In the months since the Mueller Report landed with a whimper and not a bang, I reentered my “not watching the news” phase and really lost any hope that anyone would actually do anything to or about Donald Trump. There was so much talk, months ago, about impeachment, the politics of impeachment and whether the House Democrats would be shooting themselves in the foot by running around on impeachment proceedings just to see it die in the Senate. It felt like too few people were making the case of “actually, we should open an impeachment inquiry because it’s simply the right thing to do and that’s how our country should work.”
My point is that I had lost hope. I’d lost hope to the point where I wasn’t even writing about the whistleblower situation, where an unnamed national security official/public servant grew so disturbed by Trump’s conversations with Ukrainian officials that he or she filed a complaint with the Director of National Intelligence. The complaint is being investigated by the inspector general for the intelligence community. The complaint revolved around “multiple acts” committed by Trump as he attempted to manipulate Ukrainian officials to investigate and/or manufacture a controversy around Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. There has been talk for a while that Hunter Biden did some shady work in or with Ukraine (something I’m not really clear on), but that’s neither here nor there. Donald Trump was once again colluding with a foreign government to “get dirt” on a political opponent and to punish a political opponent. In 2016, he colluded with Russia to dirty up Hillary Clinton. In 2019, he colluded with Ukraine – or attempted to collude – to dirty up Joe Biden.
I thought nothing would come of it, because f–k all came out of the 2016 collusion. But it looks like this situation actually bothered some people. Suddenly, in the past 48 hours, everything started to come together. And now Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has opened a formal impeachment inquiry.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Tuesday that the House would begin a formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump, saying that he had betrayed his oath of office and the nation’s security in seeking to enlist a foreign power for his own political gain.
“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,” she said after emerging from a meeting of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol. Mr. Trump, she said, “must be held accountable — no one is above the law.”
The announcement was a stunning development that unfolded after months of caution by House Democrats, who have been divided over using the ultimate remedy to address what they have called flagrant misconduct by the president…In this case, with an avalanche of Democrats — including many who had resisted the move — now demanding it, Ms. Pelosi said that Mr. Trump’s reported actions, and his administration’s refusal to share details about the matter with Congress, have left the House no alternative outside of impeachment.
At issue are allegations that Mr. Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son. The conversation is said to be part of a whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress. Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he would authorize the release of a transcript of the conversation, practically daring Democrats to try to find an impeachable offense in a conversation that he has called “perfect.” But Democrats, after months of holding back, demanded the full whistle-blower complaint, even as they pushed toward an expansive impeachment inquiry that could encompass unrelated charges.
“The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” Ms. Pelosi said.
The president, in New York for several days of international diplomacy at the United Nations, issued a defiant response on Twitter, in a series of fuming posts that culminated with a simple phrase: “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!”
I’m going to make the choice not to grumble about how this should have been done long ago. Chris Hayes posited the theory that Pelosi waited until her caucus was on the same page AND Trump’s offenses were perfectly clear and easy to understand by the public. I could make the case that Trump’s offenses were easy to understand in 2016 when he publicly asked Russia to get Hillary’s emails, but whatever, I get it – the smoking gun is that Trump was personally requesting dirt from Ukrainian authorities. And as for “the transcript” that he will allegedly release… the whistleblower says it was more than one call, more than one request. Anyway… my impeachment party hats were gathering dust, so I might have to buy some new ones. *throws a batch of old impeachment confetti*
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Please, please let this be it.
Good.
Yes. Very.
Hallelujah!
It should be a national holiday.
My husband put out our flag!
Love Giddy’s comment! <3
Haha Giddy!
The beginning of the end? I hope so.
My fingers and toes are crossed.
I’m crossing my eyes for you. He wanted a fight… but not holding my breath. And, aw, his bromance with our twat of a prime minister seems to be over. 😢
I hope so as well……I just want him gone from that office……his rabbit supporters will still vote for him, no matter what!!! He desecrated that office with his vile character!!! his wife is no different……a woman with almost no substance
Impeachment confetti 🎉🎉🎉🎉 lol
Jason Johnson had a good point on Ari Melber last night – something like “turns out Nancy Pelosi does know how to count.” She didn’t announce this until she knew it was going to be successful. And other pundits were saying that last night too – part of the reason Trump and the white house are so freaked out right now is because Pelosi wouldn’t have announced this unless she was really sure she could get the articles of impeachment passed.
And this phone call IS simpler to understand for a lot of people. Its not like the Russian collusion, where there were a lot of moving parts and besides the “Russia, get her emails,” there was a lot of wiggle room for Trump to act like he did nothing. This is much clearer. trump asked Ukraine for help investigating a political opponent. Trump has admitted that! And I’m sure a lot more is going to come out as the House moves forward.
I have seen some comments about how Trump welcomes the inquiry, because he thinks its going to help him in the polls, like Clinton (since the impeachment probably did help the Dems take back the House in 1998), but Clinton was not up for re-election at the time (despite what Meghan McCain says) and there’s clearly a difference between national security issues and lying during a deposition*. (especially since we already know Trump obstructed justice.)
