Trump's Russian Collusion

[seacoaster]

David Jolly on Twitter:

"If GOP Senators were hoping Trump's defense team would provide them a dignified and reasonable justification to acquit the President, it's clear that's not going to happen. Senators are simply going to have to go full MAGA and own it in front of the nation."

And they did. Profiles in cowardice -- Romney, Collins, Alexander, Murkowski. Profiles in Venality and Submission -- Graham, McConnell, Blunt.

[kramerica.inc]

So why do you say that?

The vote to impeach Trump came about on (less than) party lines. The vote to acquit will likely happen on party lines too.

Watching the impeachment manager Val Demings blather on now, just Blindly reading the notes she was handed- It’s all a political show. A self-aggrandizing waste of time.

[MDlaxfan76]

So why do you say that?

The vote to impeach Trump came about on (less than) party lines. The vote to acquit will likely happen on party lines too.

Watching the impeachment manager Val Demings blather on now, just Blindly reading the notes she was handed- It’s all a political show. A self-aggrandizing waste of time.

hmmm, really Kram, that's who you choose to be dismissive about???

Former police chief of Orlando, married a fellow officer who is now the Mayor of Orlando.
Degree in criminology, masters in public administration.

You think she knows something about criminal law??

Nah, she's "just Blindly reading the notes she was handed".

BTW, only the 3rd Democrat to win her Florida district since 1973, and so popular she ran unopposed in 2018.

She's an impressive gal, IMO.
I don't have to agree with her on every issue to think so.

[Trinity]

Former Army Ranger Jason Crow is up now. When does massage-enthusiast Dersh get to fire back?

[jhu72]

Former Army Ranger Jason Crow is up now. When does massage-enthusiast Dersh get to fire back?

Was original scheduled for tomorrow, but suspect that is delayed by at least 24 hours now, given the change to schedule McConnell had to agree to.

[kramerica.inc]

So why do you say that?

The vote to impeach Trump came about on (less than) party lines. The vote to acquit will likely happen on party lines too.

Watching the impeachment manager Val Demings blather on now, just Blindly reading the notes she was handed- It’s all a political show. A self-aggrandizing waste of time.

hmmm, really Kram, that's who you choose to be dismissive about???

Former police chief of Orlando, married a fellow officer who is now the Mayor of Orlando.
Degree in criminology, masters in public administration.

You think she knows something about criminal law??

Nah, she's "just Blindly reading the notes she was handed".

BTW, only the 3rd Democrat to win her Florida district since 1973, and so popular she ran unopposed in 2018.

She's an impressive gal, IMO.
I don't have to agree with her on every issue to think so.

Did you watch Val at work? I don’t dispute her chops or resume to get there. But I just watched for 20+ minutes her blindly read notes she was handed. The good news is she hit those “points of emphasis” with the proper level of outrage. Kinda. Halfway through the sentence she was reading...lol

[seacoaster]

So why do you say that?

The vote to impeach Trump came about on (less than) party lines. The vote to acquit will likely happen on party lines too.

It's hard to believe that this is a serious question. I guess I'm focused on the merits of the case.

Since the Articles were approved by the House majority, what has surfaced only confirms the President’s abuse of the powers of the office, and have only established that it is almost certain that the information withheld from the Congress would confirm his high crimes. There are at least these facts now available to the Senate in addition to the record that the House was able to assemble:

· Emails and communications from and with the OMB, confirming that there was “clear direction from POTUS to continue to hold” the aid earmarked for Ukrainian security against the Russians;

· Former National Security Advisor John Bolton (who, according to Hill, sent her to find out what kind of “drug deal Mulvaney and Sondland are cooking up”) volunteers to testify if subpoenaed, and his lawyer says he has new information;

· Giuliani associate and Trump photography buddy, Lev Parnas, agrees to empty his phone, hand over documents, and grants interviews, and most of the information provided corroborates or is consistent with the sworn facts already in the record; and

· The Government Accounting Office declares that President Trump violated the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and that the violation of the law – the failure to adhere to the directive of a co-equal branch of government to disburse appropriated aid – had constitutionally significant, separation of powers consequences.

