Monday, January 20, 2020

Politico: Trump lawyers seek quick rejection of Democrats' impeachment case


President Trump has engaged in the trifecta of constitutional misconduct warranting removal. He invited foreign interference, endangered our national security, and sought to cheat in the next election. He is the Framers’ worst nightmare. Our response


Senator McConnell is trying to stop witnesses and documents from coming to light. Democrats will force a vote on witnesses and documents. All America needs are four Senate Republicans for a fair trial.


For all the talk of militia resistance and uprisings, such people are more likely to ally with government power in suppressing real opposition. We saw many like them in Russia, if less armed, such as Putin's pet biker gang. State-approved vigilantes are always useful tools.


Trump legal team to request impeachment acquittal, calls the process "rigged"


"The House denies each and every allegation and defense in the Preamble to the Answer... Trump maintains that the Senate cannot remove him even if the House proves every claim in the Articles of impeachment. That is a chilling assertion. It is also dead wrong. "


Human-to-human transmission confirmed in mysterious China virus


Ten years after Citizens United, our new analysis shows how the ruling has unbalanced the election system in favor of megadonors.


Trump is a stochastic terrorist.


No, Mr. President, we did ask John Bolton to testify. You ordered him not to, and blocked others, like Mick Mulvaney. All Americans know what a fair trial includes documents and witnesses. What are you hiding?


Here is a little rule of thumb on trials: Innocent parties are not afraid of the truth. You, sir, appear to be terrified.


Climate change could cause "green swan" events that trigger financial crises unless authorities take action, warns the Bank for International Settlements


‘Emasculated’ Virginia gun nuts mocked for ‘purchasing toys, dressing up in costumes, and playing fantasy games’


I grew up in a state with a lot of guns — hunting is a way of life, bring on Red Dawn level of guns — and it’s really hard to see these “militia” boys in Richmond today as anything other than some kind of cosplay.


Wanna see this crowd of gun-totin' white supremacists run for the hills? Tell 'em the government reinstated the draft.


How Trump fused his business empire to the presidency


If Senate accepts Trump’s distorted definition of impeachable offense to mean only criminal offense, it will weaken this important check on presidential abuse of power. ⁦(And, by the way, extortion is a crime.)


Hamilton actually warned that a con man could fool the public..& he would do it with foreign help. Impeachment process then became crucial.


On #MLKDay, I urge you to remember his profound words. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”


Since the "Normandy Four" talks in Paris on December 9th, Putin betrayed his commitment to a ceasefire in Donbas. Russian Federation forces have increased their shelling of Ukrainian defences. President Macron fawns over Putin regardless, betraying France's commitment to Ukraine.


From the guy who wasted taxpayer funds to fly to a Colts game just to walk out when a player kneeled.


NEWS: Two Republican sources tell @LACaldwellDC Senate rules will allow each side 24 hours for presentations, BUT it will be crammed in to 2 Senate days. Dems already called "dead of the night" presentations "a complete sham."


Analysis of the genetic code of the new virus shows it is more closely related to Sars than any other human coronavirus


This. Must. Stop!! — This MLK weekend, Texas will again recognize Confederate Heroes Day


Right now Fox News is screaming about a dangerous “caravan” of unarmed women and children with brown skin. Meanwhile this caravan of white men armed to the teeth with weapons of war is walking through Virginia this morning.


Imagine a life where all you do on this earth is make money to make more money to make even more money ... all while children starve.


EU tells China its current offer to scale back barriers to foreign money isn't good enough


Big turn out both inside the capitol — where guns are banned — and outside, where huge numbers of people are carrying assault rifles and combat gear. Saw one guy with a giant sniper rifle.


U.S. and Latin American partners to discuss #Hezbollah presence in #Venezuela. Guaidó will be attending the meeting after a surprise trip to #Colombia


If you criticize Sanders, you get reported to your boss, sent rape imagery, savaged as brain-damaged, a snake, a Nazi. For days. The Sanders campaign smears, bullies, defames & threatens critics. Happened in 2016 & it’s happening again.


