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The Impeachment of President Donald J. Trump

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#616

Sen. Chris Murphy met with Ukrainian President – Confirms the leader was concerned that aid was being withheld

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrr0iwY_O1k

Sen. Chris Murphy visited Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, during the time when Trump was holding up aid that Congress had allocated to them. Murphy said that the very first thing Zelensky brought up was his concerns about the aid and the fact that it was being held up. This is very telling because it means Trump did not explicitly need to mention the aid while he was pressuring Zelensky to investigate (frame?) Joe Biden and his son.

During the phone call, the aid that was being withheld would have been the 600 pound gorilla on the line. As Trump pushed the Ukrainian President eight times to investigate Biden, it would have been obvious to Zelensky that the way to get the aid released (which they desperately needed to combat Russia’s aggression) would be to submit to Trump’s demands and investigate Biden.

In addition, it would have been obvious to Zelensky that Trump expected the investigation to conclude that Joe Biden was guilty. Surely the aid would not be released if Zelensky came back to Trump with a report exonerating the Bidens. Hence, it would not be an unbiased investigation, but a set up.

Excerpts from the Meet the Press transcript:

CHUCK TODD:

And joining me now is Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who actually recently met with President Zelensky in Ukraine. Senator Murphy, welcome back to Meet the Press.

SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

Good morning.

CHUCK TODD:

All right. So tell, tell me what your conversation was like with the president because I believe you met with him before the aid was released.

SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

Right.

CHUCK TODD:

And it was during this time that the aid passed by Congress but for some reason was being held up by the administration. You were – tell me was this meeting in Kiev, number one? And what was the circumstances?

SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

So I went to Kiev in part because I had heard these concerns from my friends there, that the government and Zelensky personally was really worried about these overtures he was getting in particular from Rudy Giuliani. And he didn’t understand whether this was an official government position, these requests to investigate the former vice president. So I went there to make it clear to him that the worst thing that he could do for the U.S.-Ukraine relationship was to get involved in an election here in the United States. I will say what was interesting to me was that he dispensed with the diplomatic protocols of that meeting. As soon as we sat down at the table in the presidential palace, he asked us what was going on with the aid, why was it being withheld.

He seemed very concerned and I think out of sorts about it. And then later in the meeting I raised with him these overtures from the Trump campaign. He gave me a very strong answer. He said they had no intention to get involved in an American election. They knew what damage it would do to them. And I left that meeting fairly confident that he understood.

CHUCK TODD:

What did the Trump administration tell you officially when you were trying to figure out why – what the holdup was?

SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

So the reason that was given in particular to Senator Johnson, who I was there with.

CHUCK TODD:

Ron Johnson, Republican from Wisconsin.

SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

Republican from Wisconsin who had talked with the president shortly before our visit to Kiev. The reason that was given was that the president was concerned about corruption in Ukraine and he thought that the Europeans should be providing the aid instead of the United States. Those were the two reasons that were stated to us as we went. The embassy there didn’t seem to have really a readout from the White House at all when we asked them about it.

CHUCK TODD:

Do you have any reason to believe that the aid was suddenly released in connection with the discovery of this whistleblower complaint into the public?

SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY:

I mean, the timing is obviously incredibly suspicious. …

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#617

Tuesday morning and it’s already up to 147:

:muscle:

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#618

Another bizarre claim from Giuliani…

This is either the truth or a lie – either way it’s bad news for Giuliani and his client (co-conspirator?), Trump.

  1. If true, it’s a five-alarm State Department scandal. Since when does the State Department enlist private citizens to conduct foreign policy? Did Pompeo authorize this? If so, he should resign immediately and if he doesn’t, he should be impeached along with Trump. And while we’re at it, we should ask, did Pompeo sign off on the additional $140 million that Trump kicked in following his release of the original $250 million of aid to Ukraine? Those funds came from the State Department. Another possible impeachable offense by Pompeo.

  2. If it’s not true, then it’s more evidence that Giuliani is flagrantly lying about what was really going on with Trump’s “corruption investigation” in Ukraine.

Whether it’s 1) or 2) this is just one more reason we need to start the impeachment process against Trump so we can uncover the truth about this alleged corruption that threatens our national security.

Rudy Giuliani told Sean Hannity on Fox News Monday night that his recent dealings with Ukraine were initiated by the State Department.

