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If Trump’s Latest “Foreign Collusion Is OK” Remarks Don’t Tip The Scales Towards Impeachment, Nothing Will

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Donald Trump is either begging to be impeached or is totally clueless about what constitutes a crime (or, more likely, just doesn’t give a damn).

In broad daylight, for the entire world to hear, Donald Trump stated if offered dirt by a foreign power on a political opponent, he would take it.

In an ABC News interview, Trump told George Stephanopoulos he wouldn’t necessarily call the FBI if approached by foreign entities with information on his 2020 opponent: “It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it.”

To Donald Trump’s way of thinking, it’s just good old-fashioned oppo (opposition) research, right?

Coming as a complete shock to both Democrats and Republicans, the man currently occupying the Oval Office is actually inviting foreign powers to help him win in 2020 … again!

But isn’t this par for the course?

Remember when candidate Trump made a direct appeal to Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails and make them public?

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” said Trump, referring to emails Clinton had deleted from the private account she had used when she was secretary of state. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

If Trump’s latest statements on accepting foreign interference in our elections don’t tip the scales in favor of starting impeachment proceedings, I don’t know what will.

Unlike Richard Nixon, who did his lawbreaking in private, Trump chooses to commit his crimes on national TV!

But then again, why not? He did promise to be “the most transparent” president ever.

I’ll give him credit for keeping at least one campaign promise!  But seriously, Madam Speaker, you are turning the House, and its constitutional duty to impeach a lawless president, into a joke. Political calculations be damned!

I know. We’ve become so inured to Trump’s lawlessness that we just add the latest wrongdoing to the ever growing “Trump bulls*it mountain.”  But this latest disregard for the sanctity of our elections is a bridge too far.

How long does the list of “high crimes and misdemeanors” have to get before you, as Speaker of the House,  say “enough is enough” to this brazen criminal occupying “The People’s House?”

It is way past time to do your job.

Photo | abcnews.go.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Real Reason Pelosi Keeps Pushing Back On Calls For Impeachment

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Donald Trump has committed enough impeachable offenses to remove 10 presidents from office. Yet Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, does not want to start formal impeachment proceedings. We’ve all heard her reasoning: (1) The public doesn’t want it; (2) He’ll never be impeached anyway; (3) It turns Trump into a victim; and (4) It will badly tear apart an already divided country.

Yet I’m more than a little skeptical about Madam Speaker’s song and dance.  I believe the real reason Pelosi is against formal impeachment proceedings is that she wants Donald Trump to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2020.

If Trump were to be removed from office (a very big “if” considering Trump’s nearly unanimous support among Senate Republicans) we would end up with a President Mike Pence. Come convention time late next year, it is very unlikely Republicans would want Pence as their party’s presidential candidate. It is more likely they would go with a Romney, a Kasich or some other “moderate” Republican who would throw his/her hat into the ring. In other words, there just might be a more formidable opponent for the Democratic nominee.

Forget the myth that Trump would be a strong candidate for reelection. If Trump remains in office, after another year of Congressional (and state) investigations uncovering even more dirt, he would be a wounded duck going into the 2020 contest. This is exactly what Pelosi wants.

Proof that Trump is already in trouble, and not as daunting as some would like you to believe, comes via the most recent Quinnipiac University poll showing, if the election were held today, Trump fares badly against the top Democratic presidential hopefuls:

Former VP Joe Biden over Trump 53 – 40 percent

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Trump 51 – 42 percent

California Sen. Kamala Harris over Trump 49 – 41 percent

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren over Trump 49 – 42 percent

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg over Trump 47 – 42 percent

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker over Trump 47 – 42 percent

Trump never rises above 42% against any of the Democratic contenders in this national survey. Buttigieg and Booker besting Trump?

OK, while this poll is encouraging for Democrats, it’s very early in the game. And let’s not forget there is a thing called the Electoral College to contend with, along with voter suppression, hacked voting machines, foreign interference, voter fraud and other factors that could impact the 2020 election.

Yet, if I’m right, Nancy Pelosi is giving many reasons why not to impeach Trump … except the real one.

Photo | cnn.com

 

Madam Speaker, What Is It Going To Take To Start Impeachment Proceedings?

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While Nancy Pelosi and many Democrats in her caucus are slow-walking impeachment proceedings against Trump, deferring to more investigations, ex-ethics chief, Walter Shaub, has tweeted a few “inconvenient truths” for Democrats to consider.

“Heed the signs and don’t underestimate the threat to our republic from within,” writes Shaub, who served under former President Obama and then for six months under Trump until his resignationin July 2017.