This is so incredibly scary and they’re doing it on MLK day and they’re doing it to try and intimidate legislator from doing something they were elected to do.


The question is whether enough pressure can be exerted on vulnerable Republicans and that tiny group who might actually care about the survival of the Senate, the GOP and our republic that they’ll at least vote for witnesses. I remain hopeful.


Tribe joins the consensus that Dershowitz is talking trash about the Law


Fifteen of the GOP senators who will try President Trump's impeachment were in Congress during the Clinton impeachment. Only one voted to acquit Bill Clinton.@RuthMarcus takes a look back:


While Germany & Russia were making agreements about Ukraine under the guise of agreeing how Libya will be divided, Pompeo was in a rush to flit off for the next chapter of the fantasy parallel government of Venezuela. We really have our priorities straight


House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff: "The intelligence community is beginning to withhold documents from Congress on the issue of Ukraine"


A police spokesman said the shooter opened fire on a line of people waiting to enter the bar.


The Ukraine Scandal Is Not One Call. It’s a Massive Plot.


Murdoch media in Australia under pressure. "A resigning finance executive sent an all-company email decrying the company’s 'damaging' and 'irresponsible' coverage of the fires and saying she found it 'unconscionable to continue working for this company.'"


Iran will observe the nuclear deal despite rolling back its commitments to the pact, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi told a news conference.


"I am not against #Tesla” “But it's about the site; in a forest area that is a protected wildlife zone. Is this necessary?"


Analysis: We live in an age of climate disaster. Now what?


Famed celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz attempted to have it both ways on Sunday morning, arguing on CNN’s State of the Union that while President Donald Trump had tapped him as part of his impeachment legal defense team, he wasn’t really a member.


Opinion: The health-care industry is letting surgeons behave like muggers


In a landmark decision, the UN ruled that refugees fleeing the effects of the climate crisis cannot be forced to return home by their adoptive countries


Alaska volcano spews thick ash cloud, triggering aviation warning


Dutch Trump fan says messages about U.S. ambassador’s movements were sent in jest


Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó slipped into Colombia to meet with officials from the U.S. and regional allies as he seeks to rally support in efforts to oust Nicolás Maduro


Kentucky should be at the top of this list, but because Mitch McConnell has ignored Kentucky for more than three decades, it's dead last. In the Senate, I'm going to prioritize Kentuckians, not special interests.


.@AlanDersh is grossly misstating law, history, and even the arguments in the Johnson Senate impeachment trial. He’s not to be trusted. Trump’s mendacity has sadly rubbed off on my former colleague. Read my @washingtonpost op-ed laying it all out:


“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” —Martin Luther King Jr.


A former Ken Starr deputy is puzzled that his former boss has joined the Trump team, and disheartened that conservatives have abandoned their principles. From @ForTheRuleOfLaw


Sen. John Cornyn said President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is “not relevant” to the Senate impeachment trial


It’s sickening that advocates — who are simply trying to make our country safer from the scourge gun violence — have to endure threats from neo-Nazis and white supremacists. But we will not be deterred. We will pass life-saving reforms


I'm going to make a point that hopefully no MAGA person will fail to understand. You remember the 2nd half of the Lion King? You're the hyenas. Trump is Scar. He's in charge, & you helped put him there. But remember the last thing he said to Simba. He blamed it all on the hyenas.


.@AlanDersh comments on impeachment on Larry King Live, 8/24/98 01:41:04 DERSHOWITZ: “It certainly doesn't have to be a crime if you have somebody who completely corrupts the office of president and who abuses trust and who poses great danger to our liberty.”


I’m calling bs. @AlanDersh didn’t just represent Jeffrey Epstein. He facilitated him. He was an associate. A companion. An enabler. And according to credible under oath testimony-a participant in his sexual abuse. @AlanDersh is guilty AF.