*Clinton was in the wrong, but I hope we can all still acknowledge that there IS a difference.
I agree with everything you’ve said here, Becks. I think they genuinely are expecting a boost at the polls, but I sincerely hope this doesn’t go the way of Clinton.
I think Pelosi is ready to just end it, and she’s willing to die on this particular hill if you know what I mean.
See also: The OpEd from the Group of 7 freshman House Dems who were on the fence as they are in vulnerable swing districts. That they have military / intel backgrounds bolsters their joint OpEd.
@toi – that op ed definitely helped a lot. Not jus the op/ed itself, but having those 7 Dems support impeachment. Those are some of the ones who may lose their seats over this, so it says a lot that they are willing to go the distance here.
Two of them were on Chris Matthews last night and he specifically asked them how they were going to “sell” impeachment to their constituents, and they had very good answers about national security and the military, which I think will bolster their position.
AOC dragged her caucus kicking and screaming by calling them out on Twitter for in action. 48 hours later, they agreed to start impeachment.
eyeroll.
Pelosi calls the shots and no one drags her anywhere.
I admire AOC so much. I disagree with her on many things but she has been a powerful force and I am proud of my home state for sending her to DC where she has made a huge difference.
Pelosi could wipe the floor with AOC, all with a smile on her face.
I love AOC, but I completely trust Pelosi on this one. She’s knows what she’s doing and she’s waited for the right time for this. I really don’t think this one was AOC’s influence.
The impeachment inquiry didn’t happen because of AOC, let’s not kid ourselves.
Thanks, you all had nicer responses than I did, lol. I like AOC, and her being so vocal doesn’t hurt, but this was a calculated move on Pelosi’s part. She’s not doing it bc of AOC.
“Pelosi calls the shots and no one drags her anywhere.”
Was busy at work so didn’t have a chance to respond. However no, Pelosi was dragged. She was against impeachment yesterday and is still against impeachment. I’ve followed on and off record interviews from Congress for the past week. She is spreading the inquiry amongst multiple committees hoping to slow it down instead of just the judicial committee who are already ahead of the curve and don’t have to start from scratch.
Review any interviews or articles written on Pelosi in the past week even after the whistle blower information came out. She still wanted to let Trump go. No, it wasn’t only AOC, I never said that. However because Trump and Pelosi elevated her and the squad, regular news covers her tweets. The group of 7 who wrote to impeach, started talking on the phone with each after the progressive left has been putting public pressure. I saw their interview yesterday on CNN.
Again, AOC and others are now speaking out against Pelosi’s new tactic of spreading out the inquiry to slow it down. She does *NOT* want a vote to take place before elections. In her heart of hearts, she overlearned from the Bill Clinton incident and thinks Trump will become more popular under impeachment. She forgot that a Democrat didn’t win the election after Clinton and that Trump has foot in mouth disease.
P.S. Chairman Jerry Nadler is a prominent member of the old guard who has been reported to be pushing Pelosi behind the scenes. The disrespect his committee got from Corey Lewandowski was over the line. So even he realized that the lowest of the low member of Team Trump feels free to blow him off.
Pelosi didn’t like the push, and he also was not part of the meeting held by Pelosi. Nadler’s committee should be the only one dealing with the impeachment hearing.
The thing about 2016 was he had a lot of middle men working on behalf of him so he can plausibly deny he ever asked for interference. However now, there’s a whistleblower testimony and his just released probably doctored transcript of that call (didnt help him what were these clowns thinking?). Very simple to understand and a stronger case. He used our money to enrich himself.
Or Nancy waited until we are nearing the election and tip the election in Democrats favour.
Nancy is a political genius who knows how to play the game.
this was something I was thinking too.
Nancy is going make those Rs go on the record in support of this president months before the election. She’s going to make them go on record and say that he did nothing wrong, this is totally normal, nothing to see here, etc.
That may have worked for other things in the Trump administration, but this Ukraine situation is different.
I really thought that too. I mean people were pushing her but she waited and waited (and so many of us worldwide were frustrated) … and she stood her ground, because she knows the game better than anyone. Here’s hoping
And she is also forcing them to stand by their man or bail out now because if they won’t have much time to prop up an alternative candidate.
OT, Lightpurple-Markey or Kennedy. As an outside observer, it seems to me that Markey’s done a good job and I hate to see him primaried, but I don’t know all Mass politics. Now, back to impeachment.
@Jerusha, that one is going to be difficult for me. I have known Ed Markey since I was a little girl. He registered me to vote. Going up to the Senate seems to have really revitalized him, especially on the Green New Deal, which has always been an important issue for him. But I also adore Joe Kennedy, who is just the sweetest, kindest, most earnest man, truly committed to making the world a better, more just place. Kennedy is making a crafty, early, strategic move here. If Warren wins the presidency or is appointed to a Cabinet position, it is going to be a political free-for-all to replace her in a special election. There are a number of strong, younger, up and comers jostling for position here. Ayanna Pressley showed they don’t have to wait their turn when she took out Capuano. Kennedy probably sees this as his best chance to move up while taking on only one strong opponent (Markey). If he fails and Warren moves on, he can challenge again for her seat, in a more crowded field, or he can run for Governor in 2022, something a Kennedy hasn’t done.