Here is Shaub’s 14-tweet thread of “offenses” committed by the man currently occupying the White House and his administration:

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Heed the signs and don’t underestimate the threat to our republic from within:

-Trump obstructed justice
-A McConnell-packed SCOTUS says precedent can be changed more easily than previously thought
-AG Barr is an open partisan and slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre beneficiary

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-White House ignores congressional subpoenas, document requests
-Mnuchin is violating a law on turning over taxes to House
-Barr & Senate allies want to investigate officials who investigated Trump to retaliate against them and deter future efforts to hold him to the rule of law

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-State Dept is setting up a commission to supplant human rights with “natural law”
-An Inspector General found standing room only in border detention cells, with detainees standing on toilets to breathe
-children stolen from parents at the border are dying in internment camps

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump cut resources for investigating domestic terrorists
-FBI- reports a recent significant rise in white supremacist domestic terrorism
-evidence found of a white supremacist plot to add census Q to help gerrymander in ways “advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites”

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump is still resisting setting up defenses against foreign election interference
-Trump’s personal attorney solicited foreign govt investigation of current Trump political rival Biden
-AG Barr said something in a weird interview about investigating former Trump rival Clinton

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-There’s cause for concern Trump/Kushner personal interests may be influencing middle east policy
-Ignoring Congress, Trump declared fake emergency & abused authority to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia to continue its atrocities in Yemen, after it murdered a Washington Post reporter

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump declared fake emergency to get more power to ramp up activity at border
-ethics violations (and ethically dubious conduct not rising to a violation) occurring at an unprecedented rate among Trump appointees
-senior admin official says she doesn’t care about an ethics law

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-if impeached, Trump says he’ll try to get SCOTUS to overturn the impeachment
-McConnell, who blocked Merrick Garland ostensibly because it was an election year, shamelessly hinted this week that he’d be willing to fill a SCOTUS position for Trump in an election year

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump is praising autocrats, undermining allies
-Tone of OLC’s recent opinions has changed under Assistant AG Steven Engel, who was tied to one of the torture memos
-Military went to the border for Trump
-Military hid a ship to placate Trump
-Airborne seen wearing MAGA patches

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump admin & Graham inexplicably advocating war in Iran/Venezuela
-DOJ experimenting with new legal theory for prosecuting those who publish classified information (raising a question as to whether the theory will be limited to hostile foreign actors or expanded to journalists)

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-some public voices are normalizing Trump admin conduct
-voicemail from Trump lawyer to Flynn shows a disturbing carrot/stick approach (or worse)
-Trump has seemed to dangle pardons to buy silence or worse
-Trump admin officials are violating records laws to conceal actions

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump said “Russia, if you’re listening”
-Trump said “fine people” marched with nazis
-Trump has told over 10,000 false or misleading statements, per Washington Post
-Trump helped cover up Khashoggi murder, and Kushner’s said to have offered advice to MBS on weathering the storm

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-a foreign prince is reported to have said he has Kushner in his pocket (but denies saying that)
-Helsinki
-Trump’s behavior is erratic and is marked by frequent lies, bizarre public outbursts, name-calling and confusion
-no press conferences, and no transparency

Walter Shaub

✔@waltshaub

Replying to @waltshaub

-Trump allies in congress are either lying about the Mueller report or haven’t read it
-Trump allies in congress are trying to prevent Mueller & others from testifying because they know their base hasn’t read the report and right wing media has kept them from hearing about it

Speaker Pelosi, while Mr. Shaub’s list of “offenses” is long, it is hardly exhaustive of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” committed by Donald Trump. When will enough be enough?

Photo | cnn.com

 

 

 

Stoic, Reserved Mueller Finally Talks … In “Lawyerspeak”

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The publicity shy, by-the-book Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, delivered a surprise speech yesterday in which he, in the most indirect of ways, called his boss, Attorney General, William Barr a liar.  During his nine-minute press conference, Mueller shot down both William Barr’s and Donald Trump’s “no collusion, no obstruction” mantra.

Mueller explained, under a long-standing DOJ policy, a President cannot be charged with a federal crime while in office.  “Charging the President with a crime was, therefore, not an option we could consider,” said Mueller.

The mild-mannered Mueller, however, disappointed many listeners by delivering a speech devoid of bombshells, filled more with implications, hints and innuendos. It was a speech more for professionals to decode than for the American public to consume.

Bottom-line? While he couldn’t complete the job he was assigned to do, the ball is now squarely in the hands of Congress to begin impeachment proceedings for perhaps the most brazen criminal ever to occupy the White House.

Photo | smerconish.com

 

 

Bobby … Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

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Mr. Mueller (may I call you Bobby? Thanks) it has now been over two months since you handed over your Trump-Russia report to your boss, AG William Barr, and it appears you have gone into hiding.

We’ve heard from all sorts of folks about your report … from those who have actually read the entire thing to those who haven’t a clue about its contents … yet we haven’t heard from the most authoritative analyst… you.

Your findings have not only be distorted and mischaracterized, they have been used by Trump and his sycophants to further their narrative that your entire two-year investigation into perhaps our most corrupt president has been a hoax.

