Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Here's a rundown of who's who at the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump. (Correction: An earlier version of this graphic misidentified an individual as Rep. Jason Crow. He does not appear in this photo. A previous tweet has been removed.)


Rep. Hakeem Jeffries presents a chart documenting that every one of the 15 previous Senate impeachment trials in U.S. history has included witnesses.


Sekulow & Republicans left out a key detail in touting Trump's Javelin sale to Ukraine- 'Ukrainians cannot actually use the anti-tank missiles in the conflict against pro-Russian separatists based on the terms of the sale.'


NEW: The White House's impeachment team sharply contradicted the president's own legal position in the MCGAHN case, which could have short-term impeachment repercussions. A look at the wholesale reversal


The @RepJasonCrow Schiff tagteam tonight made the strongest arguments I've heard from Dems: the national security case for impeachment, & the issue of moral leadership. Incredibly effective & clear. Crushed the attempted reply. This is, after all, why this matters so damn much


I just demanded a vote on calling as a witness Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s Acting White House Chief of Staff Will Senate Republicans vote with us for a fair trial? Or will they keep enabling a cover-up like they’ve done all day by voting against our requests for documents?


New from CBS News tonight: "The intelligence agencies, some of them have stopped cooperating and it's our understanding they're doing this on the instructions of others or with the advice of others."


"The misconduct of this President requires immediate attention. If this body is truly committed to a fair trial, it cannot let the President play a game of keepaway and dictate what evidence the Senators can and cannot see."


House impeachment manager Rep. Val Demings argued for the release of documents from the State Department. “They would help complete our understanding of how the President's scheme unfolded in real time.”


Sen. Chuck Schumer’s third amendment will be to have the Senate subpoena Office of Management and Budget documents related to the charges against the president and regarding the suspension of assistance to Ukraine.


SCHIFF: If McConnell refuses to let witnesses and documents, it will not prove the President innocent - it will PROVE THE SENATE GUILTY OF OBSTRUCTION.


In summer 2018, when he was still in private practice, Bill Barr wrote a confidential memo for the Justice Department and Trump legal team. "In a memo ... the attorney general wrote that presidents who misuse their authority are subject to impeachment."


The Chief Justice of the United States is presiding meekly over a trial that may well have no evidence or witnesses. Thereby, he is lending the gravity of his office and the institution he represents to the wholesale dismantlement of the rule of law in the US. It's obscene.


Trump's lawyer claimed the House isn't ready to present our case. We’re ready. The House calls John Bolton to testify. The House calls Mick Mulvaney. We’re ready to present our case, ready to call witnesses, ready to see the documents. The question: Will the Senate let us?


Impeachment manager Rep. Zoe Lofgren urges support for amendment to subpoena White House materials: "We don't know with certainty what the documents will say. We simply want the truth, whatever that truth may be. So do the American people"


Sekulow just told bald-faced lies to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Republicans WERE allowed in the SCIF. I was there. Many Rs CHOSE not to show up.


Schiff on John Bolton: "Do you want to hear from someone who was in the meetings? Someone who decribed what the president did ... as a drug deal. Do you want to know why it was a drug deal? Do you want to ask him why it was a drug deal? ... You should want to know."


Roberts can make any ruling he wants but there’s a dispute as to whether Senate GOP has a the authority to overrule him. The belief by the majority of legal scholars is that 51 senators can negate any of his rulings. The remaining, of which I join, is that his rulings stand


Adam Schiff is burning Dershowitz so hard saying the reason they had to go outside to get a criminal lawyer is because no reputable Constitutional scholar would be willing to make the arguments Dershowitz will


Cipollone, having been a dud in his opening comment, is now firehosing around POTUS twitter talking points so he can get his attaboys later. The hollow men.


Sekulow and Cipollone are not actually bothering with this trial: They're speaking directly to Fox Nation and creating talking points, knowing their audience is too stupid and too partisan to know (or care) how much of it is a lie.


Americans want a fair trial. They want to believe their government is still capable of rising to the occasion. They want to believe we can rise above party, to do what’s best for our country. Sadly, a great many Americans doubt this is still possible. Let's prove them wrong.


These individuals must testify in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump.


"Pence is also grappling with other unknowns. If new witnesses are called during the trial, such as former national security adviser John Bolton, will they further implicate him in the administration's effort to pressure Ukraine for political help?"


McConnell argument thus boomerangs. It demonstrates that he will do anything, and say anything, to try to prevent the American people from learning the truth. It should be simple-If the President’s behavior was perfect&beautiful, why are they so afraid of documents+witnesses?


McConnell speech totally contradicts itself. It first claims the House “declined to hear from witnesses.” House of course never “declined”—they didn’t want to get bogged down in long court fight. Then McConnell says witnesses shouldn’t be called in Senate. His reason? Omg ...


