery charges in the US, the sources told CNN.

Parnas also told these people he met with Firtash several times over the summer while in Vienna. In June, according to one of these sources, Parnas vouched to Firtash for two well-known Washington lawyers who later brought up Firtash’s plight in a face-to-face meeting with Attorney General William Barr.

These new details appear to reveal a much more substantial relationship than previously known between Parnas and Firtash, and how Firtash’s years-long extradition battle suddenly collided with Giuliani’s push to dig up dirt on President Donald Trump’s political opponents.

They could also raise the stakes for Giuliani, whose financial ties are being examined by federal investigators. A company owned by Parnas paid Giuliani $500,000 for consulting in the fall of 2018. Giuliani maintains that the money did not originate overseas.

CNN previously reported that a counterintelligence probe of Giuliani is also underway. Giuliani has maintained he’s acted appropriately in the interests of his client, President Donald Trump.

In private conversations with would-be business associates before his arrest this month, Parnas boasted that his newfound luxurious lifestyle was bankrolled by Firtash, two sources told CNN. …

Firtash’s lawyers have downplayed the relationship between their client and Parnas. In statements, they describe Parnas as merely an interpreter hired to communicate with Firtash, who does not speak English. …

Parnas played a pivotal role in Firtash’s decision to replace Davis with Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. ¤ Parnas vouched for them directly to Firtash at a meeting in Vienna in June, specifically touting their personal ties to Giuliani, a source close to the lawyers told CNN. ¤ The husband and wife legal duo are well-known Republicans, frequent defenders of Trump on cable news and nearly joined Trump’s legal team last year. diGenova says he’s known Barr for 30 years— connections that could prove valuable in Firtash’s ongoing extradition fight.

Firtash was arrested in 2014 and the Austrian Supreme Court finally approved his extradition in June, though some legal obstacles still remain while he seeks to overturn the ruling.

A source with knowledge of the meeting told CNN that Parnas was the middleman who, a month after the Vienna meeting, formally met with Firtash’s legal team as well as diGenova and Toensing back in the US.

The July meeting took place at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Present were Parnas, Fruman, diGenova, Toensing and two other Firtash representatives, a source with knowledge told CNN. Also in attendance, the source said, was David Correia, one of Parnas’ business partners who was also indicted in the campaign finance conspiracy.

At some point shortly before that meeting, the deal was sealed. Toensing and diGenova joined Firtash’s legal team and, they later met personally with Barr and other Justice Department officials, where they asked for the criminal case against Firtash to be dropped. The Washington Post was first to report the meeting, and that Barr declined to get involved. …

The next month, on October 4, shortly after House Democrats requested documents from Parnas and Fruman, flight records show that Parnas chartered a jet to Cape Cod. Parnas told two sources that he was there to meet his lawyer John Dowd, who previously represented Trump during the Mueller investigation.

Democrats have since subpoenaed Parnas and Fruman for documents, though Dowd has pushed back. Dowd directly tied Parnas and Fruman to the President when he told lawmakers that some requested materials could fall under attorney-client privilege because his clients “assisted Mr. Giuliani in connection with his representation of President Trump.”

The flight records indicate that Parnas and Fruman chartered a private jet from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Washington on October 8, the day before they were arrested at Dulles while boarding a plane to Vienna. Giuliani lunched with Parnas and Fruman at the Trump International Hotel in Washington just hours before they were arrested, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The purpose of their trip to Vienna, as CNN previously reported, was to meet up with Giuliani and former Ukrainian prosecutor general Victor Shokin, a major player in the widening Ukraine scandal because of his discredited claims against the Bidens.

As vice president, Biden led a push by the Obama administration that was joined by the International Monetary Fund and other European nations to have Shokin removed because he was not prosecuting corruption cases.

By the time of Parnas’ attempted trip to Vienna this month, Shokin was already involved in Firtash’s case. Shokin had submitted an affidavit to an Austrian court supporting Firtash’s arguments against extradition, claiming there was political interference by the US.

It was in that affidavit that Shokin first made the unfounded claims about Biden, which Giuliani promoted for months after speaking with Shokin earlier this year. That conversation happened over Skype after Giuliani unsuccessfully lobbied the State Department and White House to grant Shokin a visa so they could to meet face-to-face.

There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens.

Parnas and Giuliani hoped to book Shokin for a Fox News interview in Vienna, where he could levy his allegations against Biden for the first time on American television, according to four sources. It never happened.

TheHill: Pelosi suggests impeachment inquiry could expand beyond Ukraine http://bit.ly/2WFfnkn

💙 WaPo, David Ignatius: In Ukraine, the quid pro quo may have started long before the phone call http://wapo.st/322Duuo
// 10/31/2019; next 2 also from Maddow ✛ Ignatius Jan 2017 “dawdle”
↥ ↧
💙 WaPo, David Ignatius: Why did Obama dawdle on Russia’s hacking? http://wapo.st/2PE5cv2
// 1/12/2017
↥ ↧
💙 KyivPost, Veronika Melkozerova: Black ledger’ investigation appears to come to a halt http://bit.ly/34qKCCz
// 6/15/2017

WaPo: Growing number of GOP senators consider acknowledging Trump’s quid pro quo on Ukraine http://wapo.st/2WyhgPT

💙🐣 RT @TheReinhardt One British official with knowledge of Barr’s wish list presented to London commented “it is like nothing we have come across before, they are basically asking, in quite robust terms, for help in doing a hatchet job on their own intelligence services”’
⋙ TheIndependent [UK]: ‘It’s like nothing we have come across before’: UK intelligence officials shaken by Trump administration’s requests for help with counter-impeachment inquiry http://bit.ly/2JH5MnI
// As impeachment inquiries heat up, president’s people are busy pursuing a counter offensive aimed at discrediting Mueller’s findings that Russia interfered in 2016 election

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: White House official who heard Trump’s call w Ukraine leader testified that he was told to keep quiet http://wapo.st/34l58nT Lt Col Alexander Vindman testified that he received this instruction from John Eisenberg, the top legal adviser for the National Security Council

BuzzFeedNews, Zoe Tillman: The Mueller Investigation Is Having An Unexpected Moment In Democrats’ Impeachment Inquiry Months After It Ended http://bit.ly/2NuUZhG left over legal cases become newly relevant
// What is dead may never die.

AP: Impeachment inquiry focuses on 2 White House lawyers http://bit.ly/2poqHp0 John Eisenberg, the lead lawyer for the National Security Council, and Michael Ellis, a senior associate counsel to the president. ⋙ shielded access to the call transcript

📊 WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Poll warning for Trump and Republicans: Danger ahead. http://wapo.st/36lAXid WaPo/ABC Poll ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1190323925613531137?s=20/photo/1

A plurality (49 to 47 percent) approve of impeachment and removal, while a large majority (58 to 34 percent) disapprove of how he is handling impeachment. Perhaps smearing respected civil servants, threatening the whistleblower and insulting members of Congress is not the way to go. By a margin of 55 to 35 percent, Americans think Trump did something wrong regarding Ukraine; 47 percent say he did something seriously wrong. It is a good thing the House is moving to open hearings — by a 65 to 33 percent margin, Americans do not like the closed-door proceedings.

Sixty-six percent think Trump has behaved in an unpresidential way, and 58 percent say in a way damaging to the United States. A majority thinks the pullout in Syria damaged our image as a reliable ally, and a majority (54 to 28 percent) think he has made us less respected in the world.

His approval numbers are atrocious among women (31/64), white college graduates (38/61), women college graduates (32/67), suburban dwellers (41/56) and independents (38/57). Among suburban women he trails 33 to 63 percent. He is surviving almost entirely on white evangelicals (74/23).

WaPo, Greg Sargent: The GOP defense of Trump is getting more corrupt. Here’s what’s next. http://wapo.st/2PCGJGk

The scope of corruption is mind-boggling. ¤ Remember, this whole scheme amounted to a months-long plot involving diplomats colluding with Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to manipulate our foreign policy and use hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid urgently sought by a nation under Russian attack to serve Trump’s political imperatives — to falsify the corruption of the 2016 election and facilitate the corruption of the next one.

This plot also involves an extensive effort by Trump’s Cabinet officials, with Pompeo’s State Department trying to block officials from divulging the truth about it, Attorney General William P. Barr working to falsify the truth about 2016, and his Justice Department trying to smother insider whistleblowing about the effort to extort a foreign power to help rig the 2020 election.