It is way past time for you to end this game of hide and seek,

You have been called to discuss your report before the House Judiciary Committee. You now have the opportunity to set the record straight. So what gives, Bobby?

What is preventing you from doing your duty? From defending your integrity? From getting the facts out to the American people?

We now hear from Chairman Nadler that you are willing to testify but only behind closed doors?

This is no time to be camera shy. Your country needs you. The American people must see your face and hear your voice.

Is your reticence the result of being threatened? Do you fear for you safety?

Knowing your history, I seriously doubt it.

You are a man of honor and courage. A man deserving of the utmost respect. Hell, you’re a decorated combat veteran … a patriot if there ever was one.

It’s time to end your silence and get out there before the cameras … and start talking.

It’s very possible your testimony will tilt the political scales and get members of Congress to do what the Constitution calls on them to do … impeach and remove the brazen criminal now occupying the White House.

Photo | time.com

 

 

 

 

 

Why All The Pelosi Love And Praise?

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If you believe the spin put out by even some reputable news outlets, Nancy Pelosi is a genius; a “master strategist.” We’re told she has Trump’s number; knows how to get under his skin; plays chess while Trump plays checkers; has Trump wrapped around her little pinky … and so on and so on.

The reality is Nancy Pelosi is none of the above. By not initiating impeachment proceedings, she is no better than her loathsome Republican counterparts. She is putting party above country … politics above the rule of law.

It’s pretty sad when some Republicans are calling for Trump’s impeachment … but not the Democratic Speaker of the House! If Pelosi had her druthers, Trump’s fate would be decided by the 2020 election.

A current Republican U.S. representative, Justin Amash (R-MI), has called for Trump’s impeachment. And now a former Republican representative, Tom Coleman, from the red state of Missouri, is calling both Trump and Pence ‘illegitimate.”

Said Coleman in an article he recently wrote for The Kansas City Star, “While Mueller did not find sufficient evidence that Trump or his campaign had violated a criminal statute, the net effect was that the Trump campaign encouraged a foreign adversary to use and misrepresent stolen information on social media platforms to defraud U.S. voters. Because the presidency was won in this way, the president’s election victory brought forth nothing less than an illegitimate presidency.”

Coleman goes on to say, “The political calculus not to pursue impeachment is understandable. Current polls show a majority of voters do not favor it. But critical times require exceptional leadership. Lawmakers of both parties should not blindly follow the polls but instead follow the evidence and their conscience. Politics should not rule the day. Partisan politics is what got us to this dangerous place — so dangerous, I believe, that the survival of our democracy is at risk.”

“Master Strategist” Pelosi needs to start, at the very least, an impeachment inquiry ASAP. Get the evidence out. The American people will be on board with formal impeachment once they learn the true facts contained in the Mueller report.

As Coleman noted, “This process would allow a full public review of wrongdoing, while providing Americans an opportunity to obtain a better understanding of the consequences to our national security and the lingering threat to our democracy.”

Tom Coleman concludes his opinion piece with this poignant observation:

I believe the public would conclude Democrats are no better than the Republicans who have enabled Trump for the past two years, putting party above country. It could hand Trump a second term. Failure to pursue impeachment is to condone wrongdoing. To condone wrongdoing is to encourage more of it. To encourage wrongdoing is to give up on the rule of law and our democracy. To give up on the rule of law and democracy invites autocracy and eventually dictatorship. History has taught us this outcome. In my lifetime, it has occurred in other places including the Soviet Union and Germany, as well as in Russia and Venezuela today.

Nancy do your duty, politics be damned.

Photo | youtube.com

A “Dear Nancy” Letter

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Dear Speaker Pelosi,

We get it. You believe it’s politically advantageous to keep Donald Trump around until 2020.  And so you are pooh-poohing impeachment proceedings.

And while you said, “This is not about politics at all” during your contentious closed-door meeting yesterday with fellow Democrats (wink, wink), we know it’s all about politics.

But didn’t you take an oath to uphold the Constitution? We have a brazen criminal in the White House and you have the power, or should I say, the duty, to remove him from office. OK, at least, to get the ball rolling.

You think you can really pull a McConnell? You know, when good ol’ Mitch refused to carry out his constitutional duty of holding a confirmation hearing on Merrick Garland because there was an election coming up soon and we should “let the American people decide”?

The next presidential election is over 17 months away. Too many bad things can happen during that time if Trump is still commander in chief.

You know, like a WAR … a FINANCIAL MELTDOWN. Heck, anything is possible with that loose cannon in the Oval Office.

Oh, I see, while that would be bad for the country, it would be good for Democrats’ chances of regaining the White House, and maybe even the Senate.

But what about that pesky document called the Constitution … the rule of law? What kind of precedent would you be setting by letting perhaps the most corrupt president ever to occupy the White House hold on to his awesome powers?

