Why Trump and Pence need to leave the White House, today, with no guarantees of protection from legal prosecution afterwards
Quote
In the run-up to the release of Gordon Sondland’s opening statement for this Wednesday’s impeachment hearings, Fox News contributor Ken Starr suggested that Sondland’s testimony could cause GOP senators to push for President Trump’s resignation.
“The real issue is the senators are watching,” Starr said. “Are senators going to now say in light of what we hear today, it’s going to be a long day even with the ambassador alone, in light of what we have heard, ‘We need to make a trip down to the White House’?”
End of quote
Less talk, JUST DO IT. Get him AND PENCE OUT, with no guarantees afterwards
Also
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President Donald Trump did not answer questions while leaving the White House nearly an hour late for an event in Texas.
Trump departed during questioning of Ambassador Gordon Sondland, whose testimony earlier in the day had implicated the president, Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani and others.
“I don’t know him very well. I have not spoken to him much. This is not a man I know well. He seems like a nice guy though,” Trump said of Sondland.
Trump also disputed Sondland’s characterization that he had once been in a bad mood.
“I’m always in a good mood. I don’t know what that is,” Trump argued.
Eli Stokols
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@EliStokols
POTUS, nearly an hour behind schedule, now talking before departing WH for Texas >> https://
twitter.com/jeffmason1/sta
tus/1197192693698445312
…
Jeff Mason
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@jeffmason1
Trump says Sondland statement that Trump told him he wanted nothing from Ukraine means this whole thing should be over
end of quote
25 amendment time. Just get him AND Pence OUT. TODAY
Quote
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said the “veneer has been torn away” from the White House scheme to pressure Ukraine into helping President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
The House Intelligence Committee chairman reacted to EU ambassador Gordon Sondland’s bombshell testimony during a brief break in the impeachment hearing, and Schiff put top administration officials on notice.
“This is among the most significant evidence to date and what we have just heard from Ambassador Sondland is that the knowledge of this scheme, this conditioning of the White House meeting, of the security assistance to get the deliverable that the president wanted, these two political investigations that he believed would help his re-election campaign was a basic quid pro quo,” Schiff said.
“It was the conditioning of official acts for something of great value to the president, these political investigations,” the chairman added. “It goes right to the heart of the issue of bribery, as well as other potential high crimes or misdemeanors.”
Schiff warned that other senior administration officials were directly implicated by Sondland’s testimony.
“We also have heard for the first time that knowledge of this scheme was pervasive,” Schiff said. “The secretary of state (Mike Pompeo) was aware of it, the acting chief of staff (Mick) Mulvaney was aware of it, and, of course, at the very top, Donald Trump through his personal lawyer and others was implementing it, and so this I think only goes to underscore just how significant the president’s obstruction of this investigation has been.”
“We now can see the veneer has been torn away,” he added, “just why Secretary Pompeo and President Donald Trump do not want any of these documents provided to Congress because apparently they show, as Ambassador Sondland has testified, that the knowledge of this scheme to condition official acts, the White House meeting and $400 million in security assistance to an ally at war with Russia was conditioned on political favors that the president wanted for his re-election. So I think a very important moment in the history of this inquiry.”
End of quote
Also
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Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman on Tuesday shut down an attempt by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to question his service to his country by reading a glowing performance review given to him by former National Security Council staffer Fiona Hill.
During his questioning, Jordan quoted testimony from fellow impeachment inquiry witness Tim Morrison, who said he “had concerns about Lt. Col. Vindman’s judgment” and said those concerns were also shared by Hill.
Jordan asked Vindman why his colleagues would question his judgement — and the lieutenant colonel proceeded to read directly from Hill’s final performance review of his work.
“‘Alex is a top one percent military officer and the best army officer I have worked with in my 15 years of government service,'” he said, quoting from Hill’s evaluation. “‘He is brilliant, unflappable, and exercises excellent judgment.’… I think you get the idea.”
end of quote
Vindman has been validated. The entire GOP team got its ass kicked today already
quote
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) grimaced as the Democratic counsel finished questioning Gordon Sondland.
The EU ambassador directly implicated President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials in the scheme to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation of Joe Biden in exchange for a White House visit and the release of military aid.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) called for a brief recess after the House Democratic counsel Daniel Goldman finished his round of questioning — and Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee’s ranking member, shot a pained look at GOP counsel Stephen Castor.
Nunes then grimaced as Schiff gaveled the impeachment hearing into a five- to 10-minute recess.
It’s not clear whether Republicans were prepared for Sondland to flip, because Nunes warned the ambassador in his own opening statement that House Democrats intended to smear his reputation.
End of quote
More to the point
Marching orders.
Like Page
2 hrs ·
Former Sen. McCaskill on MSNBC notes that key Republicans on the House Intel Cmte. briefly left the hearing room after Amb. Sondland's opening statement was released: "I guarantee" it was to get their "marching orders" from the White House. https://on.msnbc.com/3360Gsi
As it stands, the worst part of this farce lies in that Trump attacked the US Constitution, in this Call to Kiev, and this is hardly the first time he has assaulted the document, i.e. see this
https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/why-barrs-proposition-trump-unlimited-presidential-power-beckwith/
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Trumps entire claim to power is backed by this oath, and yet he has denounced what is in the oath as an object to be protected at all costs
In doing so, Trump blew the legitimacy of his power YEARS ago. It gets worse than that
See what Barr said recently
It is a plea to make Trump endowed with UNLIMITED power. With no checks and balances.
Unfortunately, it is based upon Barr's interpretation of the US Constitution
And Trump has DENOUNCED the very document which Barr gives Trump Unlimited power
In short, the emperor has no clothes
end of quote
How much longer will we entertain the fiction that the WH, including Trump and Pence support the document AND structure which underlies their tenure in the WH?
What people forget is that in the US Constitutional system, that the POTUS took this oath
The American Presidency. The Oath of Office:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Sondland has shown that Trump AND Pence shredded support of the Constitution , hence, the basis of their tenure of office has been VOIDED.
It is time for both Trump and Pence to leave TODAY, with no guarantees afterwards.
One very good reason for him to leave (Trump) is this utterly demented statement
As noted by me in a post
https://lnkd.in/e9_Mnt2 You have lost your MIND, Trump. Go to Saint Elizabeth hospital.
Trump dismisses Sondland testimony, says impeachment inquiry should be 'over'
thehill.com
Quote
President Trump on Wednesday said that he didn’t know U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland “very well” and that his ongoing testimony Wednesday means that the House impeachment inquiry should be “over.”
Reading from a packet of notes, Trump reenacted a conversation he had with Sondland that was described in testimony, saying he wanted “nothing” from Ukraine in exchange for investigations.
“That means it’s all over. What do you want from Ukraine, he asks me. What do you want from Ukraine? I keep seeing all these ideas and theories,” Trump told reporters before departing the White House for a trip to Austin, Texas, providing his account of Sondland's part of the conversation.
“Here is my response that he just gave. Ready? You have the cameras rolling? That’s what I want from Ukraine," Trump continued, recounting the conversation. "I want nothing — I said it twice."
End of quote
Not going to fly. Sondland got the EU ambassadorship from Trump for a one million USD contribution to Trump
Nothing more to say. i.e. Trump is DONE.
Andrew Beckwith