More will be publicly documented in coming weeks. This is what Republicans will be either justifying or pretending doesn’t exist.

… Trump wants Republicans to say: Trump was damn right to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden, because Biden is corrupt. Trump himself has at times unabashedly told reporters that, yes, Ukraine should investigate Biden.

I don’t know whether Trump will end up going quite this far. But as more corruption is documented, Republicans will find it harder and harder to explain away — even as Trump’s demands that they go all-in behind that worsening picture of corruption grow louder and more insistent.

✅ WaPo, Salvado Rizzo: The Trump brothers’ claims that they no longer profit from foreign deals http://wapo.st/36lvgkl FOUR PINOCCHIOS 🍄🍄🍄🍄

🐣 RT @NewsHour “This is the same process and the same procedures that were used during the Clinton impeachment and the Nixon impeachment,” says @RepAdamSchiff
⋙ PBS: Schiff says House GOP hasn’t taken advantage of depositions http://to.pbs.org/2oE9t6D

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump is keeping US forces in Syria to secure its oil fields & is willing to go to war over them. “We may have to fight for the oil. It’s OK. Maybe somebody else wants the oil, in which case they have a hell of a fight. But there’s massive amounts of oil.” [There isn’t]
⋙ NewYorker, Robin Wright: Trump’s Baffling Plan to Pillage Syria’s Oil http://bit.ly/2C1CRqp

📊 WaPo: Americans sharply divided over whether to impeach & remove Trump from office, WaPo/ABC poll finds http://wapo.st/2q9oUEa 49% want president removed from office //➔ when televised Watergate hearings began, it was 19% (‼️) & 59% of GOP was stuck with Nixon until the end
//➔ people are characterizing this poll all wrong: 18% of REPUBLICANS thinking Trump should be impeached and removed is HUGE ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1190290865387909121?s=20/photo/1
//➔ at the beginning of the televised Watergate hearings, 19% thought Nixon should be removed; 49% think Trump should be ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1190292635531038720?s=20/photo/1
// Trump did something wrong: 47% serious, 8% not serious, 35% nothing wrong

🐣 RT @MollyJongFast How does one parody a president beyond parody?
⋙ 🐣 RT @jdawsey1 A lot of aides in Trump admin think releasing memo of Zelensky call was a mistake. Trump now says he wants to read it in a “fireside chat” on TV.

🐣 RT @Delavegalaw Trump/GOP aren’t saying “No quid pro quo.” They’re saying it was OK: an act of 45’s foreign policy power. That’s the issue! We have to argue it was NOT OK. Asking a foreign leader to aid you in an election? NOT OK. Shakedowns? NOT OK. Corrupt deals for POTUS’s benefit? NOT OK.

🐣💙 .@JonMeacham In July 2015, I wrote the passage below: @Morning_Joe ● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1190246756010938369?s=20/photo/1

Can we trust ourselves with our own future and that of our planet or have we lost our sense of agency: can we even begin to comprehend the consequences of our actions? … We feel enmeshed in an indecipherable network of causality, in which it impossible to act morally because we can identify neither reachable goals nor meaningful actions.

Has the Enlightenment itself failed? – that world of rights and responsibilities in which the individual was the measure of all things, the crux of ethics and morality, the agent of action. This question frames the dreadful legacy we may leave to our children. They will live with the consequences of our inaction, of our inability to bear the burden of moral and effective self-governance. “A Republic,” Ben Franklin cautioned: “ – if you can keep it.”

🐣 RT @Morning_Joe ‘Trumpists have returned to a pre+Enlightenment way of thinking and social orgaization and in which others did your thinking for you’ [approx] ~ Jon Meacham

🎃 🎃 31 Oct 2019 🔆 This❗️⋙ Beginning Impeachment

FinancialTimes, Edward Luce: How the Borgias point the way for Trump’s America http://on.ft.com/2NvjRWD
// There are disquieting similarities between the US today and the medieval Catholic church

NewYorker, Susan Glasser: “He’s No Mr. Nice Guy”: Impeachment Comes for Trump http://bit.ly/2r2TNdV

Trump says that his July 25th phone call with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, which set off the alarm bells among his own national-security staff, was “perfect.” He wants his defenders to agree and to do so publicly. But Republican members of Congress have largely declined to follow Trump’s instructions. In the House debate on Wednesday, there was lots of discussion about how unfair the Democratic rules for the investigation are, but almost no one claimed that it’s just fine for the President to pressure a foreign leader to investigate his political rivals. No one said that the call was “perfect,” no matter how many times Trump has asked them to.

… … Trump told reporters, before flying to Chicago, where he proceeded to claim that the Democratic-run city was more dangerous than Afghanistan. “But I think you ought to look at the case. And the case is very simple. It’s quick. It’s so quick. … …

Trump, however, is arguably right about the straightforward nature of the case. It’s just that all of the evidence and testimony so far has tended to be damaging to him, including his own words. None of it has been exculpatory. …

… On Wednesday night, in the middle of Game Seven of the World Series, the President’s campaign ran an ad that somehow managed to mash it all together, attacking the Democrats for impeachment while touting his “obliteration” of Baghdadi and the Islamic State. The ad, I thought, was a true reflection of the Trump of 2019: angry, defensive, a literal killer. It is a dark, menacing ad, for a dark, menacing time. At any other moment, the linkage between the domestic political fight over impeachment and the actual war against the Islamic State would seem bizarre and inappropriate. But not at this moment. In Trump’s world, the linkage is simple: it’s all about him. So is the ad, which sells his divisive personality as the rationale for his reëlection. This is precisely the case that President Trump will make to the members of Congress who must consider the impeachment charges against him in the coming months, and it is the case that he will make to voters next November. “He’s no Mr. Nice Guy,” the ad admits, but so what? “Sometimes it takes a Donald Trump to change Washington.” In this case, the President is absolutely right. Washington is different than it was before. There is no going back.

WaPo, Dana Milbank: An extraordinary case of projection on the House floor http://wapo.st/2N6YQm9 Devin Nunes “railed about the sort of person who believes in ‘conspiracy theories’ and relies on ‘defamation and slander,’ who spins a ‘preposterous narrative’”
// inside title (fp title above): Republicans convene the cult of Trump; “… with ‘no evidence’ and only ‘bizarre obsession’.”
⇈ ⇊
WaPo, Dana Milbank: An extraordinary case of projection on the House floor http://wapo.st/2N6YQm9 (Did the Republicans all go to the same workshop on ‘How to Gaslight’ at that retreat last week?)

… [W]hat [Devin Nunes] said on the House floor during Thursday’s debate to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry was jaw-dropping. He railed about the sort of person who believes in “conspiracy theories” and relies on “defamation and slander,” who spins a “preposterous narrative” with “no evidence” and only “bizarre obsession.”

Surely he was describing one Donald J. Trump to a T?

On the contrary, Nunes applied these Trumpian signatures to Democrats. “What we’re seeing among Democrats on the Intelligence Committee,” he said, “is like a cult. These are a group of people loyally following their leader as he bounces from one outlandish conspiracy to another.”

It was perhaps the most extraordinary case of projection ever to present itself on the House floor. [Pure gaslighting, Orwellian]

Republicans are defending President Trump, who believes windmills cause cancer, in impeachment proceedings literally sparked by his pursuit of a debunked conspiracy theory in Ukraine — and Democrats are the ones loyally following the conspiracy theories of their cult leader, who apparently is Rep. Adam Schiff?

Republicans, therefore, need a defense mechanism to displace these unpleasant feelings onto somebody else. The Grand Old Party is grossly projecting. It’s Trump’s “No puppet. You’re the puppet!” defense, but now his entire party is doing it.

Trump has repeatedly advanced Moscow’s agenda, pulling out of Syria, siding with Russia over U.S. intelligence on election interference and withholding military aid to Ukraine. But Republican Whip Steve Scalise (La.) displayed on the House floor a poster of a hammer and sickle and the Kremlin and said Democrats are the ones doing things “Soviet-style.”

Trump put national security second to his political needs when he withheld aid to Ukraine in order to get dirt on Joe Biden. But Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), the GOP conference leader, said Democrats are the ones “putting politics above national security.”

Trump dismissed the threat of foreign election interference, while his allies fought off legislation to strengthen election security. But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) alleged that Democrats are the ones undermining “the integrity of our electoral process.”

And then there was Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.). “For one man to turn this country upside down,” he said, is something “our Founding Fathers warned about.” Surely this was about Trump? Nope — Schiff.