Dershowitz’s comments from 1998 indicate that he knows full well that the argument he’s making now is dishonest and misleading


Could someone please explain to me how Executive Privilege could constrain what Bolton says in a hearing, but does not limit him from writing a tell-all book with the same content? Serious question. I'm not an attorney.


Good—we shouldn’t be advancing any judicial nominees while the person who nominates them is on trial


The 26 richest people on Earth now own as much as the 3.8 billion who form the poorer *half* of the planet’s population. Again, 26 people own as much as 3.8 billion people. 26 v. 3,800,000,000


Ron Reagan: My Father, Ronald Reagan, Would Not Want Republicans to Vote for 'Traitor' Trump in 2020.


Trump projects his disdain for his own kids by searching the room for farmers who don't want to leave their farms to their children. Filterless, he pours gasoline on it by calling kids "brat's...spoiled rotten brats." With no response, he backs off from farmers, alone w/ his rage


I’m at today’s gun rally in Richmond, which has drawn Second Amendment activists and fringe far-right groups. So far, roughly a couple hundred people are here in and outside the state capital area.


Thousands of gun owners and some members of out-of-state militias and hate groups plan to descend on Richmond today amid a fierce battle over Virginia's gun laws.


Donald Trump is a good President. But only for the 1%


Boris Johnson is refusing to reconstitute parliament’s intelligence and security committee, says SNP. So no #Russia report, which prime minister has also reportedly watered down ...


A reminder that Jared Kushner’s only qualification for his broad portfolio in the White House is nepotism.


Fiona Hill's successor was placed on leave over national security issues & escorted off the WH grounds on Friday. Peek advised Trump on Russia & Europe issues.


Strong device encryption protects all Americans from cyber threats—new vulnerabilities, like the backdoor sought by the FBI, undermines everyone’s security. Weakening encryption won’t stop criminals and terrorists, as I wrote in @bopinion last month. — Gen Michael Hayden


“The President says he didn’t know who he was,” Perdue said of Lev Parnas. Set aside the copious photo and video evidence for a moment, Trump literally signed off on his former attorney John Dowd representing Parnas and Igor Fruman on Oct. 2, a week before their arrest


I am assuming that ABC had on another legal scholar — a dean, member of the faculty...really anyone with a law degree when you think m about it — to challenge and/or debate him on this? If not, WHY NOT


North Korea hasn't been as much on the front burner for Trump, but Pyongyang can still make trouble for the U.S. president as he moves into high gear for the election


Dem Hill staffers say Moscow Mitch’s refusal to provide the rules of the impeachment trial is making it difficult for House managers to prep. Meanwhile Mitch is floating rumors that House will have 24 hours and two days to make their case. Wow. CJ Robert’s shld kill that idea!


The idea that holding the president accountable is a “Circus” but all the Criming is “business as usual” is really something


So much for the notion that Republicans will do anything to inject fair play and procedural justice into the Senate proceedings. It sounds more like trial by ambush, Soviet-style justice, not American.


I may be the only one who feels this way, but watching MSNBC's Chuck Todd interview U.S. Senator David Perdue of Georgia (Republican), I can't help but feel that Todd is not only getting owned but also giving Perdue a huge, free, media megaphone. Todd belongs on Fox.


In Federalist No. 65, Hamilton does not warn—as Dershowitz and some Rs claim—that we should reject impeachment when parties clash over it. To the contrary, Hamilton cites the inevitability of partisanship as a reason to support the Constitution’s approach to trying impeachments.


“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.” — Franklin Roosevelt


WARNING: Trump’s greatest ally in the coming election is Facebook, & most notable—Mark Zuckerberg.


Trump’s lawyers claim in their filing all his acts were “perfectly legal, completely appropriate.” But if that’s the case, why are the president and his senior aides so afraid to turn over evidence or to testify under penalty of perjury?


