Impeachment Day 5: NRA to Defend Trump - Gun Safety Legislation Now A No Go
You’d think for all the bad press the National Rifle Association has seen lately, the last thing they’d want was a controversy. A rolling purge based on allegations or reactions to allegations of unlawful activity, declining membership, and financial difficulties have all kept the group in the news.
Then on Friday, we learned about an investigation by Senate Democrats claiming the NRA has acted as a “foreign asset” by providing Russian officials access to US political organizations in recent years. Oregon senator Ron Wyden released the report also alleges that the NRA may have broken tax laws by using donated funds to further its officers’ business interests.
Then there was this bombshell from the New York Times: Trump Meets With LaPierre to Discuss How N.R.A. Could Support Political Defense.
President Trump met on Friday with Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the National Rifle Association, to discuss how the N.R.A. could provide financial support for the president’s defense as he faces political headwinds, including impeachment, according to two people familiar with the meeting.
It was not clear whether Mr. Trump asked Mr. LaPierre for his support, or if the idea was pitched by the N.R.A. But in return for the support, Mr. LaPierre asked that the White House “stop the games” over gun control legislation, people familiar with the meeting said.
Now perhaps we’ve become desensitized amid the torrent of truthiness over the past 30 months, but I’m old enough to remember when offering a public official something of value in exchange for a specific action was called bribery. And a public official asking for something of value in exchange for a specific action was called soliciting a bribe.
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More Impeachment News
Numerous outlets published leaked accounts of conversations between the President and foreign leaders that also ended up in the White House extra secret computer server normally reserved for data about covert operations.
The Washington Post reported on a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak wherein the President told them he was unconcerned about the country's interference in the 2016 election.
Think about that for a second. The President of the United States had so little respect for our Democracy that he all but invited the Russians to intervene again in the future.
Other conversations deep-sixed were with Saudi King Salman and Prince Khalid bin Salman.
Kurt Volker resigned from his position as the U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Friday, following reports of his involvement with Ukraine politicians and President Donald Trump.
According to the whistleblower complaint, Volker helped organize meetings with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Ukrainian officials. It also alleges the envoy Volker went to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, to help guide local officials on how to handle Trump’s demands.
Three House committees have jointly issued a subpoena to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for documents related to the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
The chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight committees set an Oct. 4 deadline for Pompeo to produce the documents, including many that the lawmakers have been seeking for weeks.
Members of the House intelligence committee will be working through a two-week congressional recess, as they begin an investigation into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
A Trump re-election committee is accusing Democrats of trying to “steal” the 2020 election in a new television ad campaign to the tune of $10 million.
A big part of the footage involves attacking Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, repeating disproven claims about corruption in Ukraine. The ad claims a prosecutor was fired for investigating the former vice president’s son.
Additionally Facebook ads from Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign are offering membership in the “Impeachment Defense Task Force” to people who donated or gave their email addresses and phone numbers, while other ads urge people to join (for a fee, of course) the “Impeachment Defense Team.”
And finally…
https://twitter.com/PhilipRucker/status/1177711322122932224?s=20
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Lead Image by Mike Licht via Flickr
(With apologies to Jay Ward and Alex Anderson)