For years, the primary complaint against Trump has been that he tears the country apart — and that his constant chaos has put the nation through extraordinary stress. But during a GOP news conference after the vote, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said Democrats are the ones “eagerly ripping our country in half,” and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) lamented “what the Democrats have put our nation through for now almost four years.” (He specifically blamed them for the Mueller probe, launched by Trump appointees.)

Trump, who made the politics of projection an art form, held his own. His campaign put out a quote from him saying “Democrats have committed themselves to destroying democracy.” And Stephanie Grisham, press secretary for the chaotic White House said after the vote: “I’ve got to say, Nancy Pelosi has lost all control over there.”

Also cult-like: Republicans’ claims not only that Trump did nothing impeachable but also that he did nothing wrong when he withheld an ally’s military aid for a promise to investigate a political opponent.

At their post-vote news conference, Republicans were asked: “Will you all go on the record and say the president did nothing inappropriate?” ¤ “Yes,” chorused the 50 men and three women onstage. ¤ “A very clear yes,” said McCarthy. ¤ Doesn’t he know that cults always end badly? [Do they?]

🐣 RT @DrDenaGrayson 🔥In a lawsuit on whether Don McGahn obey a #subpoena and testify, a federal judge slammed Team🇷🇺Trump: “We don’t live in a world where your status as a former executive branch official somehow shields you or prevents you from giving information.”😎
⋙ CNN: Judge critical of Trump administration’s attempt to control testimony of former official By Katelyn Polantz and Marshall Cohen, CNN http://cnn.it/2C1z6RL

Lawfare, Jonathan Shaun: The Executive’s Privilege: Rethinking the President’s Power to Withhold Information http://bit.ly/2PAyCtS

🐣 RT @tedlieu Let’s be clear. If @realDonaldTrump does this, he is sending the message that there is nothing wrong with the US President soliciting foreign interference in our elections, and that he will do it again unless he is removed.
🐣 RT @renato_mariotti Fantastic idea. Everyone in the United States should hear what Trump said on that call.
⋙ DavidMDrucker NEWS: A defiant @realDonaldTrump signaled he’s disinclined to cooperate w/ House Dems in impeachment proceedings, while suggesting he might read transcript of Zelensky call aloud to nation in “fireside chat.” https://washex.am/2N2J4Zm me & @robcrilly from the Oval. @dcexaminer
⋙ 🐣 We’re heading in 1984 territory: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — George Orwell, “1984”

🐣 RT @viewsfordays “Just to be clear, it wasn’t just one phone call. That is what we’ve really learned over the last several weeks. This was a multiple-month operation to try to use the public office of the president for his private interests & do nothing to defend Ukraine”
⋙ RawStory: ‘Music to Putin’s ears’: Ambassador McFaul blasts Trump’s pattern of furthering Russian interests http://bit.ly/320qeGx

WSJ: Giuliani Associate Left Trail of Troubled Businesses Before Ukraine Probe Push http://on.wsj.com/2WGKvjH
// Lev Parnas pointed to relationship with ex-New York mayor to show investors he could ‘get things done’
⋙ See under Entire Articles: WSJ Parnas 10-31-2019

🐣 Tim Morrison was called as a fact witness. He is not a lawyer.

🐣 RT @tedlieu Today the House voted to authorize release of transcripts of the witness depositions, and public hearings with those same witnesses. I guarantee you that @realDonaldTrump and @GOP will like neither. The American people will soon see all the devastating evidence against @POTUS.
⋙ 🐣 RT @rebeccaballhouse Impeachment investigators have now heard accounts of a quid pro quo from:
1. Bill Taylor, who said aid was tied to investigations
2. Tim Morrison, who said the same
3. Gordon Sondland, who said a WH meeting was tied to investigations
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @rebeccaballhouse NSC official Tim Morrison told impeachment investigators today that Gordon Sondland told an aide to the Ukrainian president that U.S. aid would be released if Ukraine committed to investigating Burisma Group, corroborating Bill Taylor’s testimony.
⋙⋙⋙ WSJ: White House Official Says He Heard Ukraine Aid Was Tied to Biden Probe http://on.wsj.com/2N5MsCS
// Morrison says he had concerns about what he heard on Trump’s call with Ukrainian leader, but had no worries about its legality

💙 CNN, KevinLiptak: Photos highlight stark differences in Trump and Obama approaches http://cnn.it/2N2pNaw

🐣 RT @TheBeatWithAri WATCH: As Dems are closer than impeaching President Trump than ever before, House leaders pleaded their case saying the American Democracy ‘is at stake.’ 💽 http://https://twitter.com/TheBeatWithAri/status/1190027850285498368?s=20

🐣 RT @ColMorrisDavis My prediction is that @RudyGiuliani will go pro bono and then appeal his conviction citing bullshit like this to demonstrate that he had incompetent counsel.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RudyGiuliani Is the Whistleblower part three of the conspiracy to overthrow @realDonaldTrump. Looks a lot like false Russian collusion conspiracy concocted by intelligence Deep Staters. Did Whistleblower work for Brennan? How much prep by Schiff and staff.

🐣 RT @PaulaChertok “Would I use Ukraine to beat sleepy Joe Biden??—Gaslighter-in-Chief to a chucking Nigel Farage (who apparently has a radio show NOT on Russian propaganda media). Yes, Donald. There were witnesses. And they’re talking. #Impeachment 💽 https://twitter.com/PaulaChertok/status/1190017053685452800?s=20/photo/1

🐣 Talk about projection!
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar NUNES: “What we’re seeing among Democrats on the Intelligence Committee down in the SCIF right now is like a cult. These are a group of people loyally following their leader as he bounces from one outlandish conspiracy theory to another. And the media are the cult followers.”📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1189901967809810432?s=20

🐣 RT @renato_mariotti The White House calls impeachment “unconstitutional.” But it is literally in the Constitution. [Letter:] https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/status/1190014964901302273?s=20/photo/1

Dkos, Mark Sumner: And now the news from Opposite Land: White House produces hilarious list of ‘talking points’ http://bit.ly/2N4GLFb

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

🐣 Isn’t this jury-tampering? @RepAdamSchiff
⋙ Mediaite: CNN’s Dana Bash: Trump May Withhold Campaign Funds from GOP Senators Who Vote for Impeachment http://bit.ly/2qcMcJu

🐣 RT @DanRather The impeachment process is not about undoing the results of 2016. It’s about protecting the integrity of 2020.

🐣 I’m so glad @SteveSchmidtSES is back. He speaks with such moral clarity. @NicolleDWallace @DeadlineWH

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Sam Brodey: Impeachment Probe Eyes Mulvaney’s Office in Early Effort to Hold Up Ukraine Aid http://bit.ly/2qd6an3
// When the Trump administration first decided to send anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, Mick Mulvaney’s OMB put a mysterious, previously-unreported hold on the sale.

YahooNews: State Department agrees to turn over Ukraine documents, potentially providing Democrats with impeachment fodder http://yhoo.it/2N6cVjU

NYT: White House Aide Confirms He Saw Signs of a Quid Pro Quo on Ukraine http://nyti.ms/33480Wf
// Timothy Morrison, a National Security Council aide, said a top diplomat close to President Trump suggested a military aid package for Ukraine was conditioned on investigations into his political rivals.

🐣 RT @CharlesMBlow One genius move by House Dems was this: passing more than 100 bills that the Senate didn’t take up. Now that impeachment has begun, Repubs can’t say that Dems are distracted from passing legislation. McConnell has 100 on his desk. He simply has to bring them to a vote. Law passed

WaPo: Impeachment is going public. Republicans will find it harder to hide. http://wapo.st/2piPyKR

🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi When we came to Congress, we all proudly raised our hands to support and defend the Constitution. That’s what today’s vote was about. In these open hearings we will seek the truth and ensure the American people can see it for themselves. #DefendOurDemocracy

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: A divided House backs impeachment probe of Trump http://wapo.st/337zEBq

🐣 RT @JoeNBC The man who said Donald Trump was being paid off by Putin is now on the House floor defending the same man. ¤ What changed, Kevin?
⋙ WaPo Adam Entous, (2017): House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump http://wapo.st/2NwQXFL caught on recording

🐣 RT @drothkopf GOP wanted a resolution, wanted public hearings, wanted transparency and wanted clear rules based on the normal order. They had the chance to vote for all those things and voted against them. Yet, now…they will get them and they will regret it. The truth will hurt.