“The State Department called me and said would I take a call from Mr. [Andriy] Yermak, who’s number two or three to the president-elect who is now the president,” said Giuliani, one of President Trump’s personal attorneys.

Giuliani said he then spoke with Yermak and that he then passed along the “enormously important facts” to the State Department.

When reached for comment, a State Department spokesperson said: "Mr. Giuliani is a private citizen and acts in a personal capacity as a lawyer for President Trump. He does not speak on behalf of the U.S. Government."

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#619

:eyes:

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#620

Watch :point_down:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?464684-1/speaker-pelosi-makes-announcement-impeachment&live

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#621

Cross-posting for the wiki :pray: (will update tomorrow hopefully)

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#622

great job…

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#623

Pelosi, Hoyer Announce Floor Consideration of Resolution Regarding Whistleblower Complaint

Washington, D.C. – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer released the following joint statement today:

“Allegations that the President of the United States sought to enlist a foreign government to interfere in our democratic process by investigating one of his political rivals – and may have used the withholding of Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance days earlier as intimidation – are deeply alarming. It is imperative that the Acting Director of National Intelligence provide Congress the complaint, as specified under the law, and all requests for documents and testimony relating to this allegation. Furthermore, the whistleblower who brought this matter to the attention of the American people must be protected.

“On Wednesday, the House will vote on a resolution making it clear Congress’s disapproval of the Administration’s effort to block the release of the complaint and the need to protect the whistleblower. This is not a partisan matter, it’s about the integrity of our democracy, respect for the rule of law and defending our Constitution. We hope that all Members of the House – Democrats and Republicans alike – will join in upholding the rule of law and oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution as Representatives of the American people.”

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#624

FYI guys, it’s not clear if there will be a formal vote to open a new inquiry or if they will create a select committee or if there will be a full house vote to bring articles of impeachment. I think the only thing that has clearly changed today is the position of the Speaker of the House on impeachment.

I’m thinking this is full steam ahead on impeachment, which is great news for the committee’s already hard at work. So far it looks like Nancy will be using the existing framework of committees, launching impeachment from the Judiciary Committee.

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#625

The number of Dems (and one Independent) has been skyrocketing forward for the Impeachment process to begin. 218 votes needed to Impeach.

167 House Democrats and 1 independent publicly support launching an impeachment inquiry against President Trump, according to an Axios analysis.

Driving the news: Allegations that Trump may have pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Joe Biden have unleashed a new wave of calls to impeach Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will meet Tuesday with the 6 committee chairs leading different strands of the Trump investigation, before a full caucus meeting about impeachment at 4 p.m. ET.

Why it matters: One summer phone call by President Trump is proving to be more of an impeachment catalyst for House Democrats than two years of drip-drip revelations from Robert Mueller’s investigation. An overwhelming majority of House Democrats now support an impeachment inquiry against Trump.

The big picture: The total jumped after Trump hurled racist attacks against a group of congresswomen of color who had criticized his immigration policy. A major uptick emerged in the aftermath of Robert Mueller’s late May statement, and again after the former special counsel’s Capitol Hill testimony in July. The total was at 80 members as of June.

The bottom line: Pelosi has long wagered that impeachment would be fruitless without overwhelming public support.

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#626

Calling it like it is…Presidential Candidate/Rep Tim Ryan (D-OH)

and Rep Justin Amash (I-MI) - another truth teller

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#627

:eyes:

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#628

The magic number for a simple majority in the House is 218. Conviction and removal of a president would require 67 votes in the Senate.

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#629

Funny

The Senate voted via unanimous consent on Tuesday on a resolution calling for the Trump administration to release to the Senate Intelligence Committee a whistleblower complaint that allegedly involves President Trump and Ukraine.

Why it matters: The resolution is non-binding, but it’s a rare show of bipartisanship on an issue that threatens to spark an official impeachment proceeding in the House. The House will vote on a similar resolution on Wednesday. The Senate Intelligence Committee has opened a bipartisan investigation into the complaint and is currently in talks to bring in the whistleblower for a closed-door testimony.

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#630

Pushback from Majority Leader McConnell on today’s Impeachment Inquiry announcement from House Leader Pelosi. Same old line, which is also echoed by Kevin McCarthy…Sour grapes from Dems at the loss of the 2016 election and are hellbent on Impeachment.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called today’s announcement of a formal impeachment inquiry a "rush to judgment" by “Washington Democrats” who are determined to impeach President Trump.