All of this, sitting atop the testimony of:

· Ambassador Sondland (“was there a quid pro quo?…. The answer is ‘yes’. Everyone was in the loop; it was no secret”);

· Ambassador William Taylor (“Ambassador Sondland told me that he had recommended to President Zelenskyy that he use the phrase, 'I will leave no stone unturned' with regard to 'investigations' when President Zelenskyy spoke with President Trump”);

· Ambassador George Kent (”In mid-August, it became clear to me that Giuliani’s efforts to gin up politically-motivated investigations were now infecting U.S. engagement with Ukraine, leveraging President Zelenskyy’s desire for a White House meeting”);

· Former Deputy Assistant to the President for Russia and European Affairs, Fiona Hill (Sondland “was…involved in a domestic political errand, and we were…involved in national security foreign policy, and those two things had just diverged”); and

Political Counselor in Ukraine David Holmes (“Ambassador Sondland replied, Yes, he was in Ukraine, and went on to state that President Zelensky, quote, unquote, “loves your ass.” I then heard President Trump ask, quote, “So he’s going to do the investigation?” unquote. Ambassador Sondland replied that, “He’s going to do it, “adding that President Zelenskyy wiIl, quote, “do anything you ask him to”).

The Senate has the power to overcome the President's obstruction, to dig deeper, hear from Bolton, Giuliani, Mulvaney and others to confirm or add to these facts. But the Senate GOP majority doesn’t really want know what happened – probably because it knows all too well that the President did exactly what the House says he did, and knows that it warrants his removal from this highest and most fiduciary of offices in our Republic. They're cowards, and tiny men and women groveling in submission to Dear Leader.

[MDlaxfan76]

So why do you say that?

The vote to impeach Trump came about on (less than) party lines. The vote to acquit will likely happen on party lines too.

Watching the impeachment manager Val Demings blather on now, just Blindly reading the notes she was handed- It’s all a political show. A self-aggrandizing waste of time.

hmmm, really Kram, that's who you choose to be dismissive about???

Former police chief of Orlando, married a fellow officer who is now the Mayor of Orlando.
Degree in criminology, masters in public administration.

You think she knows something about criminal law??

Nah, she's "just Blindly reading the notes she was handed".

BTW, only the 3rd Democrat to win her Florida district since 1973, and so popular she ran unopposed in 2018.

She's an impressive gal, IMO.
I don't have to agree with her on every issue to think so.

Did you watch Val at work? I don’t dispute her chops or resume to get there. But I just watched for 20+ minutes her blindly read notes she was handed. The good news is she hit those “points of emphasis” with the proper level of outrage. Kinda. Halfway through the sentence she was reading...lol

hmmm, who is not reading?

She's the only non-lawyer in the group. Most former prosecutors.
I'm watching former Army Ranger, bronze star, Jason Crow now and he's following a script too.

So, why dismiss Demmings?

[Kismet]

The only speaker I've seen that wasn't reading from notes was Schiff although Sekulow might have also done it from time to time.

I'm actually surprised that Cipollone did not correct the record on his obvious prevarication regarding Republican House members not being allowed in the SCIF for depositions despite Schiff giving him the opportunity to correct the record without blasting him for lying.

[Typical Lax Dad]

So why do you say that?

The vote to impeach Trump came about on (less than) party lines. The vote to acquit will likely happen on party lines too.

It's hard to believe that this is a serious question. I guess I'm focused on the merits of the case.

Since the Articles were approved by the House majority, what has surfaced only confirms the President’s abuse of the powers of the office, and have only established that it is almost certain that the information withheld from the Congress would confirm his high crimes. There are at least these facts now available to the Senate in addition to the record that the House was able to assemble:

· Emails and communications from and with the OMB, confirming that there was “clear direction from POTUS to continue to hold” the aid earmarked for Ukrainian security against the Russians;

· Former National Security Advisor John Bolton (who, according to Hill, sent her to find out what kind of “drug deal Mulvaney and Sondland are cooking up”) volunteers to testify if subpoenaed, and his lawyer says he has new information;

· Giuliani associate and Trump photography buddy, Lev Parnas, agrees to empty his phone, hand over documents, and grants interviews, and most of the information provided corroborates or is consistent with the sworn facts already in the record; and

· The Government Accounting Office declares that President Trump violated the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and that the violation of the law – the failure to adhere to the directive of a co-equal branch of government to disburse appropriated aid – had constitutionally significant, separation of powers consequences.