The only MA politician I see who isn’t jockeying to move up into a statewide position is Katherine Clark, who is pretty high up in House leadership. She may have her sights set on the Speaker’s chair.
It sounds like a really difficult decision. It reminds me of 1986 when voters in Atlanta had to choose between challenger John Lewis and incumbent Julian Bond. If only we were all lucky enough to have to choose between quality vs quality:
It’s all about the timing. It’s likely that the impeachment hearings could be at the same time as the primaries.
I’m just relieved that the formal impeachment process are starting for Trump. I’d be happier if something was in the works to get rid of Pence as well, because he’s the one who scares me more. Pence as president is a frightening possibility because he’s a true believer, and not an opportunist like Trump, and he’s more experienced at the realities of how governmental processes work. I feel that the worst case scenarios that could have happened under Trump haven’t really materialized because Trump and his people just aren’t all the competent. Pence is as guilty as Trump and I really hope that the investigation process brings more evidence of that to light.
Whatever happens after next November, it’s going to take a long time to unravel the mess that this current administration has made and get the people who have enabled them out of the US government. I know it takes a lot to get government workers fired, but I think aiding and abetting an administration that actively is violating the Constitution is good enough reason to fire them.
I totally agree, Pelosi is underestimated far too often.
As much as I loathe Trump and his corrupt regime, Pelosi’s move makes sense. She needed to wait until she knew she had the votes in the House. Also, politically, it was important to appear to have made every effort to AVOID impeachment, and to begin the process as a last resort to reign in a lawless president.
@lala – you raise a good point. Had Pelosi started the impeachment inquiry as soon as she became Speaker, the Rs would have roasted all the dems. Instead, we have almost two years of her trying to work with Trump, of Trump going back on his promises to her and Dems, of continued and flagrant corruption, and finally this whistleblower complaint. It seems like a way of saying, “I am not impeaching just to impeach.”
The fact that the WH suddenly sez they’ll release ‘transcript’ of call makes me dubious- no truth ever came out of this admin.
The thing everyone needs to keep in mind about this “transcript” is there is no recording. It’s just “someone’s” notes and the White House has already, in the past, released false/inaccurate or flat lies in their so-called transcripts.
Yep! And this is the same dude who took a sharpie to a weather map, believing it to be a very clever way to doctor it. He may up his game this time and do cut and paste. But we ain’t anything close to what was really said.
And yet, it is *still* incredibly damning. Makes me wonder what may actually have been said.
Ditto what @Kelly posted.
Even in functioning administrations, people who would know have indicated there is no word-by-word transcript of these type calls. Recordings went by the wayside after Nixon. General notes are collected and reviewed. So I give little credence or weight to this transcript they suddenly want to provide. Plus, he and Rudy have basically confessed already!
Adam Schiff has been in contact with the whistleblower or the whistleblower’s representatives and is getting much more than Trump’s version of the transcript.
They released their version of the transcript, and it incriminates Trump, Giuliani and Barr. They are such idiots they don’t understand they’ve committed crimes, and now they are sharing proof of their crimes.
Glad we are finally here at last! Please let it go quickly.
I’m glad the line was finally drawn, because if you aren’t going to pursue impeachment for someone like this, what’s the point of having it? I feel like we finally taken a step forward, after being pushed backwards for over three years now.
The evidence sounds overwhelming and solid. Very glad the whistleblower wants to testify directly, because we all know the “transcript” will be a bunch of doctored nonsense.
I’ve been cautious about impeachment, but yeah it is time. And FINALLY yesterday there was a little poetic justice. Was at the UN for a few hours and as the Trump Kushner jerks were taking selfies and making asses of themselves, Ivanka waving to no one waving back, my old friends from UNIS and Ecole Internationale (UN schools, and they know what they are doing) were there and they KNEW that impeachment was becoming formal….it was a thing of beauty. YAY! No more Trump Kushners.
I saw this on Twitter last night and whew…
“Wow, @HeidiNBC reporting that Trump called Pelosi today and asked “if they could work something out on this whole whistleblower thing.”” – @JamieOGrady
https://twitter.com/jamieogrady/status/1176619784965935106?s=21
This is why I LOL every time someone comments that Trump is some kind of mastermind who is playing 3-D chess.
No.
He’s a big, stupid idiot who can’t stop committing crimes. And since he’s been protected and bailed out his entire life, he thinks he can just strike a deal with Pelosi by offering 50% off a Trump hotel room in Vegas in exchange for calling this whole impeachment thing off.
Exactly!
and, further, he thought he was in the clear, and then Pelosi made her public announcement and he was apparently SHOOK.
Watching Trump tweeting through this is pretty hilarious right now.
Poor Trump. Womp womp.
Oh boy do I hope so. It’s about time he is held accountable for everything. Then, I hope they go after the rest of the family. I’m not going to get too excited though until it actually happens.
I’m not holding my breath on this. Unless the complaint is released so that we see what was the scope of the complaint is. If there was more than one phone call then they should get transcripts of all the calls.