"It simply confirms that House Democrats’ priority is not making life better for the American people but their nearly three-year-old fixation on impeachment," he said.

Read McConnell’s full statement:

“Washington Democrats have been searching for ways to reverse their 2016 election defeat since before President Trump was even inaugurated.

The result has been a two-and-a-half-year impeachment parade in search of a rationale. When investigations by Special Counsel Mueller and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence deflated their breathless accusations of a campaign conspiracy with Russia, Democrats have simply shifted to new arguments for their predetermined conclusion.

Speaker Pelosi’s much-publicized efforts to restrain her far-left conference have finally crumbled. House Democrats cannot help themselves. Instead of working together across party lines on legislation to help American families and strengthen our nation, they will descend even deeper into their obsession with relitigating 2016.

This rush to judgment comes just a few hours after President Trump offered to release the details of his phone conversation with President Zelensky. It comes despite the fact that committee-level proceedings are already underway to address the whistleblower allegation through a fair, bipartisan, and regular process.

It simply confirms that House Democrats’ priority is not making life better for the American people but their nearly three-year-old fixation on impeachment.”

And Kevin McCarthy’s words (same link)

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for launching a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

“Speaker Pelosi happens to be the speaker of this House but she does not speak for America when it comes to this issue. She cannot decide unilaterally what happens here. They have been investigating this President before he even got elected,” he told reporters.

He criticized Democrats for going after Trump, saying, “This election is over.”

“It’s time to put the public before politics,” McCarthy said.

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#631

I’m torn over impeachment – because the Senate either will not act, or will go through the motions and acquit the Tweeter-in-Chief. Plus I think the Dems need to start emphasizing program over Trump. BTW – did you-all know that in England “trump” is slang for fart? True. When my then-young nephews came over with my late brother-in-law (stationed there in the Air Force) around 1958 they used it all the time – “I trumped!”

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#632

This is a new wrinkle…T called Pelosi today. Good job Nancy!:statue_of_liberty:

“The President actually said to Nancy Pelosi, ‘Hey, can we do something about this whistleblower complaint, can we work something out.’ And she said ‘Yes, you can tell your people to obey the law.’ So she quickly swatted that down." -

@HeidiNBC

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#633

And now the WH is releasing the Whistleblower report. Gee, was it all about not releasing the report? T does not want this inquiry to go to a vote…very bad for his re-election. Hmmmm.

White House preparing to release whistleblower complaint to Congress

Trump has approved releasing the document at the center of his latest standoff with lawmakers, a senior administration official said.

By NANCY COOK

09/24/2019 06:56 PM EDT

Updated 09/24/2019 08:03 PM EDT

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

The White House is preparing to release to Congress by the end of the week both the whistleblower complaint and the Inspector General report that are at the center of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, according to a senior administration official, reversing its position after withholding the documents from lawmakers.

The move shows the level of seriousness with which the administration is now approaching the House‘s new impeachment proceedings, even as President Donald Trump publicly tried to minimize the inquiry as a “witch hunt” or “presidential harassment,” or a move that will help him win his 2020 reelection campaign.

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#634

No guard rails on this impulsive President…he’s without any internal forces that might have blocked his guile and underhanded method of getting dirt on Biden.

He’s fired them all…except his pal Giuliani who according to this article inserted himself into the Ukraine issues, and forced some of the giving the Ukraines some heat to get some dirt on Biden, as well as punishing them for Manafort’s treatment (see black log book, which T claimed was falsified)

So Giuliani is talking about how the State Dept asked that he go to Ukraine and how the FBI could not do this…(on Laura Ingraham show - below)

I think this reveals that Bolton is at least a leaker.

But Trump admitted this week that he had done some of what his own advisers feared, using the call to raise the issue of Biden with Zelensky. And the wave of consternation triggered by that call led someone in the U.S. intelligence community to submit an extraordinary whistleblower complaint, setting in motion a sequence of events that now includes the start of an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives.

…

But Trump admitted this week that he had done some of what his own advisers feared, using the call to raise the issue of Biden with Zelensky. And the wave of consternation triggered by that call led someone in the U.S. intelligence community to submit an extraordinary whistleblower complaint, setting in motion a sequence of events that now includes the start of an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives.