🐣 RT @HouseJudiciary .@RepJerryNadler: It is indefensible for any official to demand that an ally—one depending on our support in an existential struggle with Russia—investigate his or her political adversaries.

WaPo: White House official expected to confirm diplomat’s account that Trump appeared to seek quid pro quo http://wapo.st/2psqyRk Tim Morrison, the top Russia and Europe adviser on President Trump’s National Security Council

Tim Morrison, the top Russia and Europe adviser on President Trump’s National Security Council, is expected to corroborate the testimony of a senior U.S. diplomat who last week offered House impeachment investigators the most detailed account to date for how Trump tried to use his office to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, said a person familiar with the matter.

Morrison is expected to tell impeachment investigators on Thursday that the account offered by William B. Taylor Jr., the acting ambassador to Ukraine, is accurate. He also is expected to note that he alerted Taylor to a push by Trump and his deputies to withhold both security aid and a White House visit for the Ukrainian president until Ukraine agreed to investigate the Bidens and interference in the 2016 presidential election, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.

Morrison also is expected to tell lawmakers that he spoke with Taylor again on Sept. 7 to share a “sinking feeling” about a worrisome conversation between Trump and Sondland, the person said. Morrison will say that, during that conversation, Trump said he wasn’t seeking a “quid pro quo” but went on to insist that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky had to publicly announce that he was opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference.

🐣 RT @gtconway3d It’s simply astounding to me how many people continue to be willing to sacrifice their honor and reputation to defend a man who has no redeeming moral virtues, and who is well on his way to well-earned self-destruction.

🐣 RT @justinamash This president will be in power for only a short time, but excusing his misbehavior will forever tarnish your name. To my Republican colleagues: Step outside your media and social bubble. History will not look kindly on disingenuous, frivolous, and false defenses of this man.

⭕ 30 Oct 2019

💙 WaPo, Ari Melber: ‘Bribery’ is right there in the Constitution. Trump could be impeached for that. http://wapo.st/34VCtpJ
// Why wrestle with the meaning of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors”? The president can be accused of an offense that’s already well-defined.

TheGuardian, Timothy Garton Ash: Democracy is under attack in post-Wall Europe – but the spirit of 1989 is fighting back http://bit.ly/33d73uK
// Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and Europe’s velvet revolutions, a new generation is standing up to the populists

DailyBeast, Amy Knight: Here’s How Dumb Bill Barr’s Great Mifsud Conspiracy Story Really Is http://bit.ly/2qekGLj
// Mifsud’s deep connections with Putin’s foreign policy establishment and his glowing appraisals of Russia’s role in global affairs show Barr has barked up the wrong tree.

It should be clear to Attorney General Barr that Mifsud was no CIA asset, but rather part of a cabal, including Roh and Timofeyev, that spreads pro-Kremlin propaganda under the guise of academia and acts as a conduit between the Kremlin and Western policy wonks who are sympathetic to the Putin regime.

In pursuing his CIA-FBI conspiracy theory, Barr is entering a complicated maze of secret and not-so-secret relationships that characterize Russia’s efforts to undermine Western democracies. If Barr were wise, he would back off.

WaPo, Michael McFaul: Alexander Vindman should be celebrated, not smeared http://wapo.st/335iyUR

NYT, Gail Collins: The Worst Trump Cabinet Member? You Picked a Real Winner http://nyti.ms/321yiXC
// William Barr; The vote wasn’t even close.

🐣 RT @DavidCornDC From the Department of Absolutely No Self-Awareness:
💽 https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/1189727837185617921?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @andrew_lawrence Actually just said by Donald Trump Jr: “I wish my name was Hunter Biden. I could go abroad and make millions off my father’s presidency. I’d be a really rich guy”

🐣 RT @TheHill JUST IN: Pompeo says Trump-Zelensky call was “consistent” with administration policy http://hill.cm/aAC4Hb8

🐣 RT @TheLastWord Dems are questioning whether to bring perjury charges against Amb. Gordon Sondland after key witnesses contradicted his testimony regarding Ukraine. @PeterWelch tells @Lawrence that after hearing from career diplomats, Sondland “has some explaining to do.” https://on.msnbc.com/3251soF

NYT: Trump, Zuckerberg & Pals Are Breaking America http://nyti.ms/2qafLLK
// Not in the Cold War, not during Vietnam, not during Watergate did I ever fear more for my country.

🐣 RT @HeidiNBC NEW:
Dems tie what U.S. founders considered ABC’s of high crimes and misdemeanors warranting impeachment to Trump/Ukraine:
A = abuse of power (using office for personal benefit)
B = betrayal of national security (compromising U.S. ally)
C = corruption of U.S. elections
@NBCNews [appearance on @Morning_Joe]

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Breaking via WaPo: Lt. Col. Vindman told John Eisenberg, the NSC’s lead counsel, about his concerns over Trump’s call with Zelensky. Eisenberg then proposed moving a transcript of the call to a highly classified server and restricting access to it.
⋙ WaPo: White House lawyer moved transcript of Trump call to classified server after Ukraine adviser raised alarms http://wapo.st/2PzhFjE

Moments after President Trump ended his phone call with Ukraine’s president on July 25, an unsettled national security aide rushed to the office of White House lawyer John Eisenberg.

Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine adviser at the White House, had been listening to the call and was disturbed by the pressure Trump had applied to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rivals, according to people familiar with Vindman’s testimony to lawmakers this week.

Vindman told Eisenberg, the White House’s legal adviser on national security issues, that what the president did was wrong, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

Scribbling notes on a yellow legal pad, Eisenberg proposed a step that other officials have said is at odds with long-standing White House protocol: moving a transcript of the call to a highly classified server and restricting access to it, according to two people familiar with Vindman’s account.

💙 Politico: Testimony: Nunes acolyte misrepresented himself to Trump as Ukraine expert http://politi.co/2C3lK7r
// Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman also testified on Tuesday that the National Security Council staffer, Kash Patel, fed the president disinformation about Ukraine.

🐣 RT @McFaul What?
⋙ ‼️ 🐣 RT @ewong In a Fox interview, @SecPompeo peddles a new conspiracy theory involving Obama, Hunter Biden and military aid. This insinuation makes zero sense. Pompeo, the top US diplomat, doesn’t seem to care anymore about trying to establish a reputation as a straight talker. https://twitter.com/ewong/status/1189719256805597184?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @LACaldwellDC NEW: Vindman told House investigators that a WH meeting AND nearly $400 million in security and military aid was “contingent” on Ukrainian officials carrying out multiple investigations, including into Burisma, the Bidens, the 2016 election and Crowd Strike. w/ @GeoffRBennett

🐣 RT @MSNBC .@TheBeatWithAri outlines how despite President Trump’s criticisms, Democrats have actually outlined an impeachment process which gives him more power to participate than Presidents Nixon or Clinton had. https://on.msnbc.com/2q1Q53H https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1189690206565339136?s=20/photo/1

NBCNews, Jonathan Allen: Pelosi wants Americans to see the trial of Donald Trump http://nbcnews.to/2JBQSiV
// Analysis: Once uncertain about holding an impeachment-related vote on the floor, the House speaker is moving to show evidence to the public.

DailyBeast, Asawin Suebsaeng: Trump Wants You to Know He’s Smart and Capable Enough to ‘Do Quid Pro Quo’ http://bit.ly/332Popx
// Everyone should just stop saying he’s too dumb or incompetent to commit crimes—he could totally pull them off if he wanted to, Trump has been complaining privately.

NYT Editorial: The Rules of Impeachment http://nyti.ms/2oBpqKM
// Democrats get serious about the next phase of inquiry.

WaPo: National Security Council official set to testify in impeachment inquiry is leaving his post http://wapo.st/2psqyRk Tim Morrison has been the senior National Security Council official handling Russian affairs

Politico: Impeachment investigators ask John Bolton to testify http://politi.co/322a8MA

🐣 RT @MSNBC BREAKING: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey: “We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought.”
⋙ NBCNews: Twitter to stop accepting political ads http://nbcnews.to/36cuypw
// Facebook is currently embroiled in a debate over its decision to allow political campaigns to push ads containing misinformation.

🐣 RT @jimmykimmel We mashed up @BarackObama’s Bin Laden speech with @RealDonaldTrump’s al-Baghdadi speech, and the results are amazing 💽 https://twitter.com/jimmykimmel/status/1189153270167564288?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: Two volatile meetings at the White House have become central to the impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/32YLNc1

NYT: Former G.O.P. Lawmaker Pressed for Ambassador’s Ouster, Diplomat Says http://nyti.ms/330C8S1
// Robert Livingston, the former congressman turned lobbyist, repeatedly contacted a White House official to criticize Marie L. Yovanovitch.