Don’t trust the transcripts. There’s a big, fat chance they’ll be doctored with a sharpie.
The transcripts shouldn’t be trusted…but the fools included incriminating exchanges anyway, because “they don’t understand their crimes are crimes” (saw that phrase on Twitter).
He asks the PM to investigate Biden’s son. That’s a crime, it’s plain as day. It also incriminates Barr, which is FANTASTIC!
Isn’t this amazing Tiffany? I mean, this fool obviously believes as long as he didn’t include the outright quid pro quo in the “transcript” (really, just notes), he was exonerated. I literally could not believe that was the real release. I thought someone was fooling around on twitter when I first saw it.
I’M DYING FROM LAUGHTER!
From CNN:
“The White House accidentally emailed its talking points on Trump’s Ukraine call to House Democrats”
She is in a pickle. She is getting so much pressure to impeach, but knows that it could hurt some of her freshmen reps in swing states in the next election.
So she is saying she is starting a formal impeachment, yet not actually calling for a vote. Without a vote (which might hurt some dem freshman) it is actually not a formal impeachment.
She is playing us… If she actually calls a vote it is on. But as of now it is all smoke and mirrors.
And it worries me that no one has seen the actual transcript of the call or the whistleblower note.
I have a bad feeling that this is going to crash and burn just like the Russia thing did. 🙁
We’re going to get investigations.
Russiagate 2. I’m tipping it won’t get past the Republican dominated senate.
Yeah, it’ll take a miracle to get it over the line. It’ll give him plenty of grief in the meantime. I can just see him covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut: “La la la ;a I can’t hear you!”
Robert Costa from WAPO is reporting that Senate republicans are in disbelief that he released this confession. I don’t think anyone knows what is going to happen now. We have never seen anything like this. He not only confessed, in writing, he implicated his AG, and he has put rudy in the crosshairs of an actual criminal prosecution. This is really something.
I didn’t think the GOP Senate would vote unanimously to release the whistleblower complaint, but they did yesterday. When things get so bad, they won’t want to be on a sinking ship.
Doesn’t matter. The Dems will beat Trump and the GOP over the head with this all the way into Election Day. He gets a year of being tarred a traitor and a blackmailer; he’ll be fighting this instead of getting more of his agenda done—and the press will be chumming into this and his other financial dealings like the Meg chomping on a T-Rex. Gotta love the Al Capone method of nailing scumbags with the small stuff. 😉
For some reason it just HURTS. As a woman, the fact that two dozen women have come forward with sexual assault allegations and there was no stir for impeachment, it HURTS.
The fact that Clinton was impeached for a consensual sex affair (and don’t worry I’m no Clinton apologist, he abused his power and he’s a mess) and Donald trump was NOT impeached for many allegations of NONconsensual sexual encounters makes me so heartbroken.
In the early hours of the morning after Trump’s election I cried in a manner that was like screaming sobs, when it really and truly hit me that a sex offender had just been elected president. I was pregnant with my daughter, and knew she would be born under the presidency of a sex offender. I was broken by it. The pride I felt when I had my son, because I could tell him he was born in the time of a black, progressive, honorable president! This was the complete hellish opposite.
I am so glad this is happening. But I feel a sting and a pain, as a woman, as a human, as someone who would never sexually assault another person, because it didn’t happen sooner and for the women who were so brave to speak on the assault.
But yes I’m still relieved that some wheels are turning against this disgusting monster.
My daughter was 6 weeks old when he was elected and I remember holding her and sobbing, and I’m not even American! I remember thinking that I couldn’t believe I had brought a girl into a world where a female candidate (arguably the most qualified candidate ever), could not even beat Donald Trump. It was devastating. I can’t imagine how you all in America felt and have continued to feel every day for the past 3 years. Hopefully this is finally coming to an end, but I won’t be satisfied unless he is totally and completely ruined by this.
@LNG- so was my son! We went to bed early and I told him “when we wake up we will have the first female president!”
But at least I can say Obama was President when he was born…right?
Even if Trump is impeached he’ll most likely remain in office until the next election, which I’m not entirely opposed to (bare with me). Pence taking over would be horrible and his chances of getting “re-elected” would be, I believe, much stronger than Trump’s. And even if Trump is impeached that doesn’t mean he’s automatically out of the WH. Clinton was impeached but he still finished his term. Granted he was impeached for a hell of a lot less, but still. And don’t forget, now that this inquiry has been opened they can cast a much wider net. It gives them the power to dig into *everything*, not just Ukraine. At least that’s how I understand it.
Clinton’s impeachment failed. The senate voted against Impeachment in the end. If Trump is successfully impeached, he will be removed from office.
Though the real question is, will he go?
I don’t believe that the Senate will vote for impeachment and therefore Trump will finish out his term.
Not willingly – they will have to drag his fat orange ass out of there. Even Cohen said if he loses another election he won’t go quietly.
Pay attention to the GOP, esp Traitor McTurtle.
The people who like Trump say it’s because of values but they all know he didn’t have any. They like his crude language, his only speaking in talking points without showing work, and his barbaric treatment of immigrants. And that he’s a “successful” businessman (con artist).