Watergate's John Dean thinks Trump wrote part of his legal team's brief -- because it's so terrible


These aides say 12-hour days of arguments, which some Senate Republicans have foreshadowed, would be "preposterous," likely ending at 2-3 a.m. when breaks are factored in.


Why are Trump and other Republicans expressing support for Sanders (Hewitt is even voting for him in the primaries) right now? Obviously, because they think Trump can more easily defeat Sanders thean Biden. Maybe they're wrong, but have no doubt about their intentions.


NEW: Alan Dershowitz says Trump had to call his wife, Carolyn Cohen, to persuade her to support the idea of Dershowitz joining the President's legal impeachment defense team.


“Scorched earth. That’s exactly what it was. I think it’s actually going to insult some of the lawyers in the senate if their more detailed brief is of the same tone. They’re making a serious mistake.” -- @JohnWDean reacts to the president's lawyers' impeachment strategy


Explaining why Trump’s answer brief is outrageous. This brief should make every attorney cringe. Surprised attorneys signed it. Trump must have dictated it.


Vicious active measures that harm children and adults alike - reprehensible.


The GOP lost over 650 seats since you took office. You’re political cancer.


Laurence Tribe: Trump's lawyers shouldn't be allowed to use bogus legal arguments on impeachment


"Neutral reporting on false claims amplifies disinformation."


So odd how popular Sanders is with people who wish to keep Trump in the White House


The @nytopinion diluted their endorsement by choosing both @amyklobuchar and @ewarren They should have made a choice-as voters must.


The Kremlin Inches Closer to the Biden Plot: Lev Parnas pointed his finger at Dmytro Firtash—a “Kremlin Influence agent,” representing Russian interests


Chairman Nadler calls the W.H. response to the impeachment summons the "errant nonsense. There is ample evidence — overwhelming evidence — that any jury would convict in three minutes flat, that the president betrayed his country by breaking the law."


As Martin Luther King Jr. noted, “change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” It is vital to ignore the fatigue and continue to pitch the battle of our lives - the racism, misogyny, hate, lies, and corruption cannot stand


Reminder it was the bernie bro's who fell for Cambridge LIES last time. Hillbots DIDN'T. So of course russia is trying it again! I see some recycled Bullshit posts all the time. Real voters should have LEARNED a thing or 2 since last time! WE remember if they don't!


In mid-November, I published a list of 45 ways Trump had been dishonest about Ukraine and impeachment. It’s now 65 ways. Here’s the updated version, with quick fact checks of all 65:


Trump calls children of struggling farmers “spoiled, rotten brats.” I wonder how many farmers will STILL vote for him


Why is the US media having so many co-conspirators on to explain this historic moment? Or was that redundant?


Please have a look at @tribelaw destroying the impeachment arguments being made by @AlanDersh, arguments that “No serious constitutional scholar has ever agreed with.”


Although I’m personally supporting @JoeBiden for president, I pledge to #VoteBlueNoMatterWho. Will you take that same pledge and commit to defeating Trump?


Pressed on whether it was appropriate for Trump to ask Ukraine and China to investigate the Bidens, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said on ABC's "This Week" that the president is a "human" and that "things happen."


I still can’t figure out how he came to be “just in his underwear” with young girls and didn’t get disbarred let alone arrested


Alex Jones and Proud Boys are here in front of the Richmond capitol


Trump Teen Rape Allegation Resurfaces, Ronan Farrow Claims National Enquirer Tried to Protect Him in New Book


A #Russia NSC director who has no actual Russia expertise (at least not that I can see in his background), and who has now been escorted from the WH after two months on the job. This is all fine.


A #Russia NSC director who has no actual Russia expertise (at least not that I can see in his background), and who has now been escorted from the WH after two months on the job. This is all fine.


"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." Martin Luther King Jr.


When Rep. John Lewis was a teenager, he wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. — who sent back a roundtrip ticket to meet him. At 18, Lewis took a bus 50 miles to meet him. He walked into King's office. "And Dr. King said, 'Are you the boy from Troy?' "