WaPo: Testimony from career diplomats to outline Trump’s dark view of Ukraine http://wapo.st/2BQY9ae

⭕ 29 Oct 2019

YahooNews, Luppe Luppen and Hunter Walker: ‘The Wild West’: Questions surround Trump legal team payments http://yhoo.it/2NFoLjJ

✅ NYT, Davey Alba: Debunking 4 Viral Rumors About the Bidens and Ukraine http://nyti.ms/321Te0z
// As lawmakers examine whether President Trump pushed Ukraine to investigate the Biden family, here are some of the most prominent falsehoods that have spread online and an explanation of what really happened.

🐣 RT @BillKristol You know why America is great? Because there are people the president has never heard of who have taken an oath to serve, who are equal to the president under the law, and who can testify to Congress on behalf of the rule of law. And who can help hold a president to account.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Why are people that I never even heard of testifying about the call. Just READ THE CALL TRANSCRIPT AND THE IMPEACHMENT HOAX IS OVER! Ukrain said NO PRESSURE.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @real “There is no underlying crime in that transcript.” @IngrahamAngle 100% correct, and the Whistleblower disappeared after I released the transcript of the call. Where is the Whistleblower? That is why this is now called the Impeachment Hoax! The Do Nothing Dems are Doing Nothing!

🐣 RT @thehill Fmr. President Barack Obama: “This idea of purity and you’re never compromised and you’re politically woke, and all that stuff — you should get over that quickly. The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws.” 💽 https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1189409128587956226?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: Two volatile meetings at the White House have become central to the impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/32YLNc1

Task&Purpose: Here’s the military record of Lt. Col. Vindman, the soldier testifying at Trump’s impeachment inquiry http://bit.ly/2PvnKO4 @maddow

🐣 RT @davidfrum For some reason, war heroes, career law enforcement officers, lifelong public servants of all kinds are all just hopelessly biased against President Trump.

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Adam Rawnsley: Trump Sides With Indicted Oligarch Over His Own Diplomat http://bit.ly/34ec868
// The President of the United States amplified a tweet calling one of his diplomats a liar—and, by implication, absolving a Ukrainian gas mogul of any mob ties.

🐣 RT @StevenBeschloss A perfect call doesn’t have to be hidden in a secret server.
A perfect call doesn’t require manipulating its transcript.
A perfect call doesn’t require lying about a decorated war veteran & crudely questioning his loyalty when he testifies to set the record straight.

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 So AG Bill Barr took a few minutes away from working on Trump’s re-election campaign to talk with Fox News. He assured everyone that his investigation of the investigators who found massive illegal Russian interference in the 2016 election isn’t designed to help Trump. 📌 https://twitter.com/glennkirschner2/status/1189337710772789248?s=20
🐣 RT @ 2. Really? Let’s see if that claim withstands scrutiny. All of our intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to hurt Hillary Clinton and help Trump get elected. A bipartisan congressional committee concluded the exact same thing. [ … ]

🐣 RT @MaddowBlog “I know Lt. Col. Vindman. … The idea that somebody with his resume would not serve the United States of America is just disgusting. It’s outrageous. And I want those people to apologize and to remember what they’re doing when they take cheap shots…” -fmr Amb. Michael McFaul 💽 https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1189358052736196610?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance “The omissions, Colonel Vindman said, included Mr. Trump’s assertion that there were recordings of former VP…Biden Jr. discussing Ukraine corruption, & an explicit mention by Ukraine’s president…of Burisma Holdings, the energy company whose board employed Mr. Biden’s son”
🐣 RT @maggieNYT Vindman testified that the transcript of the Ukraine call omitted key phrases, including a reference to Burisma, and that he tried to get it restored. via @NYTimes
⋙ NYT: White House Ukraine Expert Sought to Correct Transcript of Trump Call http://nyti.ms/34enzKZ
// Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, who heard President Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine’s president and was alarmed, testified that he tried and failed to add key details to the rough transcript.

💙 Newsweek, Shane Croucher: Trump Is a ‘Successful Sociopath’ and a Predator Who ‘Lacks a Conscience and Lacks Empathy,’ Says Former Harvard Psychiatrist http://bit.ly/2JzGwjn

🐣 RT @JessLehrich
Lt. Col. Vindman – war hero, WH aide
Taylor – Vietnam vet, 50 year public servant
Yovanovitch – FSO since 1986, MS from Nat’l War College
Fiona Hill – Trump appointee, served Bush + Obama
Volker – Trump appointee, Amb. to NATO under Bush
Laura Cooper – 2 decades at Pentagon
// impeachment witnesses

CNN: Shouting match erupts in Vindman deposition as Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to out whistleblower http://cnn.it/2q8CDLh

🐣 RT @emptywheel This fact seems to have been lost. There are at least 3 crimes in play on Ukraine part of impeachment:
1) Withholding duly appropriated funds
2) To extort
3) Election assistance from a foreign govt

🐣 RT @RepValDemings “Senior White House officials had intervened to ‘lock down’ all records of the phone call.” – Whistleblower Statement ¤ If they did nothing wrong, why the coverup?

🐣 RT @thehill Rep. @Liz_Cheney: “The [impeachment] process is broken. It’s tainted. They have gone through this process where you have seen one side of the story. It’s been an effort to get one side of facts and then to selectively leak those facts in order to taint the President.”
💽 https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1189270931287359488?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 Maybe the Republicans should leak the facts that *do* exonerate the President. Trouble is the only way to exonerate him is to say he’s incompetent or insane.

WaPo, Gary Kasparov: This Soviet dissident knew why finding common ground with dictators can’t work http://wapo.st/36ilRu0

🐣 RT @oliverdarcy “Jack Posobiec…tweeted the falsehood that Mr. Vindman had been advising the Ukrainian government on how to counter Mr. Trump’s foreign policy goals. Mr. Posobiec cited The New York Times as his source — in fact, The Times reported no such thing.” NYT: After Vindman’s Testimony Went Public, Right-Wing Conspiracies Fired Up http://nyti.ms/34dA1um

Jack Posobiec, a well-known figure on the far-right internet, tweeted the falsehood that Mr. Vindman had been advising the Ukrainian government on how to counter Mr. Trump’s foreign policy goals. Mr. Posobiec cited The New York Times as his source — in fact, The Times reported no such thing.

⋙ 🐣 RT @JackPosobiac BREAKING: US Army Officer Alex Vindman has reportedly been advising the Ukrainian government, his home country, how to counter President Trump’s foreign policy goals – NY Times https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1189293734355181569?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @glennkirschner2 I think all Trump enablers in government should be asking themselves the following question: if I support, encourage or cover-up presidential crimes, can I be charged as an Accessory After the Fact once a law-abiding Attorney General takes over? See 18 USC section 3.

🐣 RT @Esquire The new impeachment rules are out, but they’ve still got to go through a Judiciary Committee featuring Matt Gaetz and the clown crew. via @CharlesPPierce
⋙ Esquire, Charles Pierce: Republicans Are Going To Love Adam Schiff’s New Powers http://esqr.co/yiY9Mm6

TPM, Kate Riga: Vindman, Subject Of Xenophobic Attacks, Was Featured In Ken Burns’ ‘America’ In ’80s http://bit.ly/34dxVL0 “[T]he Vindmans are revealed to have such a compelling and classic story as to be featured in ‘Statue of Liberty,’ an ode to the immigrant’s American dream.”

🐣 RT @jameshohman New poll from Suffolk University & USA Today shows most Americans want Trump to stop stonewalling. Asked if the White House has an obligation to comply with the subpoenas from Congress, 66% say yes. Only 26% say no. Even 35% of R’s say WH ought to comply.
⋙ 🐣📊 WaPo, James Hohman: New poll shows why Trump’s defenders are more focused on impeachment process than substance http://wapo.st/

🐣 RT @MarkSZaidEsq Jeff is one of the better #JFK researchers out there & has been a friend for years. He wrote this major @washingtonpost story on my first @CIA case back in 1996. WaPo, Jefferson Morley (3/27/1996): The Spy Who Loved Him http://wapo.st/31Xa5lt
⋙ 🐣 RT @JeffersonMorley I second the motion. I got to know Mark through the #JFK story, which #CIA still wishes would go away. (It won’t). We often disagree. We always have productive, meaningful discussions. The GOP efforts to smear him and #WBers are pathetic & doomed to #Fail. #DeepStateBlog
🐣 RT @MarkSZaidEsq That article led to Jeff’s first book on the topic and included much of the information we obtained in our #FOIA lawsuit. I highly recommend it. ¤ Our Man in Mexico: Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA http://amzn.to/31XGTug
// book 3/8/2008

🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi Everybody has read your words on the call. The Ukrainian President asks for military aid to fend off the Russian attack, you say “I want you to do us a favor though,” and then you spend the rest of the call asking for bogus investigations to smear your political opponents.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real How many more Never Trumpers will be allowed to testify about a perfectly appropriate phone call when all anyone has to do is READ THE TRANSCRIPT! I knew people were listening in on the call (why would I say something inappropriate?), which was fine with me, but why so many?

