Stunts like this make me wonder what else is being hidden.
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WTF WTF WTF
Trey Gowdy - will represent T.
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This world just got a LOT more bizarre.
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“Given that your inquiry lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation, any pretense of fairness, or even the most elementary due process protections, the executive branch cannot be expected to participate in it,” Cipollone wrote.
The Trump administration’s latest assault on House Democrats’ myriad investigations sets up yet another constitutional clash between the executive and legislative branches — one with far-reaching implications over the powers of the presidency and of Congress.
“All of this violates the Constitution, the rule of law, and every past precedent. Never before in our history has the House of Representatives — under the control of either political party — taken the American people down the dangerous path you seem determined to pursue,” Cipollone added.
In particular, Cipollone took issue with the fact that the House has not formally voted to authorize the establishment of an impeachment inquiry, calling it a violation of due process.
“In the history of our nation, the House of Representatives has never attempted to launch an impeachment inquiry against the president without a majority of the House taking political accountability for that decision by voting to authorize such a dramatic constitutional step,” he wrote.
Cipollone also echoed Republicans’ criticisms of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), whose staff had previous contact with the whistleblower who first sounded the alarm about Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
“Anyone who was involved in the preparation or submission of the whistleblower’s complaint cannot possibly act as a fair and impartial judge in the same matter - particularly after misleading the American people about his involvement,” Cipollone wrote.
The eight-page letter reads more like a political document than a legal one, echoing many of President Donald Trump’s claims about the House Democrats who are investigating him. It also calls on Democrats to dismantle the process they set up to impeach Trump over allegations that he abused his power by pressuring Ukrainian leaders to help discredit his political rivals.
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NYT is reporting Trey Gowdy is NOT confirmed…but expected to be.
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Wanna bet if the House does take the official leap that they’ll find another excuse?
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It’s seems like no one knows what’s going on with Trey Gowdy. 
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Pelosi speaks
Giuliani Bails on testimony
Sen Kerry (former sec of State)
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Trump told Perry and State Department officials to talk to Giuliani about Ukraine
The stench keeps getting stronger every hour.
It has become abundantly clear that Trump used his personal lawyer to conduct foreign policy, circumventing official channels and undermining the State Department. That alone should be enough to impeach him and remove him from office.
President Donald Trump directed Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and two top State Department officials to deal with his private attorney Rudy Giuliani when the Ukrainian President sought to meet Trump, in a clear circumvention of official channels, according to two sources familiar with the conversation.
Trump believed Ukraine was still rampantly corrupt and said that if President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted to meet with him, Giuliani would have to be convinced first, one source said.
“If they can satisfy Rudy, they can satisfy the President,” a person familiar with the meeting said.
Trump’s push to have Giuliani as gatekeeper is more direct than what was previously disclosed by one of the meeting’s participants in his statement to the House last week. It also further demonstrates how significant Giuliani was in brokering access to the President regarding Ukraine policy and in passing messages to other administration officials.
…
A key accusation in the whistleblower’s complaint that has prompted the impeachment probe into the President’s dealings with Ukraine is that Giuliani, a private citizen, had been presenting to Ukraine a US policy different than that from US diplomats.
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I was out for game night. The world went crazy.
Here is Trump reporting what Faux News said… about what was told to them by Trump’s own cronies. It is a shameless effort to smear Robert Mueller with zero corroboration or evidence.
It is literally this:
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Pelosi Statement on Trump Administration Refusal to Comply with House Subpoenas
Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement when the White House asserted that the Administration will not comply with House Committee subpoenas as part of the impeachment inquiry, making false claims about the Constitution, House rules and House precedent:
“For a while, the President has tried to normalize lawlessness. Now, he is trying to make lawlessness a virtue. The American people have already heard the President’s own words – ‘do us a favor, though.’ The President’s actions threaten our national security, violate our Constitution and undermine the integrity of our elections. The White House letter is only the latest attempt to cover up his betrayal of our democracy, and to insist that the President is above the law.
“This letter is manifestly wrong, and is simply another unlawful attempt to hide the facts of the Trump Administration’s brazen efforts to pressure foreign powers to intervene in the 2020 elections. Despite the White House’s stonewalling, we see a growing body of evidence that shows that President Trump abused his office and violated his oath to ‘protect, preserve and defend the Constitution.’
“The White House should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the President’s abuse of power from the American people will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction.
“Mr. President, you are not above the law. You will be held accountable.”
