GOP lawmakers need to realize ‘things are going to get a lot worse’ for Trump when impeachment is televised: conservative On MSNBC Saturday, conservative editor and commentator Charlie Sykes deconstructed the GOP’s process complaints on impeachment — and warned that it is blowing up in their faces. “On the scale of one to ten, one being actual substance, where would you rank what we just witnessed there and these arguments that these congressmen were making?” asked host Ayman Mohyeldin. “Oh, I would put this at an 11,” said Sykes. “This was street theater. This was the Republican Party channeling its inner Code Pink. It’s like being in a — playing chess, and you realized you’ve just been checkmated and you throw the board over. You try to turn the whole thing into a farce. And this is clearly what they’re trying to do, that they — as the defenses crumble, they need to talk about the process, and to the extent that it is a darker and darker picture for the president, what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to turn it into a circus. But I think it backfired on them.” “This is where the Republicans are at right now. They have to talk about the legitimacy of the process, focusing on that vote,” said Sykes. “That’s a fig leaf that’s going to be torn away very, very soon … Republicans in the Senate have to realize that things are going to get a lot worse in terms of the evidence, in terms of the venue that’s going to be televised trial, in terms of the president’s behavior, and they’re not going to be able to hide behind these questions about when does the house have a vote, public hearing, private hearings, that process issue will be resolved at some point politically, so at some point they’re going to have to confront the substance, and the substance of this is a president who has abused his power and sold out the country.”
White House official to defy Trump and corroborate a key witness’s ‘damning’ testimony: report A National Security Council official identified as a key witness to President Donald Trump’s effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Biden family plans to defy the administration, backing up some of the most “damning” testimony in the impeachment inquiry. Tim Morrison, the top Russia and Europe official on the National Security Council, is expected to become the first White House official to testify in the impeachment probe next week. His attorney told Politico that Morrison would appear before investigators — even if the White House tries to block him. “If subpoenaed, Mr. Morrison plans to appear for his deposition,” attorney Barbara Van Gelder told the outlet. Several witnesses have defied the administration’s orders, but they appeared before lawmakers after being subpoenaed. Thus, Morrison would be the first White House official who is currently serving in the Trump administration to testify. Morrison would also be among the first officials who personally heard Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to testify, CNN reported. Trump ordered acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to block more than $390 million in aid to Ukraine before the call. The network reported that Morrison is expected to back up the testimony of acting U.S. Ambassador Bill Taylor, who Democrats said provided the “most damning” account yet for Trump. Morrison was mentioned 15 times in Taylor’s opening statement. Sources told CNN that Morrison would testify that he did not believe there was anything wrong with Trump’s actions, but the network reports that Republicans are still “worried” that his testimony would “fuel” the impeachment push. Van Gelder cautioned that “we haven’t decided what he’s going to say yet.” “He’s going to answer questions,” she told CNN. “That’s where we’re at right now. We haven’t made final decisions on anything other than he’ll appear with the subpoena.” Taylor testified that Morrison was the official who first informed him of the July 25 phone call, saying the call “could have been better.” Taylor claimed that he was ready to resign in August after Morrison told him that Trump “doesn’t want to provide any assistance at all” to Ukraine, even though it was appropriated by Congress. In later conversations, Taylor testified that he was “alarmed” when Morrison told him that the administration had “conditioned” both the military aid and a long-sought meeting between Zelensky and Trump on the public announcement of an investigation into the Bidens and the 2016 election. According to the testimony, Morrison also told Taylor that Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, told a Zelensky aide in September that aid “would not come” until Zelensky “committed to pursue the Burisma investigation,” referring to the Ukrainian firm whose board included Hunter Biden. There has been no public evidence that either former Vice President Joe Biden or his son did anything illegal in Ukraine. Sondland also told Morrison that Trump insisted that Zelensky personally announce the investigations, Taylor testified. Sondland testified before lawmakers earlier this month, but Democrats called for him to return after Taylor’s testimony contradicted some of his statements. Democrats are also eager to question John Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser until September. Bolton instructed an aide to report a conversation that Sondland had with Ukrainian officials about Burisma to White House lawyers and likened the administration’s Ukraine effort to a “drug deal.” Democrats are negotiating with Bolton’s lawyer to set a time for him to testify behind closed doors, according to the New York Times. Morrison was named to the National Security Council by Bolton, the Washington Examiner reported, which has left Republicans on Capitol Hill concerned about what he could potentially disclose. “It’s surprising the White House hasn’t asserted executive privilege,” one unnamed Republican told the outlet. Another added, “It is a sh*t show. There is no one at the White House coordinating this or giving guidance. ”