Rick Wilson: GOP senators will be ‘drowning in public anger’ after they aid Trump’s coverup


“If everything is an outrage, then nothing is an outrage” says Mitt Romney, trying to insult the messaging strategy of the Dems but in fact perfectly incapsulating the strategy that has made Repubs into hollow men and Americans into exhausted, overwhelmed participants in madness


WATCH LIVE | Senate impeachment trial of President Trump resumes



Today, the Senate will vote to start President Trump's Senate impeachment trial with a resolution that sets up the rules of the trial, including how long it will last and how long everyone has to speak. Each side will get a set amount of hours to present its case for or against the president. President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in December for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Impeachment does not mean that the president has been removed from office. In the next phase, the Senate must hold a trial to make that determination. A Senate impeachment trial has happened only two other times in American history and once in the modern era. At the center of the Democrats’ case is that Trump sought to withhold military assistance and an Oval Office meeting until Ukraine announced investigations into former vice president Joe Biden and his son. Read more: https://wapo.st/2sNXxkM. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: https://wapo.st/2QOdcqK

JUST IN: The House says Trump's top impeachment lawyer, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, is a "material fact witness" and must disclose evidence before the start of the trial.


STALK YOUR SENATORS --- ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE @GOP. DEMAND A FAIR TRIAL. (202) 224-3121


The White House announced that it will add several House Republicans to President Trump's Senate impeachment team in what appear to be largely ceremonial roles following an internal debate over whether they should be included


RESTORING INTEGRITY AND COMPETENCE TO GOVERNMENT AFTER TRUMP


69% of respondents in new CNN poll say the Senate trial should feature testimony from new witnesses who did not testify in the House inquiry...


Democratic House Managers issue a statement denouncing the rules created by McConnell calling for a fair trial for the President and for the American people. Call your Senator NOW to urge them to reject the McConnell Resolution later today. (202) 224-3121.


Christian fanatics, TV showboats and corrupt clowns: Donald Trump’s defense team is amazing — but not in a good way


Pelosi: "McConnell's process is deliberately designed to hide the truth from the Senate & from the American people, because he knows the President's wrongdoing is indefensible and demands removal. No jury would be asked to operate on McConnell's absurdly compressed schedule."



“The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service concluded in a 2018 report that one in four Russian diplomats based in Switzerland was a spy.”


While certain "democrats" are targeting their own with accusations of corruption, POTUS is actually deeply corrupt and has not been held accountable by any federal agency or congress.


Ivanka Trump declines to comment to @CNN on her father’s impeachment trial as it gets underway.


202-224-3121 is the number and ask for witnesses and documents. Thank you.

Call now!

During the impeachment of Bill Clinton, Ken Starr argued that a president under investigation for criminal conduct must not be permitted to use governmental authority to embargo witnesses or hide the evidence against him


"Americans should be worried ... when they see such corruption from some of our political leaders. They should be concerned by ... how much the corruption of Trump and Trumpism has infected major American institutions, now including the Senate."


New by Randy Rainbow - Hilarious


From @MaxBoot: Trump would never go for a plea bargain, so it looks like jury nullification is his only option


What’s to stop John Bolton appearing on Rachel Maddow?


The White House unveils list of leaders to meet with President Trump at forum in #Davos


The World Health Organization (WHO) is holding an emergency meeting about Wuhan coronavirus on Wednesday. The new coronavirus has left at least four people dead and sickened hundreds.


McConnell’s office has sent the organizing resolution to Senate GOP offices. The four page document includes arguments for 24 hours, split into two days a piece. It also says any witnesses must be deposed first.


The crux of the Senate impeachment trial kicks off today, and a new poll has more than half of Americans supporting Trump's removal


Internet attacks #MidnightMitch for Republican impeachment sham: ‘A massive middle finger to every American’


Two women are presumed dead in the Hawaii inferno apparently set by a mentally disturbed man after he shot and killed two police officers


The Senate Parliamentarian will need to give serious thought to this alternative to the conventional view of what it means for the Chief Justice to “preside” over the president’s impeachment trial


Vladimir Putin is likely to demote the man behind Russia's tight-budget policies, fueling fears the Kremlin plans a spending spree


The National Institutes of Health is working on a vaccine against the new virus that has infected hundreds and killed four in Asia


Trump's team thought Ukraine was an easy mark. It was a bad miscalculation


Airline equips planes with hazmat suits as travel industry steps up precautions against mystery virus that has infected hundreds of people in China


Chinese court sentences ex-Interpol chief Meng Hongwei to 13.5 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power


We’ve been arguing about this for a couple of months now, and still not a single republican can explain why this trial is the only one in history with jurors voting against getting information from people with first hand knowledge of the case.