All of this, sitting atop the testimony of:

· Ambassador Sondland (“was there a quid pro quo?…. The answer is ‘yes’. Everyone was in the loop; it was no secret”);

· Ambassador William Taylor (“Ambassador Sondland told me that he had recommended to President Zelenskyy that he use the phrase, 'I will leave no stone unturned' with regard to 'investigations' when President Zelenskyy spoke with President Trump”);

· Ambassador George Kent (”In mid-August, it became clear to me that Giuliani’s efforts to gin up politically-motivated investigations were now infecting U.S. engagement with Ukraine, leveraging President Zelenskyy’s desire for a White House meeting”);

· Former Deputy Assistant to the President for Russia and European Affairs, Fiona Hill (Sondland “was…involved in a domestic political errand, and we were…involved in national security foreign policy, and those two things had just diverged”); and

Political Counselor in Ukraine David Holmes (“Ambassador Sondland replied, Yes, he was in Ukraine, and went on to state that President Zelensky, quote, unquote, “loves your ass.” I then heard President Trump ask, quote, “So he’s going to do the investigation?” unquote. Ambassador Sondland replied that, “He’s going to do it, “adding that President Zelenskyy wiIl, quote, “do anything you ask him to”).

The Senate has the power to overcome the President's obstruction, to dig deeper, hear from Bolton, Giuliani, Mulvaney and others to confirm or add to these facts. But the Senate GOP majority doesn’t really want know what happened – probably because it knows all too well that the President did exactly what the House says he did, and knows that it warrants his removal from this highest and most fiduciary of offices in our Republic. They're cowards, and tiny men and women groveling in submission to Dear Leader.

Trying to have a fact based debate with Kool-aid drinkers is a waste of time.

[ToastDunk]

Shifty-Schiff is a f****** rock star.

Trump’s legal team is going to have to take him out.

Let me be clear, the Republicans are going to acquit Trump. Full stop. But they’re going to look silly doing it. Might/should haunt each and every one of them going forward.

[Trinity]

James Risch R-Idaho, was the first lawmaker seen by Washington Post reporters to clearly have fallen asleep, about four hours after the trial proceedings began Tuesday.”

Also:
Sekelow ranting and strutting about “lawyer lawsuits” might because he mis-heard Val say FOIA Lawsuits and completely lost the thread. “Lawyer lawsuits? That’s outrageous! How dare you!”

[njbill]

When does massage-enthusiast Dersh get to fire back?

I sure hope he keeps his underwear on when he speaks.

[DocBarrister]

Great presentation by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

DocBarrister

[jhu72]

Just dawned on me, we haven't seen much of Mullvaney the past three months. Guessing he is gone after the impeachment trial is over.

[kramerica.inc]

So why do you say that?

The vote to impeach Trump came about on (less than) party lines. The vote to acquit will likely happen on party lines too.

Watching the impeachment manager Val Demings blather on now, just Blindly reading the notes she was handed- It’s all a political show. A self-aggrandizing waste of time.

hmmm, really Kram, that's who you choose to be dismissive about???

Former police chief of Orlando, married a fellow officer who is now the Mayor of Orlando.
Degree in criminology, masters in public administration.

You think she knows something about criminal law??

Nah, she's "just Blindly reading the notes she was handed".

BTW, only the 3rd Democrat to win her Florida district since 1973, and so popular she ran unopposed in 2018.

She's an impressive gal, IMO.
I don't have to agree with her on every issue to think so.

Did you watch Val at work? I don’t dispute her chops or resume to get there. But I just watched for 20+ minutes her blindly read notes she was handed. The good news is she hit those “points of emphasis” with the proper level of outrage. Kinda. Halfway through the sentence she was reading...lol

hmmm, who is not reading?

She's the only non-lawyer in the group. Most former prosecutors.
I'm watching former Army Ranger, bronze star, Jason Crow now and he's following a script too.

So, why dismiss Demmings?

Like Val’s blind talking points, my answer is highlighted for emphasis.

[kramerica.inc]

Great presentation by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

DocBarrister

The good news is Hakeem got his free commemorative impeachment pen from Nancy for playing along. So he can consider it a job well done. He’s happy.

[seacoaster]

Great presentation by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

DocBarrister

The good news is Hakeem got his free commemorative impeachment pen from Nancy for playing along. So he can consider it a job well done. He’s happy.

Cosmo blithely whistling past the graveyard of the rule of law....

[Typical Lax Dad]

Great presentation by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

DocBarrister

The good news is Hakeem got his free commemorative impeachment pen from Nancy for playing along. So he can consider it a job well done. He’s happy.

Val and Hakeem the only two Dems that spoke?

[Trinity]

Pupura, dunked on. Next? PamBo?