Mike Pence is a weirdo who calls his wife Mother and can’t take meetings with other woman. He’s not a stahh like Trump.
I doubt Pence could win an election against any Democrat right now. Trump wins because people like his show, because presidents apparently should be all talk and say we’ll undo the system but do nothing but spend millions extra in security and not let departments hire people (smh). Pence doesn’t have the brand of megalomaniac that appeals to Trump voters.
The big thing Pence would have going for him would be he would be the incumbent, which is an advantage.
But, that didn’t help Ford.
Not impeaching Trump because you are more afraid of Pence makes no sense. If you let Trump get away with this level of law breaking, the Republicans will pull all Trump’s dirty tricks and try 4 times as hard to get Pence elected after Trump and at that point whatever Pence wants he will get. We will no longer be a Democracy. Corruption, authoritarian and brown shirts would have been established and the norm. Letting Trump get this far has severely hurt our Democratic system. We have kids in cages!
Just as a reminder – the House impeaches, the Senate votes to remove. Its one big process for the removal of the president, but impeachment is in the House. Clinton’s impeachment did not fail. He was impeached. Trump could be impeached and then not removed from office by the senate. It is two different processes.
I think it is likely he will be impeached, extremely unlikely he’ll be removed. But that means the Republicans go on record supporting him.
Yes thank you. After the House impeached it moves to the Senate for a trial and if convicted removed. The trial in Senate would be presided upon by the Chief Justice of the Suprene Court (recall during Clinton’s, Justice Rehnquist wearing his Gilbert and Sullivan inspired robes).
I really don’t think that putting Republicans on record supporting him will be that damning because most fall all over themselves to do so already. And I don’t think the votes are there in the Senate to convict due to the prevalence of Republicans there. But I still think the move to impeach now is a worthy step and I think it will really bother Trump…
Interesting clarification. Thank you!
Pence would take over if Trump is removed but only for the remainder of the term; he would not automatically be the nominee for the 2020 election. And he would definitely face a strong primary challenge. He really is not liked within the party. He was facing a primary challenger in Indiana that he was going to lose when he was governor and Trump picked him for VP. There are too many others in the party who want the job. Pence would face multiple GOP opponents in a primary and likely lose.
Thanks, everyone, for the clarifications! I learned a little something from all your comments. My knowledge of government & politics is pretty basic (obviously), keeping straight all the specifics is not my strong suit.
Lost n some of this is that the Senate voted unanimously for the whistleblower complaint, not the transcript that Trump is waving about, in a pathetic attempt to distract, but the actual complaint. That’s a major shift. It shows that some Republicans are realizing that they need to disassociate from Trump AND that some truly are alarmed at what he did with the military funding. He committed treason on their watch.
I truly enjoyed watching the buildup yesterday. As Trump was putting Wilbur Ross to sleep and Nagini was playing Princess, John Lewis took to the House floor to demand impeachment. And then the tide followed him. House member after House member after House member joined the call so by 2 PM, with the news that Pelosi was holding a meeting at 4, it was clear that she had sufficient votes to go forward with the inquiry and that the Senate considered these misdeeds frightening enough that it would listen. The GOP pundits on Twitter spent the day praising their orange traitor and defending Nagini’s hideous flower popping vagina skirt and nipple combo from the day before until they realized something had gone horribly wrong in their world and the lead news story wouldn’t be their naked emperor’s glorious UN speech but his impending impeachment. Quickly, they swerved and starting pumping out more and more ludicrous stories attacking Biden, as if his actions intertwined with Trump’s; they don’t. And then their complete meltdown as Pelosi spoke, clearly, strongly, supported by the Constitution and history, followed by the orange traitor’s twitter tantrum, which continues this morning.
Yes thank you for pointing out that the actual whistleblower complaint is way more crucial than the transcript.
The Bidens (Joe and Hunter) pile on that appears to be the GOP strategy is pathetic. That the Biden family will be painted as a cesspool of corruption is laughable when you look at the Trump family. Also Biden is not the President and at this point is not even the Dem nominee. The other day Trunp actually said Biden should be executed for this (he said if a Reoublican did what Biden did they would get the electric chair). It’s beyond beyond unhinged.
And Biden was cleared. The calls for the House to do something, anything, about Biden are simply ridiculous. They can’t impeach him; he’s a private citizen. If they truly believe he broke some laws, the pressure should be on Barr to do something but no, they direct their ire where it doesn’t matter and show their utter ignorance on top of everything. Barr does nothing because he has nothing on Biden or Clinton.
Yes! this is so important. That complaint is crucial.
We can expect bigly distractions and attempts to muddy the waters. This seems a very straightforward accusation, which both Orange and his personal “lawyer”/spokesperson have admitted within their word salads.
I hope the rats begin jumping ship, starting today. Orange may be down to Kevin, Steve and Devin as it is. Even Princess may run away from the impending scrutiny.
Excellent summary. Nancy never makes a move without the votes.