🐣 ≣ RT @KyleCheney JUST IN: House resolution empowers SCHIFF to call public hearings and add as many rounds of uninterrupted questioning as he wants — up 45 minutes per side — in which only SCHIFF/NUNES or a staffer can ask questions. http://bit.ly/2PAGVpo
📌 https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1189258627380588545?s=20

WaPo: Democrats unveil procedures for Trump’s impeachment inquiry, rebutting GOP attacks http://wapo.st/2BRZ7To

WaPo, Aaron Blake: The 5 public confirmations of a quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine http://wapo.st/2BWOleA

WaPo, Aaron Blake: Why Alexander Vindman’s testimony is big http://wapo.st/32YE3Xp

✅ WaPo FactChecker, Salvador Rizzo: President Trump’s alternate reality on Ukraine http://wapo.st/2BQWSQj The false narrative linking numerous Four Pinocchio claims

🐣 RT @ScottMStedman I thought Mueller included a lot of unnecessary details about Ukraine in his report. Now I know why. 📌 https://twitter.com/ScottMStedman/status/1189045297864830976?s=2

⭕ 28 Oct 2019

TruthOut/Salon, Heather Digby Parton: It’s a Mistake to Laugh Off Republicans’ Dangerous Attacks on Impeachment http://bit.ly/36h6C4A

🐣 RT @gtconway3d Hint to GOP senators: Article I, section 3, clause 6 of the Constitution gives you the keys to your own prison. USE THEM.

DailyBeast, David Axe: How U.S. Commandos IDed a ‘Mutilated’ Baghdadi So Quickly http://bit.ly/31QIMZL
// New technology includes a smaller and much faster DNA-reader that troops can haul into combat aboard their helicopters and use while the smoke is still clearing.

WaPo: White House official to tell impeachment investigators he feared Trump’s demands of Ukraine would undermine national security http://wapo.st/36dRwgc

Smithsonian, David Wise (Nov 2015): Thirty Years Later, We Still Don’t Truly Know Who Betrayed These Spies http://bit.ly/2WiNYVk
// Was there a fourth mole in the U.S. intelligence system that blew these secret agents’ covers?

NBCNews: White House told in May of Ukraine President Zelenskiy’s concerns about Giuliani, Sondland http://nbcnews.to/2WlJ4Xz
// The White House was alerted earlier than previously reported that Giuliani’s pressure campaign was rattling the new Ukrainian president, two sources say.

RawStory: Columnist warns Bill Barr has already ‘corrupted’ the DOJ — and he’ll use it to target the 2020 Democratic nominee http://bit.ly/36iSmIDPaul Waldman, WP columnist, wrote in an article in The American Prospect
⋙ AmericanProspect, Paul Waldman: William Barr and the Corruption of the Justice Department http://bit.ly/2qSDsZg
// The attorney general is using the full resources of his office in pursuit of preposterous conspiracy theories.

ABCNews: ‘We’re keeping the oil’ in Syria, Trump says, but it’s considered a war crime http://abcn.ws/32WTC1F

🐣 RT @SethAbramson The more you investigate the Trump-Ukraine scandal, the more you realize it’s about the *2016* election—not because anyone wants it to be, but because that’s what it was primarily about for *Trump*. The Biden aspect is significant, but no more so than the Manafort/DNC components. 📌 https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1189003770245648386?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @RonaldKlain John Yoo, who narrowly escaped referral to bar authorities for his torture memo, had the audacity to call a purple heart winner a spy on television tonight. #NewLows
🐣 RT @Amy_Siskind There is no bottom: Fox News host @IngrahamAngle claiming Vindman is a double agent.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ndrew_lawrence Oh my God, look at the spin they are using right now, actually saying that Vindman is a Ukrainian double agent….this is so freaking bananas 💽 https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1189002513594441730?s=20/photo/1

NYT, Michelle Goldman: In Praise of ‘Human Scum’ http://nyti.ms/2PqSGPi
// It’s not easy to turn your back on political comrades.

NYT: As Kurds Tracked ISIS Leader, U.S. Withdrawal Threw Raid Into Turmoil http://nyti.ms/2Neb8I4
// Trump’s decision to pull troops from Syria upended a 5-year alliance and threw the plans against al-Baghdadi into disarray.

🐣 RT @tburages John Eisenberg, according to this Politico article, was the lawyer who ordered the call record be hidden on the ultra-secret classified server.
⋙ Politico: The lawyer at the center of the Ukraine vortex http://politi.co/2MVveYQ
// Meet John Eisenberg, the White House attorney whose actions are coming under scrutiny in Democrats’ impeachment probe.

🐣 RT @MsEnergyHealer “At the direction of his superiors [Bolton]…Colonel Vindman drafted a memorandum in mid-August that sought to restart security aid that was being withheld from Ukraine, but Mr. Trump refused to sign it, according to documents reviewed by the Times.”
🐣 RT @juliehdavis An NSC Ukraine expert complained to WH lawyers about Trump’s appeal to Zelensky to investigate Biden. Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman will be 1st impeachment witness who heard July 25 call. “This would all undermine U.S. national security,” he will testify
🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Army Officer Who Heard Trump’s Ukraine Call Reported Concerns http://nyti.ms/345FUcY
// The top Ukraine expert at the White House will tell impeachment investigators he twice reported concerns about President Trump’s pressure tactics on Ukraine, acting out of a “sense of duty.” FULL Statement: http://bit.ly/32THfn3

A White House national security official who is a decorated Iraq war veteran plans to tell House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that he heard President Trump appeal to Ukraine’s president to investigate one of his leading political rivals, a request the aide considered so damaging to American interests that he reported it to a superior.

Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman of the Army, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, twice registered internal objections about how Mr. Trump and his inner circle were treating Ukraine, out of what he called a “sense of duty,” he plans to tell the inquiry, according to a draft of his opening statement obtained by The New York Times.

He will be the first White House official to testify who listened in on the July 25 telephone call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, in which Mr. Trump asked Mr. Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

“I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine,” Colonel Vindman said in his statement. “I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained.”

“This would all undermine U.S. national security,” Colonel Vindman added, referring to Mr. Trump’s comments in the call.

The colonel, a Ukrainian-American immigrant who received a Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq by a roadside bomb and whose statement is full of references to duty and patriotism, could be a more difficult witness to dismiss than his civilian counterparts.

“I am a patriot,” Colonel Vindman plans to tell the investigators, “and it is my sacred duty and honor to advance and defend our country irrespective of party or politics.”

🐣 RT @Bill_Maxwell_ A few of the details from Trump’s al-Baghdadi presser were wrong. ¤ Many of the rest were either highly classified or tactically sensitive. ¤ Their disclosure by Trump made intelligence and military officials cringe. ¤ According to past and current officials.
⋙ NBCNews: Officials cringe as Trump spills sensitive details of al-Baghdadi raid http://nbcnews.to/34dVK5F
// Some details the president has revealed are inaccurate, others are classified. Officials say they worry what to put in briefings for a man with no filter.

🐣 RT @mkraju Judge Leon will meet the parties in court at 3 p.m. on Thursday, “due to the time-sensitive nature of the issues raised in this case,” the DC District judge wrote tonight, per @kpolantz on the lawsuit filed by former WH official who defied subpoena
⋙ CNN: Judge kicks newest impeachment lawsuit into high gear http://cnn.it/2Ju539y

Slate, Joshua Keating: After Betraying the Kurds, the U.S. Isn’t Leaving Syria After All http://bit.ly/2qSpNRY

WSJ: Sondland Told House Panels Trump’s Ukraine Pressure Was Quid Pro Quo http://on.wsj.com/362DbD0
// U.S. envoy to EU told House committees that he believed White House meeting was conditioned on Ukraine opening investigations, his lawyer says

NYT: Shifting Course, Democrats Plan First Floor Vote on Impeachment Inquiry http://nyti.ms/2Wt39ve
// House Democrats, who have resisted a floor vote on the impeachment inquiry for weeks, are planning to hold one Thursday to lay out rules for the investigation.

🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi The House has been following the facts and the evidence has only made the President’s own words on his call more appalling. This resolution will set up the structure for the next phase where the American people can hear those facts for themselves in open hearings. #TruthExposed https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1188930794515062786?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @dcexaminer “Is America ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president of the United States?” ¤ Sen. @KamalaHarris blames campaign struggles on a “difficulty in imagining” a black, female president.
WashingtonExaminer: Kamala Harris blames campaign struggles on ‘difficulty in imagining’ a black, female president http://washex.am/2Wn2RWo
⋙ 🐣 Kamala Harris’s problem is not that she’s a black woman (people are more than ready for Michelle Obama). It’s that she is a hypocrite, weak on policy, had a questionable record as CA AG and she’s a #dramaqueen.

🐣📊 RT @Politics_Polls 2020 National GE:
Biden 52% (+11) Trump 41%
Sanders 50% (+8) Trump 42%
Warren 48% (+4) Trump 44%
Harris 47% (+3) Trump 44%
Buttigieg 44% (+1) Trump 43%
@surveyusa 10/15-16 http://bit.ly/2pkQm1F

WaPo, Max Boot: Baghdadi’s death could have been Trump’s finest hour. He messed it up anyway. http://wapo.st/2Js0qN8

🐣 RT @BrookingsInst .@SpeakerPelosi announced today that the House will vote on formalizing impeachment proceedings. Here’s what @Susan_Hennessey, @mollyereynolds, and @MargLTaylor had to say about procedural fairness and perceptions of legitimacy for the inquiry:
⋙ Lawfare, Susan Hennessey, Molly E. Reynolds and Margaret Taylor (Oct 3): How Should the House Handle Impeachment? http://bit.ly/2NjBys7

WaPo, Robert Costa and Philip Rucker: ‘It feels like a horror movie’: Republicans feel anxious and adrift defending Trump http://wapo.st/348HoDp

DailyBeast, Betsy Swan and Adam Rawnsley: Ukrainian Oligarch Seethed About ‘Overlord’ Biden for Years http://bit.ly/32V912u
// Dmytro Firtash’s lawyers say his team had to investigate Joe Biden to defend their client. One expert says Biden pushed reforms that cost the oligarch up to $400 million per year.

🐣 RT @propublica Lev Parnas, recently indicted for foreign influence in U.S. elections, collaborated closely with The Hill’s John Solomon to fuel spurious allegations involving the Bidens and Ukraine.
⋙ ProPublica: How a Veteran Reporter Worked with Giuliani’s Associates to Launch the Ukraine Conspiracy http://bit.ly/2Jq3R72
// 10/25/2019; Lev and Igor; Lev Parnas, recently indicted for foreign influence in U.S. elections, collaborated closely with The Hill’s John Solomon to fuel spurious allegations involving the Bidens and Ukraine.

NYT, Zach Dorfman: How Trump Is Helping Russia Help Trump Again http://nyti.ms/2Nkl8Qk
// The efforts by presidential associates like Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine are helping set up a 2020 disinformation campaign.

⭕ 27 Oct 2019

💽 CBSNews: 60Minutes: Joe Biden defends his son Hunter’s Ukraine dealings, answers for his gaffes in 60 Minutes interview http://cbsn.ws/2q2HQEn 17mind

DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Russia: Trump’s Baghdadi Victory Lap Is Nothing But ‘Propaganda’ http://bit.ly/366ZjfL
// The Russian Defense Ministry also disputed claims that Russia provided access to U.S. air units entering airspace it controls.

🐣 RT @kasparov63 Or are we to believe that it’s a coincidence that al-Baghdadi was in the only house left standing after all of Putin and Assad’s bombing of Idlib? Either they gave him up or simply declined to warn him this time.
🐣 RT @kasparov63 Isn’t it obvious that this is what happened here? Surely Putin & Erdogan gave up al-Baghdadi in exchange for Trump abandoning northern Syria and the Kurds. A quid pro quo, I believe it is called.
⋙ 🐣 RT @chessninja People we call US allies always seem to be harboring the world’s worst terrorists. When it suits them, they can kick them out or share their whereabouts. They’re just bargaining chips, like everything else to such regimes. 📌 https://twitter.com/chessninja/status/1188533602528776193?s=20

🐣 RT @julianbarnes NEW: The Baghdadi might have been like a movie, but Trump watched overhead drone video, not body cam footage–so he didn’t see anyone whimper or cry. @helenecooper @Tmgneff
⋙ NYT: Watching the Raid Was Like a Movie, the President Said. Except There Was No Live Audio. http://nyti.ms/369CurF
// Surveillance video provided a dramatic portrait of action outside the al-Baghdadi compound, but could not show what happened in an underground tunnel where the ISIS leader died. For that, Mr. Trump would have to hear from Delta Force, or their commanders.

🐣 RT @RickTyler Trump was kept in the dark about operational planning to get al-Bahgdadi. Military, intelligence and counterterrorism officials said @realDonaldTrump ’s decision to withdraw troops from Northern Syria disrupted careful planning. – @nytime
⋙ NYT: Trump’s Syria Troop Withdrawal Complicated Plans for al-Baghdadi Raid http://nyti.ms/2Wjz54Z
// President Trump’s abrupt decision to pull forces from northern Syria forced the Pentagon to press ahead with a risky night operation that killed the ISIS leader, military officials said.

JustSecurity, by Ambassador Dana Shell Smith: How Trump’s Gilding the Lily on Baghdadi Death Will Return to Haunt Americans http://bit.ly/2PyZMl5
// I handled State Dept’s public messaging after we killed bin Laden. I know the risks.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance As a prosecutor, I was taught that when a witness looks down & to the right as they answer, it’s a signal they are not being truthful.
⋙ 🐣 RT @FaceTheNation UKRAINE CONTROVERSY: “I can only tell you what I know…what I know is the transcript shows there was no quid pro quo in all of my interactions with President Zelensky,” @VP tells @margbrennan of @realdonaldtrump ‘s controversial call with Ukraine’s president. 💽 https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1188499047201591296?s=20/photo/1 // Mike Pence
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance A lot of folks seem to take issue with this, so I’ll note, this is one of many tools prosecutors use for deciding whether they have confidence in a witness & want to put them in front of a jury. Ultimately, it’s up to juries, not prosecutors, to decide what the truth is.

NYT, David Sanger: Al-Baghdadi Raid Was a Victory Built on Factors Trump Derides http://nyti.ms/2WgSRyb
// The president cast the death of the ISIS leader as validation of his disengagement strategy. But it required intelligence agencies and allies he has spurned.

🐣 RT @B52Malmet Engel: Kurds aren’t celebrating Baghdadi’s death while their homeland is destroyed. Trump can trumpet the capture of one terrorist. But he has ethnic cleansing of a whole people on his hands.
⋙ MSNBC, AlexWitt: Engel: Kurds aren’t celebrating Baghdadi’s death while their homeland is destroyed http://on.msnbc.com/2WiHPbD
// NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel joins Alex Witt to break down the U.S. operation that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Engel then explains that the mood in northern Syria is not one of celebration because the Kurds, long terrorized by ISIS and happy about the death of Baghdadi, cannot celebrate because they are currently fighting a war with Turkey.

DailyBeast, Spencer Ackerman: Baghdadi Is Dead. The War on Terror Will Create Another. http://bit.ly/2MS6kJK
// A U.S. raid doomed the leader of the so-called Islamic State. But there will be another Baghdadi, and another ISIS, as long as the Forever War keeps going.

DailyBeast, Adam Rawnsley: The Kurds Spotted Baghdadi back in March. The U.S. Abandoned Them Anyway. http://bit.ly/2q2xjJl
// Back in March, America’s closest allies in Syria were telling the world where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was. If Team Trump found the information valuable, they didn’t show it.

