Impeachment Day 29: Trump Senses Danger, Doubles Down
The president has realized he’s not invincible. The concept of actually being rebuked for bad behavior is something he’s never had to consider before.
One thing is for sure; Trump’s ramping up the crazy, rambling on about conspiracy theories, playing the victim on twitter, and conflating congressional oversight with racial terrorism, aka lynching.
What’s behind all this? Perhaps it was his forced retreat on filling the family vault with the G7 conference. Maybe it was Speaker Nancy Pelosi, adding insult to injury by taking a bipartisan delegation to Jordan over the weekend to reassure U.S. allies in the region.
Or it could be yesterday's ‘fact sheet’ laying out what Democrats believe is their most compelling evidence in their investigation of the president's efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate a domestic political rival.
Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the testimony today from Ambassador Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine who sent a text message calling a quid pro quo over military assistance "crazy." Word is that his 15 PAGE opening statement caused a bunch of gasps in the room.
https://twitter.com/ChadPergram/status/1186669434875846664?s=20
Support for impeachment (and removal) continues to rise in polls. The latest CNN poll has more respondents now supporting both steps than opposing them.
Let’s start with the made-for-TV all-hands-on-deck cabinet meeting on Monday, as described in the Washington Post:
The president boasted of personally being responsible for the capture of Islamic State soldiers; decried the criticism that he was receiving “emoluments” from foreign governments as phony; insinuated that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) gave information to the whistleblower who raised concerns about the administration’s actions toward Ukraine; attacked his predecessor for signing a deal with Netflix; and turned the Cabinet Room into a stage for a lengthy advertisement for his Florida golf resort, which he originally picked to host a meeting of international leaders before backtracking this weekend in the face of bipartisan criticism.
Under Trump, Cabinet meetings have become less about the business of his Cabinet than an opportunity for the president to invite in the assembled press to boast of his own accomplishments, lash out at his critics and to hear the praise flow forth from advisers seated around a large oval table. The gatherings, with the press in attendance, often stretch for 60 to 90 minutes.
During a June 2017 Cabinet meeting, Trump went around the table, allowing his top aides to thank him for allowing them to serve his administration. Then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus called the opportunity a “blessing.”
Wow. Oh, and by the way, the President probably won’t read this report because he told Sean Hannity on Fox that the Post and the New York Times were to be banned from the White House. (WH confirmed this morning)
Along the way the stable genius in charge managed to call out the emoluments clause of the Constitution as “phony.” Here’s a snip from Common Dreams:
"You people, with this phony Emoluments Clause," Trump told reporters at a White House press conference on Monday, responding to allegations that hosting the meeting of foreign leaders at his own property would be a conflict of interest.
Trump claimed that President Barack Obama also violated the Emoluments Clause by signing a book deal and an agreement with Netflix while he was in office—two falsehoods that CNN promptly corrected—and compared himself to President George Washington, who Trump said was also a "businessman" while in office.
Today’s outrage involves a twitter pity-party by the President of the United States, comparing the as yet unresolved pursuit of the Constitutional remedy of impeachment based on credible charges of for violating the oath of office, extortion, and more with lynching.
https://twitter.com/theaarynb/status/1186648410155151365?s=20
I'm not advocating this--making a point! If the day were to ever come when Trump is strung up by a rope, hands tied behind his back, feet bound, hanging from an old tree, then we can agree it’s a lynching.
The current GOP strategy is for members of congress to decry the current investigations as unfair. Members are being encouraged to attempt barging into hearings, knowing they’ll be turned away and using this bit of theater for publicity.
I shouldn’t have to do this, but will anyway--
The GOP has representation inside the hearings; their lawyers--just like the Democrat’s lawyers-- are allowed to ask questions. There will be transcripts. There will be public hearings. There will be a floor vote.
The current events in committee are akin to grand jury proceedings. The GOP hopes Americans are ignorant about these processes...
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) distributed a four page “fact sheet” outlining what her office called a gross abuse of presidential power, with sections labeled “shakedown,” “pressure campaign” and “cover up.”
From The Hill:
The document first cites the rough transcript released by the White House last month of the July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In that call, Trump told Zelensky that he would have his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Attorney General William Barr reach out to "get to the bottom" of "a lot of talk" about the business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden.
The fact sheet then cites text messages that former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker provided to the House committees leading the impeachment inquiry that show discussion between diplomats about the Trump administration's efforts to push for the investigation as evidence of a "pressure campaign..."
...The document from Pelosi then concludes that the intelligence community whistleblower complaint that sparked the impeachment inquiry details evidence of a "cover up" by White House officials to "lock down" records of the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky by transferring the transcript to a separate electronic system used to handle particularly sensitive classified information.
There is some controversy over whether a narrowly focused set of articles of impeachment by the House is a good strategy. Pelosi has decided to avoid a broader focus, believing that too many elements will serve to muddle the issues.
And you have to admit, that’s kinda what happened in the wake of the Mueller report. I remember from the Watergate days there were numerous threads revealed by investigators and the media that got left on the “cutting room floor” as the investigation wound down.
One of them involved San Diego--my colleagues at the bi-weekly Door, found eyewitness evidence of Nixon dirty trickster Donald Segretti meeting with local far right figures involved in vandalism and harassment aimed at anti-war groups.
As much as my pride might have wanted this part of the story to get more play, the decision to focus on what was more easily understood by investigators makes sense in retrospect. Those of us who obsess with details tend to overlook the need to Keep It Simple, Stupid.
At this point it appears as though there will be two articles of impeachment at the end of this process. The Ukraine scandal --which keeps threatening to expand-- and the administration’s refusal to comply with Congressional subpoenas will be sent to the Senate as the basis for a trial.
Senate Majority Mitch McConnell’s reading of the political tea leaves (subject to change with large cash contributions) current holds that a trial in the upper chamber will be held. He still can quash any House articles of impeachment by fiat, but only if he believes such a move won’t hurt the GOP’s Senate hopes in 2020.
Some Trump advisers like the odds of a Senate trial that fails to remove the President, saying it could backfire on Democrats. I say as long as Democrats show up at the polls in 2020, the GOP will suffer no matter what happens on Capitol Hill.
***
The Imperial Presidency continues…
https://twitter.com/ewstephe/status/1186656356323020800?s=20
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