Though the whistleblower report focuses on the Trump-
Zelensky call, officials familiar with its contents said that it includes references to other developments tied to the president, including efforts by Giuliani to insert himself into U.S.-Ukrainian relations.

Trump announced Tuesday that he would release a transcript of his call, insisting that it would show there was “NO quid pro quo!” and would reveal a conversation that was “friendly and totally appropriate.”

But even within Trump’s party, few have gone so far as to say they would consider it appropriate for the president to solicit foreign help in an American election. And his political fate may hinge on how lawmakers and the public assess not only his intentions on the call but also the actions of his subordinates in the events surrounding it.

U.S. officials described an atmosphere of intense pressure inside the NSC and other departments since the existence of the whistleblower complaint became known, with some officials facing suspicion that they had a hand either in the complaint or in relaying damaging information to the whistleblower, whose identity has not been revealed and who is entitled to legal protection.

…

Trump’s closest advisers, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who was ordered by Trump to suspend the aid to Ukraine, are also increasingly targets of internal finger-pointing. Mulvaney has agitated for foreign aid to be cut universally but has also stayed away from meetings with Giuliani and Trump, officials said. But the person who appears to have been more directly involved at nearly every stage of the entanglement with Ukraine is Giuliani.

“Rudy — he did all of this,” one U.S. official said. “This s—show that we’re in — it’s him injecting himself into the process.”

…

Several officials traced their initial concerns about the path of U.S.-Ukrainian relations to news reports and interviews granted by Giuliani in which he began to espouse views and concerns that did not appear connected to U.S. priorities or policy.

The former New York mayor appears to have seen Zelensky, a political neophyte elected president of Ukraine in April and sworn in in May, as a potential ally on two political fronts: punishing those Giuliani suspected of playing a role in exposing the Ukraine-related corruption of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and delivering political ammunition against Biden.

#635

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!

Yesterday Trump was telling us he held up the aid to Ukraine because of “the corruption.” Today, he probably realized the optics on that weren’t good since it played into the allegations that he was pressuring the Ukraine to drum up charges of corruption against Joe Biden’s son. So today, he came up with a completely different story. Now he’s really grumpy because “just the United States” is giving aid to Ukraine. “[Other countries] are not doing it.”

Well, it’s not surprising to discover that Trump’s claim that we are the only ones financially supporting Ukraine is total B.S. (see the E.U. response below) – but then Trump only has the vast resources of the State Department at his disposal. Guess he couldn’t pick up the phone to get the facts, but decided to soak up disinformation on Fox News instead – and base his new lie on that.

Trump is desperately trying to convince us that he didn’t hold up the aid as a way of pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on his political rival. He’s doing a dismal job of that. It’s hard to believe someone who first tells you one story and then abruptly bails on that story and concocts a new one that is equally unbelievable because it has no basis in reality.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday shifted his explanation for temporarily withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, citing what he criticized as a lack of similar financial contribution by other Western powers to the Eastern European nation.

Trump’s latest remarks are at odds with his assertion Monday that he denied the assistance because he feared bureaucratic corruption within Ukraine’s government. The new claim also comes after weekend reports that he repeatedly pressured newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a July phone call to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son.
…
“But my complaint has always been, and I’d withhold again, and I’ll continue to withhold until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine,” he continued. “Because they’re not doing it. Just the United States. We’re putting up the bulk of the money. And I’m asking, why is that?”
…
The president, who has long grumbled about U.S. expenditures toward international alliances, appeared to reprise that line of reasoning later Tuesday. Trump said he had vented his frustrations to several Cabinet officials, and singled out France and Germany as countries that should commit greater resources to Ukraine’s protection.

“I keep asking the same question," he told reporters, appearing alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "Why is it that the United States is always paying these foreign countries, and other foreign countries that, frankly, are much more affected, they’re not?”

But the European Union pushed back on Trump’s assertions in a statement Tuesday.

"The European Union’s support to Ukraine in the past 5 years has been unprecedented and consistent," said Maja Kocijancic, an EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy. "Since 2014, the EU and the European Financial Institutions have mobilized more than €15 billion in grants and loans to support the reform process, with strong conditionality on continued progress."

:lying_face:

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