Excellent analysis of why Trump’s Dershomanic defense is absurd


Giuliani says on Fox that he was “obviously misled” by Lev Parnas, noting that he’s godfather to Parnas’ child. Parnas “in very large part” didn’t tell the truth in his media interviews, Rudy says


We just need four votes. That’s it.


.@neal_katyal to @maddow about McConnell’s plan for late-night Senate trial sessions: “The only things that happen at midnight are trash collection and the execution of prisoners. Major government decisions and trials don’t happen at that time.”


Greta Thunberg to the global elite at Davos: Everybody is talking about climate change, but nobody is doing anything


Messages released this week indicate Rep. @DevinNunes' office was aware of efforts to gather dirt on Joe Biden in Ukraine, an issue at the heart of the impeachment of President Trump


I already ordered my copy of this #1 best-seller. You sure make a GREAT book salesman!


Important: The law at issue, the Impoundment Control Act, was enacted in 1974. It limits a president’s power to withhold money that has been allocated by Congress, requiring approval from the legislative branch to do so.


A new Chinese coronavirus, a cousin of the SARS virus, has infected more than 200 people since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December. Scientist Leo Poon, who first decoded the virus, thinks it likely started in an animal and spread to humans.


Donald Trump has arrived in Switzerland with ongoing impeachment proceedings on his mind


Sacramento Bee on Devin Nunes: "Regardless of whether you lean Democratic or Republican, here’s an undeniable fact: Nunes lied to the American people and his own constituents about the Ukraine allegations, dismissing them although he knew they were true"


This is a crime against all Americans. It is beyond belief that Trump is contemplating using the classification power to hide Bolton's testimony from the American people.


If every single one of us called our senators, they would not do this. We need to call our senators (202) 224-3121 Demand a fair trial. The trial should be openly transparent to the public, and include witnesses and documents and evidence.


.@TheRickWilson says Pres. Trump attracts the worst grifters and scumbags.


On #DavosToday, @BillBrowder told @AxelThrelfall that the Swiss security service foiled a Russian operation that targeted him. 'They were posing as plumbers - when they were arrested, they presented their diplomatic passports and left the country'


Trump's self-image takes precedence in White House business: book


History's judgment moved sources for new book on Trump


Trump sought to get rid of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Book


McConnell's impeachment rules designed to hide the facts


W.H. considers classifying Bolton testimony to conceal it


NEW: WH says in release these lawmakers will be on Trump impeachment team: Congressman Doug Collins Congressman Mike Johnson Congressman Jim Jordan Congresswoman Debbie Lesko Congressman Mark Meadows Congressman John Ratcliffe Congresswoman Elise Stefanik Congressman Lee Zeldin


Let’s be 100% clear - the only reason to restrict the impeachment managers to 24 hours over 2 days is to make sure the evidence is presented in the dead of the night, when no one is watching. It’s not about finding the truth or honoring our duty. It’s all about the coverup.


"The McConnell rules announced tonight have the same basic theme, which is, How do we hide as much information as possible from the American people?" -Neal Katyal


Schumer: "McConnell promised over and over again, senators repeated over and over again, we're going to follow the Clinton model. This departs from the Clinton model in many very significant and very important ways in an effort to cover up."


Trump and McConnell can rig an acquittal but it will deny him exoneration in the eyes of those 69% who expect witnesses. And Sens who vote for hiding witnesses will be laughingstocks


This makes sense because Hillary Clinton and Benghazi and the dark Ledger and uranium 1 and sex colonies on mars.


McConnell rules 1) No witnesses 2) No evidence 3) No time 4) No cameras


As it turns out, the Special Counsel regulations, while imagining a variety of scenarios, did not contemplate one in which the AG might be implicated in (or a witness to) in illegal bc activity AND be too corrupt himself not to recuse in light of that fact.


NEW: Lev Parnas' attorney has written to Attorney General William Barr requesting that the AG recuse himself from the Parnas investigation and prosecution and asks for the appointment of a special prosecutor, according to a court filing.


McConnell wants to fuck around? Cool. The House should pass one new article of impeachment every month for the next 10 months.


Under this resolution, Senator McConnell is saying he doesn’t want to hear any of the existing evidence, and he doesn’t want to hear any new evidence. A trial with no evidence—no existing record, no witnesses, no documents—isn’t a trial at all. It’s a cover up.


This is a lineup right out of Ringling Brothers, complete with dancing bears, confetti cannons, and clowns honking horns in little scooters


For those watching at home tonight, the rules Mitch McConnell just proposed are not the Clinton rules. Far from it... Mitch is doing everything he can to cover up for @realDonaldTrump. This is not what the Framers intended.


Lev Parnas’ attorney Joseph Bondy filed a motion calling for Attorney General Bill Barr’s recusal and the appointment of a special prosecutor outside @TheJusticeDept for his client’s case.


Such a Russian tactic


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