WaPo, Bret McGurk: Baghdadi’s death underscores what we’ve lost by abandoning Syria’s Kurds http://wapo.st/2MSnJlB Brett McGurk served from 2015 to 2018 as a special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

WaPo, Dan Zak: Whistleblowers walk among us. Now one has gotten in Trump’s head. http://wapo.st/32TJ4jU

NYT, Thomas Friedman: Al-Baghdadi Is Dead. The Story Doesn’t End Here. http://nyti.ms/31ObIlm
// President Trump boasts of defeating the Islamic State. He’s only showing how ignorant he is.

NYT, Margaret O’Mara: The ‘Deep State’ Exists to Battle People Like Trump http://nyti.ms/2Wh8mWG
// A merit-based system for hiring federal employees was created in reaction to the rampant corruption of the Gilded Age.

DailyBeast: National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien Says Russia is ‘Not an Ally,’ Can’t Explain Why Trump Thinks They Are http://bit.ly/2NfGYEp [re: @MTP]

🐣 RT @JoeBiden I congratulate our special forces, our intelligence community, and all our brave military professionals on delivering justice to the terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The world is better and safer without him in it. [Full statement:] Text Block: https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1188474466155802624?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @fabricedp [Two war room photos] https://twitter.com/fabricedp/status/1188465073561460736?s=20/photo/1-2
// Osama bin Laden, al Baghdadi; Obama vs Trump
⋙ 🐣 What a brilliant contrast. I bet most GOP think the Trump war room photo is a “better” photo and most Dems think the Obama war room photo is far “better.” And therein lies the key to understanding our polarization.

🐣 The Kurds suffered 10,000 soldiers killed defeating ISIS and imprisoned 10,000 men “assumed to be ISIS” (NPR). Credit where credit is due. The Kurds defeated ISIS with our technical and air support, then we abandoned them. The question now is: Will ISIS re-emerge?

🐣 RT @CSIS The United States has squandered its leverage in Syria. Still, it has major interests there and should take immediate steps to responsibly mitigate the fallout.@csis_isp expert @natsecdalton take on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeast Syria.
⋙ CSIS, Melissa Dalton (10/17): When the Toll Comes Due: U.S. Failures in Syria and Next Steps http://bit.ly/2pZXsZe

🐣 I can’t think of any “test results” that could do this other than DNA testing which can take a while (DOD may have faster version than commercial) plus you need DNA prev from the same person or from close relatives. Dental records? Fingerprints?

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Trump claims that Russia and Iraq helped the U.S. with al-Baghdadi operation. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry says they know nothing about it, scoffing at Trump’s claims: “News of al-Baghdadi”s demise come after he was reported dead on several occasions in recent years…”

🐣 RT @RichardHaass The irony of the successful operation against al-Baghdadi is that it could not have happened w/o US forces on the ground that have been pulled out, help from Syrian Kurds who have been betrayed, and support of US intelligence community that has so often been disparaged.

Politico, Natasha Bertrand: ‘This is going to do lasting damage’: Impeachment leaves Ukraine policy in chaos http://politi.co/2JrfkDs
// The probe of President Trump’s conduct has created a cloud of uncertainty from Washington to Kyiv.

🐣 So will Trump praise and take credit for the work of the deepest part of the “deep state” – the CIA – that he so far has done nothing but vilify and demoralize?

⭕ 26 Oct 2019

CNN, Marshall Cohen: By pressing Zelensky for political favors, Trump upended US support for ‘rule of law’ in Ukraine http://cnn.it/2okM8qg

WaPo: Giuliani associates claimed to have sway with both foreign billionaires and Trump administration officials http://wapo.st/2Nevj8U
// Lev and Igor

WaPo: Elijah Cummings: We are in a fight for the soul of our democracy http://wapo.st/32OBB5G This op-ed is adapted from a foreword that Cummings wrote July 17 for the forthcoming book, “In Defense of Public Service” by Cedric L. Alexander. Cummings died Oct 17.

🐣 RT @JohnWDean Unlike Nixon’s defenders, Trump has a really weak team. This report of the GOP defense is pathetic, but with Nunez, Jordan and Meadow at the top of your team, you are easily out done. Not to mention Trump’s criminal shakedown is, in fact, indefensible!

🐣 Here’s the joke: No one not on Twitter knows who Baghdadi is ~ least of all, Trump voters.

💙🐣 RT @jasonintrator A chilling @emilybazelon piece on the growing threat of authoritarianism
⋙ NYT, Emily Bazelon: Who Is Bill Barr? http://nyti.ms/2MOWCHL

WaPo: John Kelly says he warned Trump he’d be impeached if he hired a ‘yes man’ as chief of staff to replace him http://wapo.st/2Pnkfcs //➔ and whuddaya know

NYT: Key Witness in Impeachment Inquiry Asks Federal Court to Rule Over Testifying http://nyti.ms/31RxBjs
// The move raises new doubts about whether President Trump’s closest aides will be able to cooperate with the inquiry.

Medium, Rick Wilson: Is William Barr the Head of DOJ or QAnon? http://bit.ly/31PLZcj
// John Durham’s investigation of the Russia probe as a criminal matter is further proof that the Justice Department is a tool for Trump now
● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1188288597985824770?s=20/photo/1

Trump seeks not only to destroy the people who tried to reveal the truth about Russia and 2016, but also to intimidate anyone else who dares to tell the truth about his rampant, ongoing regime of corruption and malfeasance. Barr is his weapon, his tool, his agent of vengeance.

That the MAGA and QAnon crowds see Durham as an avenging angel, a death-dealing wild dog here to maul and devour the Deep State, is both laughable and horrifying. Their fantasies of roundups, mass arrests, secret indictments, and one-way tickets to GITMO for anyone connected to the operations to identify and neutralize Russian election interference are a common element of their wishcasting. They’re convinced Durham will open the floodgates and bust open a conspiracy that doesn’t exist.

🐣 RT @thehill “What was working in Syria was that for very little investment, the Kurds were doing all the fighting, the vast majority of the dying, and we were providing intelligence and fire support assistance. And we were winning.”
⋙ TheHill: John Kelly: Pulling out of Syria was a catastrophic idea http://bit.ly/31R1oZQ

🐣 RT @kylecheney JUST IN: Pointing to yesterday’s ruling declaring their impeachment inquiry valid, House investigation leaders demand that KUPPERMAN (Bolton’s deputy) honor their subpoena. https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1188228696601174018?s=20/photo/1-4 📌 https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1188228696601174018?s=20

NYT, Peter Baker: Waiting for Bolton: A Capital Speculates on What He Will Say http://nyti.ms/2NjH6D7
// As the House impeachment inquiry enters its second month, there may be no witness investigators want to question more than John R. Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser.

Mr. Bolton implicitly criticized Mr. Trump’s foreign policy, declaring that “despite all the friendly notes and photo ops, North Korea isn’t our friend and never will be.” But he also wrote that the nation’s security “is under attack from within,” citing “radicalized Democrats.”

The conflicting signals were maddening. After either resigning or being fired last month depending on whose version is to be believed, is Mr. Bolton so estranged from Mr. Trump that he might provide damaging testimony to House investigators? Or does he share the president’s view of out-of-control Democrats pursuing an illegitimate impeachment out of partisan excess?

WaPo: In impeachment inquiry, Republican lawmakers ask questions about whistleblower, loyalty to Trump and conspiracy theories http://wapo.st/2BI4Dbp

⭕ 25 Oct 2019

💙💙 TheMoscowProject: Dmitry Firtash: A Familiar Face in a New Scandal http://bit.ly/34kHbNu All about Rudy, Lev, Igor and Firtash, including a timeline

💙💙 NYT Editorial: Thanks, Whistle-Blower, Your Work Is Done http://nyti.ms/2Wh14lJ Whistle-blower complaint, annotated with corroboration

NBCNews, Josh Lederman: Impeachment hearings depict a quid pro quo that evolved over time http://nbcnews.to/347Ji7r
// After some 65 hours of testimony along with public comments from Trump, his aides and allies, a clear portrait is emerging.

WaPo Editorial: In Trump’s world, Syria is a success. In the real world, it’s a humiliation.

The Blacklist Declassified

Archive for the '3.3 Historical' Category

🔴 The Trump Files 2019

Trump🇷🇺Russia🇺🇦Ukraine

🇷🇺 Press Here For Recent (2023)

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2022

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2021

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2020

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2019 (below)

🇷🇺 Press Here For 7/26/2017 through 2018

📀 Press Here For Impeachment #1 Trial on Cspan (2020)

📀 Press Here For Impeachment #2 Trial on Cspan (2021)

📀 Press Here For January 6th Committee Hearings (2022)

Russian Intelligence Services:

Key Documents