Lightpurple, why do you think the Senate republicans voted for the release of the complaint? That stunned me yesterday. I don’t trust them at all and there is no way all of them suddenly found a spine. Something seems fishy.
Because some of them still have enough sense to know they can’t screw the military without consequences and Trump admitted to doing just that, along with openly admitting he asked a foreign power to intervene in an election. They have to show they are willing to investigate that.
At the end of the day, everyone’s top priority is themselves. Senate GOP is no different. When Trump and Gulliani admitted to breaking the law, Senators must have felt that no amount of spin would allow them to side with the administration.
Per WaPo, many GOP senators can’t believe that the Trump administration is doing so much to incriminate themselves.
Light Purple, YES. Yesterday at the UN was beautiful. As it all transpired. LOVED IT. Jared and Ivanka next, hopefully. Love and hold on everybody, we can do this!
I want Barr hauled out of the DOJ. To me he is the ultimate traitor.
I was incredibly surprised that 1. Mitch brought it up for a vote 2. The GOP voted unanimously to release the whistle blower complaint.
This is the most shocked I’ve been for the past 3 years. Astounded. The little light of hope in my heart burns bright.
In the end, Myrtle McTurtle is looking out for #1. Watch the rats jump ship. Only stupid McCarthy and his skittles will be left.
I’m seeing so many parallels between this #TrumpImpeachment and Nixon’s Watergate scandal. Both men surrounded themselves with sycophants and yes men/women who never stopped to say “hey, I think we’re going too far”. I mean if what I’m hearing about Trump is true, he essentially threatened to withhold aid money from a foreign government unless they interfered in a US election by digging up dirt on one of his political opponents. Trump has apparently admitted to it too. Insane. This man’s blatant disregard for the Constitution is mind-blowing. And he keeps getting away with it because legislators on both sides are too complacent to even try to stop him. I’m thoroughly disgusted but not surprised.
I was thinking the same thing. It’s rolling out like Watergate. One specific incident & then it all comes flooding out.
Right. Barr will release his synopsis of the call, not the actual transcript. Or we will see the transcript: “Hello. Redacted.goodbye.”
It’ll also contain a quote about how Trump is a great man. “Hello (redacted), Trump you are a great and honorable leader (redacted). Good bye”
Nothing will come of this, sadly. Plus it’ll be quicker just to vote him out in 2020. The last “investigation” took 2 years. Vote him out!!!
Oh, something will come of this. They were stupid enough to think their version of the “transcript” didn’t implicate them, but it actually provides proof that he asked the Ukrainian gov’t to investigate Biden’s son. He says that Gulliani and Barr will be reaching out to them.
If he had good advisors, they never would have released this transcript. It hurts him.
He’s currently tweeting that “The Democrats are frozen with hatred and fear.” We all know how he loves to project, so I’m assuming this means he is frozen with hatred and fear. Whether impeachment happens or not, at least the Dems have him shook. If he is gonna be President, I want him to feel miserable about it.
Btw, I’ve noticed that in all of this impeachment discussion, one issue is never mentioned: how this might affect future fights against Trump’s presidenting. Like, if he’s impeached, how might that allow for his work to be undone? Can this, if successful, be used to negate his Executive orders, or recall judicial appointments? I’m talking if he is actually removed, not just convicted in the house like Clinton. IDK what the answer to my questions are…I’ve heard nobody discuss this. What do y’all think would/could happen?
Well, its interesting, bc no one has ever been convicted/removed (the senate votes to convict or acquit.)
I think many of his EOs would be very quickly undone by the next Democratic president, but the judicial appointments are for life, unless those judges get impeache and removed.
Kavanaugh can actually be impeached. He lied under oath during his hearings. I think Kamala will go after him. Just like she’s gonna go after Barr for doing the orange mango’s dirty work.
I will celebrate when it happens. I am betting it will just be a token gesture though. To prime the dems for the upcoming election.
Our country is in another place now. And it is not a happy place. Too much has been let pass with the orange dotard and his fellow fascist regime. Be good to see the impeachment and watch dotards fat head spin 😄
Check out the Splinter article titled It’s Finally Happening. The comments in particular, lots of good info from multiple perspectives. They moved me from the hole of cynicism I’ve been in for a year.. to having hope again. Something feels different. Maybe the senate unanimously calling for the complaint (that seems big). Maybe trump calling Nancy yesterday to ask to work something out (he’s showing weakness and vulnerability).
The thing that is sticking with me since last night is that impeachment is not about removal from office. It’s the access that is gained (to everything hidden so far), the public hearings that clarify the corruption (for the slower folks) and the ensuing mass outrage of the American public. Most people didn’t support Nixon’s impeachment, not until the hearings started, and he resigned 4 months later. I think he’ll try to make a “deal” – resign for no jail time.
https://splinternews.com/reports-it-s-finally-happening-1838407871
He’s looking awful lately. During the past week, he’s been more red than orange, and sweaty faced. I think he knows that the gig is nearly up. I would guess that withholding aid in exchange for political advantage is just part of what could be in formal articles of impeachment.
Many bullies end up cowering once they realize no one is afraid of them. He could cut a deal to resign and claim it’s because his businesses need his superior expertise or whatever helps him save face.