You know you have more than enough evidence of “high crimes and misdemeanors” to begin impeachment proceedings tomorrow. No further investigations needed.

Oh, right, you think impeachment is divisive and would further divide the country; that it would just rile up Trump’s base. I have some news for you … Trump’s base is already riled up! They already think Dems are out to get their man just like the “fake news media.”

It’s clear to see that you want Trump around because, contrary to popular belief, you believe a weakened, disgraced Trump would be very beatable in 2020. You want him to continue to slowly hang himself with his own rope; to continue to commit crimes and obstruct justice. Now we certainly wouldn’t want to run against a “moderate” Republican in 2020, say like a Kasich or Romney!

Sorry but I don’t think we have the time to play such political games. Too much at stake.

You need to start an impeachment inquiry, slow walk it as much as you like, but do what the Constitution requires … what the country needs. Or run the risk of losing Democratic support in 2020 because of your acquiescence and inaction during this critical time in American history.

Yes, it’s going to take some effort to overcome the false narrative put out by Trump’s lawyer (and Attorney General) Mr. Barr. But you can do it. The American people will be on your side once the true facts come out. Put Senate Republicans on the spot!

Don’t overthink this, please.

Photo | usatoday.com

 

Attorney General Needs To Be DisBarred

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After yesterday’s shameful performance in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and after today’s refusal to appear before the House Judiciary Committee, there are calls from many Democrats for William Barr’s resignation or impeachment.

While such demands are justified (the man flat-out lied to the American people and to Congress about the Mueller report) neither of these avenues will get rid of Barr.

William Barr will not resign. After all, he is doing exactly what he was hired to do … be Trump’s “Roy Cohn.” Said Trump during an interview on Fox Business, “He did a fantastic job today, I’m told. I got to see some of it. He did a fantastic job.”

Impeachment would almost certainly be a dead end.  The same rules apply for impeaching an attorney general as for a president. The House starts the proceedings; the Senate votes to remove. The only difference is that the trial in the Senate would be presided over by the Vice President instead of the Chief Justice.

While many legal scholars agree that Barr’s knowing misrepresentation of the Mueller report’s findings and his lying to Congress rise to the level of impeachable offenses, many believe the Republican-controlled Senate would never vote to remove him.  Harvard constitutional law professor, Laurence Tribe, doesn’t believe the process will ever get started.  Said Tribe, “While Barr’s behavior ‘might in theory’ warrant calls for removal, it ‘seems exceedingly unlikely’.”

A far better and more effective way of getting rid of the man who has no business being the people’s attorney is through disbarment.

While the Attorney General need not be a licensed lawyer to hold the position, necessity requires it. Two main duties of the Attorney General are to: 1. Represent the United States in all legal matters and 2. Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law.

In order to represent the United States in legal matters and/or to provide legal advice, the Attorney General must be qualified to do so. In the U.S., in order to provide legal advice, you need to be a licensed attorney.

Needtoimpeach.com has started an online petition calling for Barr’s disbarment:

Attorney General William Barr knowingly misled the public and Congress about the Mueller investigation’s findings, in direct violation of Rule 4.1 of the Virginia State Bar. Barr’s conduct warrants disbarment.

This seems to be the most practical way of ridding our government of this Trump sycophant and legal hack.

Photo | nbcboston.com

Breaking News … Two Dems push D.C., Virginia bar associations to investigate Barr

 

 

Is Trump’s Day Of Reckoning Finally Here?

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Word is out that the nearly two-year Trump-Russia investigation has come to an end and a report by special counsel Robert Mueller may soon be submitted to the newly installed Attorney General, William Barr, as early as next week.

Just when, or even if, Barr will share the report with Congress remains to be seen.

As reported by CNN, “Under the special counsel regulations, Mueller must submit a ‘confidential’ report to the attorney general at the conclusion of his work, but the rules don’t require it to be shared with Congress, or by extension, the public. And, as Barr has made clear, the Justice Department generally guards against publicizing ‘derogatory’ information about uncharged individuals.”

But could the much-awaited report, no matter what, still lead to Trump’s impeachment by the House?

Reality check. Even if Mueller’s report is damaging to Trump, with Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader, it’s hard to see Republican senators voting to convict Trump after House Democrats start an impeachment proceeding.

But do not fret. With many other ongoing investigations into Trumpworld, most notably by the Southern District of New York, Trump will never be not out of the woods.

As Neal Katyal writes in an opinion piece in today’s New York Times:

The overlapping investigations by different entities, housed in different branches of government, spanning geography and even different governments (such as the New York attorney general’s investigation into the Trump Foundation), make it difficult for anyone, even Attorney General Barr, to end the inquiries.

While Mueller’s report may not be “the end,” it most certainly will be remembered as the beginning of “the end.”

Photo | nbcnews.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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