This is what passes for journalism now. Naked partisan cheerleading. The allegations that Biden pressured Ukraine to drop an investigation of his son's firm certainly sounds like an abuse of power if not outright criminal. The fact that his son was being paid a fortune for no discernible reason also strikes many as very suspicious and is the sort of thing no American lawyer would greenlight for an American company because it is an obvious Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violation. I'm not sure if receiving such payments , as opposed to making them, violates the FCPA but it obviously is troubling.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...lapped-with-work-by-son-hunters-lobbying-firm Revealed: Joe Biden twice used his position as senator to intervene to boost son Hunter's lobbying
Family, even wives worked as lobbyists all the time back then. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-ties-bind-federal-lawmakers-to-lobbyists/ "A CBS News investigation has identified 19 federal lobbyists closely related to members of Congress, including dads, wives, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, in-laws and more. There are some restrictions. For example, lobbyists can't lobby their own husband or wife in Congress or their staff" So AT THE TIME, were children restricted from lobbying parents? Both occurred very early in 2007 if I'm reading correctly. The "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007" which might have restricted this was passed in September 14, 2007. Of course most bills of that kind are actually ways to make things even worse but.. was it against the rules at the time? He said risking being wrong again today.
The Uranium One controversy involves theories that characterize the sale of Uranium One to Rosatom as a $145 million bribery scandal involving Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. Since the 2015 publication of the book Clinton Cash by Breitbart News editor and Steve Bannon collaborator Peter Schweizer, as well as a 2015 New York Times article that Schweizer was involved with,[1] allegations of a bribery scheme involving Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation and the 2010 sale of Uranium One have persisted, primarily in conservative media. Despite four years of discussion and analysis of the matter—as well as an FBI investigation[2]— no evidence of any quid pro quo or other wrong-doing has surfaced. Numerous Republican politicians and pundits, including President Donald Trump, have insisted that the Clinton-Uranium One story is the "real" Russian scandal, rather than the matters for which the Trump administration was investigated.[3][4][5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_One_controversy
Biden actually, was boasting on video what he did which is tantamount to admitting to witholding US aid to Ukraine if the prosecutor investigating his son was not fired! The same allegation they are making against President Donald Trump. Except, reported corruption of Ukraine officials should be more than enough grounds to withold US aid to protect US tax dollars. Huge difference that Democrats ignore!
Vice President Joseph Biden said, nah, I’m not going to—or, we’re not going to give you the billion dollars. I said, I’m telling you, you’re not getting the billion dollars. I said, you’re not getting the billion. I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a bitch. (Laughter.) He got fired. ( smallfil AAAintheBeltway said: This is what passes for journalism now. Naked partisan cheerleading. The allegations that Biden pressured Ukraine to drop an investigation of his son's firm certainly sounds like an abuse of power if not outright criminal. The fact that his son was being paid a fortune for no discernible reason also strikes many as very suspicious and is the sort of thing no American lawyer would greenlight for an American company because it is an obvious Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violation. I'm not sure if receiving such payments , as opposed to making them, violates the FCPA but it obviously is troubling. Biden actually, was boasting on video what he did which is tantamount to admitting to witholding US aid to Ukraine if the prosecutor investigating his son was not fired! The same allegation they are making against President Donald Trump. Except, reported corruption of Ukraine officials should be more than enough grounds to withold US aid to protect US tax dollars. Huge difference that Democrats ignore! ) tantamount lol source docs are so fine ... Trump (S/NF) The President: [laughter] That’s a very good idea. I think your country is very happy about that. Ukraine (S/NF) President Zelenskyy: Well yes, to tell you the truth, we are trying to work hard because we wanted to drain the swamp here in our country. We brought in many many new people. Not the old politicians, not the typical politicians, because we want to have a new format and a new type of government. You are a great teacher for us and in that. Trump (S/NF) The President: Well it’s very nice of you to say that. I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. .