Hell, no! Jail for all, especially the complicit.
Oh, I agree that all need to be held accountable. He may just slink away and think no one will actually pursue charges. Hard to understand a “mind” like this, who has never faced accountability.
I feel like the best outcome would be to force Trump out of the 2020 running. I’d bet if he pulls himself from the ticket, the impeachment ‘inquiry’ will fade away…
I agree. Trump can’t bear to lose at anything, so I hope that he makes an announcement that his businesses need him etc., so he has decided not to run. I wouldn’t care if the impeachment investigation went away, but he needs to be held to account for the underlying issues.
Senat GOP is already vowing to quash impeachment if it passes in the House. No surprise there.
I think we want them to say that. Get them ON RECORD allowing a criminal to remain in office. They’re on a sinking ship and don’t realize it (which, like, how?) But regardless. Let them gasp and watch them drown.
(Good lord, sorry, that was dark. But that’s where we are right? Absol-f’in-lutely)
This situation has brought forth dark thinking, you can’t avoid it. And those monsters deserve it, they threw their lot in with a criminal, so you reap what you sow.
They’ll start changing their mind once the flow of information starts. That’s the thing about the impeachment investigation. I do think the HOuse has enough votes to get impeachment. The Senate holds the hearings but we’ll hear all sorts of stuff there. So unless they want to back all this crap up chances are they will be switching their boats.
Mango is a straw man. He is touchable.
which is some outrageous BS…it’s like a juror (or the full jury) saying before the trial that they’ll all vote not-guilty, regardless of what the prosecutor presents. and I agree with holly hobby, I think that once the full picture reaches the public, and the GOP members who are vulnerable in 2020 realize what’s actually up, they’ll change their minds.
Well, this is encouraging. The Senate UNANIMOUSLY voted to request the whistleblower complaint(not just transcript).
https://twitter.com/brianklaas/status/1176594495800061953?s=21
This stuck out to me too. It’s a deviation from past behavior, which is significant. Someone mentioned 2 theories- either they want to get it out and show it’s no big deal, or it’s undeniably and irrefutably BAD. Maybe it’s my rediscovered optimism but I think it’s the latter!!
Yertle the Turtle seemed a bit ticked that he was L.I.E.D. to about the reason for the delayed release of the funds. Probably pissed he wasn’t in on the dirty dealings from the get-go.
oh please, we all know what will happen: nothing. he can literally do whatever he wants, the american public and politicians let him do everything without consequences.
On Day Two let’s try to Keep Hope Alive!
It took a long time for the public and politicians to fully turn on Nixon.
I’m with you on this. I don’t know why everyone is getting all excited about this, nothing with happen and this man will never face the consequences for all the corrupt shit he has pulled.
PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!
Lol…hilarious. I love it!
As far as I’m concerned, this wins tweet of the day! Hilarious and spot on!
https://twitter.com/garylegum/status/1176698231276937217?s=21
“outer borough goombah” – LMAO!! Thank you for this.
They ARE outerborough goobahs! Thank you for this!
I fear the Biden smears have done their job to give Warren the nomination – new polling shows Biden down. As much as I like Warren she will turn away moderates in the swing states that will be needed to win the 2020 election. Why this isn’t obvious to Democrats makes me very nervous about the result of that election.
We don’t need Biden to be the nominee. Stop with that nonsense. Warren would be a more than fine nominee.
I hear you, Biden is another old man. But I honestly think that this is the GOP plan to get Warren as the nomination. She polls lower than against Trump while Biden and even Bernie poll much better head to head against Trump. Why do you think Trump and Mcconnell want Warren to be the nomination. The timing of all these attacks on Biden’s son seem to be too perfect. It doesn’t matter if we have the perfect Democratic nominee if they cannot win. And sadly I do think that RBG will have to retire after 2020.
Polling before the smears showed her rising and him slowing. To win Massachusetts, she had to pull moderates from Scott Brown, who was well-liked. When people hear her message, she draws them in.
She may be able to get moderates in Massachusetts to vote for her but can she do that in swing states? Massachusetts will vote Democrat regardless who is the nominee. I think the polling shows him slowing because Trump’s attacks are successful and Democrats are not protecting Biden.
I half agree. Warren is very likely to kill us, but Biden ain’t the answer. Hey democrats! We got a bench out there filled with brilliant, talented, and YOUNG, people! Why are we still going to this generation? Come on people! Get with it.
Warren is very good at talking on middle class issues. I don’t think Biden was going to make it through the campaign without serious mistakes.
Warren is brilliant but far too earnest- the vast swathes of idiots won’t be able to stand her. I don’t think she’s electable, sadly.
I wish Kamala had better numbers- she’s brilliant, she has charisma, and I think she could effectively use humor, which is not a strength I see in Warren, but is apparently necessary now for a successful candidate.
Pelosi isn’t stupid. She’s been in the game long enough to know when to play her hand. The reality is that she’s simply up against an impossibly corrupt Senate. If Democrats do nothing else in the next four years, it’s that we absolutely must turn out for Congressional elections.