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DOJ argues courts would decide famed Nixon Watergate case differently today
The Trump administration argued Tuesday that courts would make a different decision today than 45 years ago when a federal judge gave Congress a secret grand jury report on evidence in the Watergate scandal – prompting the current top judge in Washington’s federal court to exclaim, "Wow."
[…]
Democrats say they do not need to pass a resolution to begin a formal impeachment inquiry and want a federal judge to force the administration to turn over information it’s holding back. The White House and congressional Republicans have argued that explicit House approval is necessary – and have rested on the lack of a vote as a way to stop House proceedings, including blocking European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland from testifying Tuesday to a House panel.
An ‘extraordinary’ exchange
Howell raised the question of a key court decision during Watergate that allowed Congress to gain access to a secret grand jury report on President Richard Nixon, now known as the “Watergate road map.”
Howell cut off the Justice Department lawyer who was arguing the administration could withhold grand jury secrets from Congress.
"Was former Judge Sirica wrong" for releasing the Watergate road map to the House, Howell asked twice, raising her voice.
She was referring to Judge John Sirica of the same court, who became one of Nixon’s greatest foils during Watergate. Sirica had ruled to give the secret grand jury report to Congress as it investigated Nixon, and the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his decision.
Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Shapiro didn’t give a direct answer. Instead, she said the Nixon-era judge wasn’t wrong at the time of Watergate but that the Watergate grand jury ruling by the court may have been decided differently if it were considered today.
"Wow," Howell said. "The department is taking an extraordinary position in this case."
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Is Trey is or is Trey ain’t Trump’s baby?
Looks like it’s both. He is going to unofficially consult from the outside, comes the latest report.
Facebook has denied the Biden campaign’s request to remove a false Ukraine ad by Trump campaign. That’s right: Facebook is deliberately leaving a false story UP.
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An old story that bears posting given the current state of things and Congressional subpoena power.
In 2015 the GOP changed subpoena rules to grant congress wider latitude in using them.
Fast-forward today and now the Democratic House is putting that to use, and the GOP is fuming.
Dems blast House GOP subpoena rules change
The White House letter to House Democrats urges them to “abandon” the impeachment inquiry. Here’s some information about the legal arguments the Trump administration is making against the inquiry.
Five facts that blow up the latest White House defense of Trump
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Fascism, here we come…
Lindsey Graham demands GOPers sign Trump loyalty oath because impeachment ‘is about to destroy this nation’
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Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday called for President Trump’s impeachment for the first time, blistering Mr. Trump as a threat to American democracy and accusing him of “shooting holes in the Constitution.”
Escalating his language in an effort to rebut Mr. Trump’s unfounded claims about his actions with Ukraine, Mr. Biden set aside months of restraint to demand Congress move against the president.
“To preserve our Constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity, he should be impeached,” the former vice president told supporters here, accusing Mr. Trump of having “betrayed this nation.”
Mr. Biden linked Mr. Trump’s false claims to the so-called Big Lie idea promulgated by the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. “You say it long enough, often enough, people may believe it,” he said, invoking Goebbels by name.
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FFS
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-record-support-for-trump-impeachment
This is impressive…51% wants him impeached and removed. 
Just over half of voters want President Trump impeached and removed from office, according to a Fox News Poll released Wednesday.
A new high of 51 percent wants Trump impeached and removed from office, another 4 percent want him impeached but not removed, and 40 percent oppose impeachment altogether. In July, 42 percent favored impeachment and removal, while 5 percent said impeach but don’t remove him, and 45 percent opposed impeachment.
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Here comes Fiona Hill, former T WH Russian expert due to testify Monday 10.14.19. I had thought she may have been the whistle blower, but we learned the WB was part of the CIA. She is a Russian hawk…and may have a take on what was being said about Ukraine.
The House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine have requested that his former Russia advisor Fiona Hill appear for a deposition on Oct. 14, as well as turn over several documents dating back to January 2017.
Context: Hill left her role as Trump’s top Russia aide in August, although she had wrapped up most of her work by mid-July. It’s unclear how much she knew about the controversial July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is at the center of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
- Hill, a longstanding policy expert and critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, served under both H.R. McMaster and John Bolton on the National Security Council.
What to watch: The White House made it clear in a letter to House Democratic leaders on Tuesday that it has no plans to cooperate with the committees’ interview or document requests.
- It was unclear as of Wednesday evening whether the Trump administration plans to block Hill from complying.
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