Finally, Pelosi makes a move! Get on with it.
IMO, Warren would be better vs. Biden.
I don’t find any of the Dems overwhelming, but I will say that Warren is intelligent, and well spoken.
That alone puts her out front compared to screaming Bernie and Biden, Biden did OK as VP. He does not have it to be POTUS.
Well, I read the transcript of the call, we are screwed. They can impeach but won’t get the senate votes to prosecute. And an impeached President can still run for a second term.
Why did Nancy do this before seeing the transcripts? Maybe she was just doing this to get rid of Biden? Warren has a better chance of winning than that crazy old man, so maybe clear the field?
Did they release the transcript or the complaint? The transcript will be a doctored nothing. The complaint and the inspector general report thing is the gold. People are guessing that those docs may have leaked and is why the freshmen dem holdouts suddenly switched to impeaching. Don’t worry, let’s see how it plays out.
A so-called transcript is about as reliable and valuable as a sharpie-doctored weather map.
I just read Schiff’s tweeted summary, which he summarizes as like a “classic mob shakedown”.
We are screwed bc he is president.
I’m reading the “transcript” now (because its not an actual transcript) and I think it looks pretty damn bad for Trump.
he thinks the DNC servers are in Ukraine???WHAT?
I’m confused by how/why you came to that conclusion. The White House’s release was damning. It was a confession from Trump that implicated William Bar and Rudy Giuliani. Multiple outlets are reporting that it was even worse for Trump than they anticipated and senate GOP have been quoted as being blindsided by how bad this makes Trump look.
I’m with Rose, how did you reach that conclusion?
The “transcript” showed Trump asking the PM to investigate Biden. That is a crime. Trump’s team is trying to move the goal post to requiring a quid pro quo…but that isn’t factually true. No quid pro quo needs to happen for this to be illegal and unethical.
Additionally, the transcript says that Gulliani and Barr will be calling to discuss further, so it also implicates them. It makes it impossible to say that Guilliani was going rogue and acting on his won.
I read the transcript and Bill Barr is screwed.
It’s also being discussed that the “transcript”/’transcript’ was timed to be shorter than the actual 20+min phone call.
I assume that Nancy, as Speaker, has more information than we do. The transcript of one call released by the WH won’t mean much, it’s the Whistleblower’s full complaint (and hopefully their eventual testimony) that has the meat of the story.
I was against impeachment until now, because I am focused on one goal: ensure that man is not re-elected in 2020. I thought a failed impeachment with evidence already shown to not move needle of public opinion would serve only to galvanize his base. He’d come out swinging with a “victory” (which it will be, if he’s acquitted) and the third party/nonvoter crowd would be demoralized.
But now… this is different. Sounds like they’ve got a smoking gun that even the Senate can’t ignore. (And again, it’s not going to be the transcript, it’s going to be the whistleblower’s contemporaneous notes.) My big fear now is that Mitch McConnell will refuse to hold a Senate hearing the way he refused to consider Merrick Garland for SCOTUS. Buckling in for a bumpy ride…
Trouble is that repubs don’t care.
And the clouds parted and the angels sang! Happy Impeachment Tuesday! I hope all these crooks lose their livelihood (looking at you William Barr) and are forced to exile in disgrace.
Trump only attempted to collude with Ukrainian authorities, but unsuccessfully. It’s like blaming someone who got almost punched in a face – you don’t blame the victim only cause they happened to be involved
Sure Jan.
You do charge people for attempting to punch someone. Assault is an attempt at punching people.
Trump committed a crime by asking for an investigation into Biden’s son.
I’m not sure I’m understanding your post.
1. Trump isn’t a victim.
2. Attempting a crime but not succeeding IS A CRIME IN ITSELF. have you never heard of a charge of “attempted murder”?
3. stop trolling, it won’t work here.
I think there is a lot about to break loose. Did anyone see Ms. Pence’s video released this weekend introducing the second family’s pets? Soledad O’Brian Made a funny comment on Twitter that “somebody thinks she is about to be the new First Lady.” Or would we have to call her First Mother ugh gah. Still it is good news.
Hopefully the Senate finds him guilty. I’m not holding my breath. I was so shocked to see support of trump on twitter. People actually supporting him
There are lots of bots on Twitter. Don’t take it as a reflection of public opinion. The bots were waiting for this moment to come.
I am saving my celebrations for when Drumpf is either evicted or voted out.
Then I will pop all of the popcorn and open up a bottle of wine.
I will jump up and down and shout hallelujah.
And I will weep from sheer joy and exhaustion.
His right now presser or excuse babble or whatever the hell it is, is hilarious. Transparency, he wants transparency, he works so hard with all countries, he works from early morning to late at night. I’m about to crack a rib from laughing.
The WH “accidentally” sent talking points meant for the Greed Over Patriotism party to the Dems. Talk about incompetence. Or a mole in the WH.
https://twitter.com/fritschner/status/1176880790229127168?s=21
He’s under so much stress and eats so poorly, I’m personally hoping for a stroke and soon
About time!!! Kick out all his appointees including the Supreme Court justices!! #NotAValidPresidency